Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born in Houston, Texas. Her talent in dancing and singing was discovered at a young age, and by the age of 7, she won her first award at a talent show at her school. She attended a music magnet school in Houston, where she performed with the school’s choir as well as her local Church. At age 8, she and her friend Kelly Rowland joined a group called “Girl’s Tyme,” and together they appeared in the talent show “Star Search.” Beyoncé’s father, Matthew Knowles, resigned his job to serve as the band’s manager. He changed their name to Destiny’s Child, and Beyoncé became the lead vocalist. In 1998, Destiny’s Child released their first album that includes the major hit “No, No, No.” Afterward, they became one of the most popular R&B acts. Two years later, the group released its second album, “The Writing’s on the Wall,” which included the #1 singles “Bills, Bills, Bills,” and “Say My Name.”
Beyoncé began to focus on individual projects, and in 2003, she released her first solo album, “Dangerously in Love,” for which she won five Grammy Awards. A year later, Destiny’s Child was officially disbanded. In her second album, “B’Day,” she continued to hit the charts with singles such as “Irreplaceable” and “Déjà vu.” In 2008, soon after she married the rapper and producer Jay-Z, she released her 3rd album “I Am… Sasha Fierce,” that includes the iconic “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” as well as “Halo” and “If I Were a Boy.” The album, named after Beyoncé’s alter ego, sold 482,000 copies in its first week. For this album, she won 6 Grammy Awards, out of 10 nominations.
In 2009, at the age of 28, Beyoncé sang Etta James’s “At Last” at President Barack Obama’s first inaugural ball (she later sang the American national anthem at his second inauguration). In the following years, she founded Parkwood Entertainment, an entertainment company that manages Beyoncé’s products as a brand in music, movies, and fashion. In 2011, her 4th album “4” was released. The album was Beyoncé’s 4th consecutive number-one album in the US. Not long after giving birth to her first child Blue Ivy, she made her first appearance at the Superbowl halftime show. With 268,000 tweets per minute, the performance became the second most tweeted about moment in history. Three years later, she made her second appearance at the national event. In 2013, Beyoncé once again broke a record when her 5th album “Beyoncé” sold more than 800,000 copies in its first weekend. By that, she made history for becoming the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for five consecutive number-one albums in the US, a record she will break again in her sixth album. In 2016 she released an hour-long film and an album called “Lemonade,” focusing on her reeling from the romantic and sexual betrayal of her partner. This album, too, hit number one on the US Billboard 200.
Beyoncé continues to work on music projects, participate in films, and tour around the world. It was once written about her – “Beyoncé doesn’t release albums; she creates cultural events.”
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