Beyoncé

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is an American singer, songwriter, and businesswoman. She is also known as “Queen Bey,” and is considered to be a prominent cultural figure of the 21st century. Beyoncé has been recognized for her artistry and performances, with Rolling Stone naming her one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

As a child, Beyoncé started performing in various singing and dancing competitions. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. She released her debut album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003, during the group’s hiatus. She followed it up with several US number-one solo albums, including B’Day, I Am… Sasha Fierce, and 4. After creating her own management company, Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé achieved critical acclaim for the experimental visual albums Beyoncé and Lemonade, which explored themes such as feminism and womanism. She recently released her album, Renaissance, which became the first female artist to have their first seven studio albums debut at number one in the US.

Beyoncé’s most successful songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 include “Crazy in Love”, “Baby Boy”, “Check On It”, “Irreplaceable”, “If I Were a Boy”, “Halo”, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, “Drunk in Love”, “Break My Soul”, “Cuff It” and “Texas Hold’ Em”. She is the only woman in history to have at least 20 top 10 songs as a solo artist and at least 10 as a member of a group. Her collaborative music ventures include Everything Is Love, an album with her husband and rapper Jay-Z, released as the Carters, and the musical film Black Is King, inspired by the music of the film soundtrack The Lion King: The Gift. Live project Homecoming: The Live Album was released in 2019 to document her 2018 Coachella performance. Outside of music, she has starred as an actress in films such as Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Pink Panther, Dreamgirls, Cadillac Records, Obsessed, and The Lion King.

Having sold 200 million records worldwide, Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her accolades include a record 32 Grammy Awards, as well as multiple Video Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards, and Soul Train Music Awards. Her success during the 2000s earned her recognition as the Recording Industry Association of America’s Top Certified Artist of the Decade and Billboard’s Top Female Artist and Top Radio Songs Artist of the Decade. She is the most successful black touring act in history and received the Pollstar Touring Artist of the Decade award in 2021. Time included her as one of the 100 women who defined the 21st century.