Beyonce’s big in da game

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), often referred to as Beyoncé right about now is the biggest R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model in the game right now. Raised as a church girl, and she keeps herself grounded by giving herself a stage name/personality (Sasha Fierce), that she leaves on the stage when chilling with her man – Jay Z. Not to sure what she see in Jay-Z (must be the money! – LOL!), but together they have blown the Hip Hop and R&B scene mainstream.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child. She wa ssupported by her mother and father and worked hard to achieve the highest attainment levels even after the group lost 2 original members and had to reform.

In 2003 Beyonce released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, which became one of the most successful albums of that year, and let the world know – Beyonce is here!. The album was a commercial and critical success, giving us the hits “Crazy in Love”, “Baby Boy”, and earning her five Grammy Awards in 2004. Her second album B’Day, was released in 2006, it reached number one on the Billboardcharts, and produced the hits “Déjà Vu”, “Irreplaceable”, and “Beautiful Liar”. Her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, was released in November 2008, and included the hits “If I Were a Boy”, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, “Halo” and “Sweet Dreams”. Beyonce has attained five Hot 100 number one singles, becoming one of the two female artists with the most number ones attained within the 2000s.

The success of Beyonce’s solo albums has established her as one of the most marketable artists in the music industry, and she has expanded her career to acting and product endorsement. She began her acting career in 2001, appearing in the musical film Carmen: A Hip Hopera. In 2006, she starred in the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations. Beyonce launched her family’s fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004, and has been engaged to endorse such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and L’Oréal. In 2009, Forbeslisted Beyonce fourth on its list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world, third on its list of the top-grossing musicians, and number one on the list of top Best-Paid Celebs Under 30 with over $87 million dollars in earnings between 2008 and 2009.

Knowles has cited various artists who have influenced her musical style. She grew up listening to songs of Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, the latter of whom she eventually collaborated with, but often credits Michael Jackson as the reason why she does music and her hero. She also was exposed to the jazz music of Rachelle Ferrell, after singing Ferrell’s songs during her voice lessons. Knowles cites influences from American artists Tina Turner, Prince, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Selena, Mary J. Blige, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Mariah Carey and the Colombian singer Shakira.

Knowles also has influenced various contemporary artists. Pop singer Rihanna has been compared to her when the columnist for The Guardian Amina Taylor called her “Bajan Beyoncé”. The Canadian singer of the same genre, Keshia Chanté, had also an influence from Knowles. In addition, American Idolwinner Jordin Sparks’ first single, “Tattoo”, and debut album have been described as very “Beyoncé-ish”; some critics said that “Tattoo” might be “a blatant rip-off” off Knowles’ hit single “Irreplaceable”. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic found American pop singer Katharine McPhee’s songs on her debut album of the same name to have heavy influences from Knowles’ music. Rowland was inspired by Knowles’ voice while recording the former’s second album, Ms. Kelly.

Knowles became the first female to ever be awarded the International Artist Award at the American Music Awards. At the 2008 World Music Awards, Knowles was honored the legend award for Outstanding Contribution To The Arts. Knowles was the lead vocalist of one of the world’s best selling female groups of all time Destiny’s Child. To many, she is recognized one of the world’s most known pop icons. Her debut album was listed as one of the top 200 Definitive albums in music history by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She was one of a few artist of her generation to be mentioned on that list. Knowles has many different wax figures but her most known figure is at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum (London).

In a head-shot to promote the Féria highlighting product, the 27-year-old singer appears to have a lighter skin tone than usual. The actress and singer, whose father is African American and whose mother is Creole has a contract with L’Oréal worth £2.3 million over five years. The picture, which appeared on a US edition of Elle magazine, provoked outrage on both sides of the Atlantic after commentators suggested the firm had digitally lightened Knowles’s complexion.

In a piece called “Beyoncé the Pale”, the New York Post called the advert ‘shocking’ and said the the world-famous singer was ‘virtually unrecognizable’. The celebrity website TMZ called the shot ‘severely photoshopped’. One fan on the website said: “Shame on L’Oréal for doing this. I see no excuse for this. If it was uneven skin tone then they just as easily could have made her a tone darker. But they did not do that. They made her white.”

When your as big as B is – you will always be surrounded by contrevousy. Beyonce has been damned for losing weight, putin on weight, being too big . . not being big enough . . Supatrax says “Keep doin ya ting, cus what ever ya doing – Ya doing it right! (and if you ever wanna leave Jay-Z come to B18 England!)

Below is Beyonces latest track release with Lady Gaga – Da track is BIG!

Below are a selection of other Beyonce videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/beyonce