Beyonce Knowles (1981- ) is an American pop and R&B singer who made her name as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child. She has sold over 60 million records and won ten Grammys.
Here are her number one songs to date on the American charts, both as part of Destiny’s Child and, since 2003, on her own:
- 1999: Bills, Bills, Bills
- 2000: Say My Name
- 2000: Independent Woman, Part I
- 2001: Bootylicious
- 2003: Crazy in Love
- 2003: Baby Boy
- 2006: Irreplaceable
- 2008: Single Ladies
No, “Survivor” (2001) never made it to number one. Her music since Destiny’s Child has sold much better in Britain and Black America than in White America.
Her songs are good, but they are the kind that ring in your head and then a year later you forget about them. “Irreplaceable” is the only song that rises above that.
While she is rich and famous and beautiful and has a great singing voice, many do not like her but cannot quite say why. The Black Snob says it is because, unlike Lauryn Hill, she is not being herself. Instead she presents a perfect image of herself that nobody is, not even her. She does not let us into the pain of her broken heart like great singers do.
Every radio round the world know me
‘Cause that’s where I be
I’m a, a diva, hey
…
Na, na, na, diva is a female version of a hustla
She has been singing and dancing since she was a little girl in Houston, Texas. When she was 12 she appeared along with Kelly Rowland as part of Girl’s Tyme on “Star Search”, a television talent show. They had practised for six months straight but came in second.
It was such a huge blow to Beyonce that her father, a Xerox salesman, stepped in and took over Girl’s Tyme to set it on course to get a recording contract. In time it would become known as Destiny’s Child (from a verse in the Bible). He was a strict taskmaster who made sure the girls practised, practised, practised. He gave up being a salesman and worked on it full-time. Kelly Rowland even moved in and lived with them.
In time he did land a contract. First a short-lived one with Elektra, then one with Columbia Records in 1996. With Wyclef Jean as their producer they became a huge crossover success.
Destiny’s Child lasted till 2005, but by 2003 Beyonce had begun to sing on her own.
She is trying to become a Hollywood star too but lacks depth and experience as an actress. She played Etta James (badly) in “Cadillac Records” (2008) and has been picked to play Angela Davis!
She is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful black women in America. She is one of the few black women who has appeared on the cover of white American Maxim. In at least one L’Oreal ad she seems strangely white looking.
Beyonce has been with rapper Jay-Z since 2002. They married in 2008.
She is part Creole on her mother’s side. Solange Knowles is her younger sister.
– Abagond, 2009.
See also:
- Beychella – Beyonce at Coachella in 2018
- songs
- 2006: Beyonce: Irreplaceable
- 2008: Beyoncé: If I Were a Boy
- 2011: Beyonce: 1+1
- 2013: Beyoncé: Yoncé
- 2013: Beyonce: No Angel
- 2016: Beyonce: Formation
- 2016: Beyonce: All Night
- haters:
- We All Hate On Beyonce – a blog
- talent:
- beauty:
- Is That Really Beyonce: Black Women and Beauty
- The most beautiful black women according to white people – #2: only Halle Berry is seen as more beautiful
- The most beautiful black women according to black people – #6
- Creoles
- Maxim magazine
- Solange Knowles
First Halle Berry, now her twin sister in divisiness when it comes to ideas of mainstream representation of black female beauty!
Again, I had no clue that someone as vapid as her or Berry, drew the ire of so many people! I also didn’t know that she was perceieved as “light skinned” and “whiter looking”. Anyone who remembers her back in the late ’90s when Destiny’s Child first emerged, would never use those terms to describe her. I guess everyone gets their Hollywood makeover, huh?
She’s never shown a glimmer of personality. That she’s talked about so much is amazing. Her music isn’t even really music, really. No melody. Repeated chants rather than actual chrouses. It’s just so unmusical.
Yeah, she’s far more better received by black Americans than white America as a whole. I’m telling you, MANY black American women WORSHIP this woman.
Also: When will she stop pushing back her age? She’s been 25 for the last 3 years! LOL. I won’t put her on blast, but I know for a fact that she’s a bit older than she says. That such a mature woman puts out such juvenile music and comes across as so inarticulate is striking.
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beyonce! i had a feeling you would make a post about her. now not everybody that’s black like beyonce. i don’t but i do like some of her music. i think a lot of people don’t like her because she keeps things to herself. honestly i don’t see what’s the problem with that. her music may not be the best but it seems other people like her music and she’s still famous. i know when she first came out as a solo star, i didn’t think she would do that good until i heard the song and it blew up. i actually started to like her when she came out with “dangerously in love”. to me i think she does have talent. just because her music is not like lauryn hill or mary j. blige, she still has talent. if she wants to keep her private life or anything else to herself then that’s her choice. but i think some people want to hate for no reason like i said before because i know a lot of people trash talk her. beyonce is not going anywhere and she doesn’t want to go anywhere regardless of how people can’t stand her ass! i say keep on going.
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I never considered her light (she really isn’t she is just average medium brown) or that touting her Creole heritage made her more exotic than your average Black American and somehow above them.
To me is very pretty and I would never begrduge the fact that she has assets and exploited them in a smart way so that she was able to make millions. Still, I don’t like her fashion line, she is has 2 dimensional acting ability, and don’t listen to her music. She knows how to exploit pop mediocrity and so only she her mom, pop, and Jay Z get to laugh all the way to the bank.
She pretty much epitomizes Horatio Alger.
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are you sure about her, selling more in ‘britain’ and black america. cause i thought she would sell a little more in france. or something like that, plus her music is that bad you just have to be. in the right MOOD to listen to her.
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I’m constantly surprised by the number of people who hate Beyonce. She’s pretty and talented, so that makes her a target, I guess.
Yes, she puts out mainstream, popular music, but so what?
If I had her looks and ability, I’d capitalize on it too.
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It is more than that – there are plenty of talented, pretty singers who turn out mainstream music. They are rarely hated.
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Exactly abagond. Many people loved Whitney and she was/is Talented, gorgeous, rich etc. Something about Beyonce just brings out the worst in people. LOL She irks me and even I don’t know why!
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I like Beyonce. I don’t really understand why so many people HATE her.
I can understand if you are disinterested in her. If her music is not really your thing, that’s absolutely reasonable. But to HATE her is a little overboard to me, and points to jealousy and just hating her coz you can, for no real reason.
She is a very attractive black woman who has found success. Why hate her?
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I used to think it was simple envy too, like how people hate the most popular girl in high school, but then that would apply to any singer who was rich and famous and beautiful and talented. It would apply to Whitney Houston too or even Janet Jackson. But it does not. It is just Beyonce. Why is that?
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booty envy?
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IMO, Beyonce has oversaturated the market. I guess some people are fatigued by her face and her bubble-gum music being everywhere. Same happened to Britney Spears and she had a breakdown.
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I don’t think its booty envy, anyway she has more hips than booty, and as far as booty goes Janet has got her beat lol. So again the question is why do people find Beyonce’ so irritating?? It may have to do with her being everywhere and on what seems like every magazine cover.. her over exposure irritates the hell out of me.
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Well Aba,
Whitney and Janet may be many things but they don’t have the same shady history that characterizes both Knowles and her family . There’s no mystery why people don’t embrace her the same way they have other black female crossover sensations: they can see right through her.
Also, comparing Whit and Jan to Knowles is insulting.
Whitney is one of the best vocalists of her generation and is responsible for every black female artist who has immense crossover success (Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, Brandy and Erykah Badu all owe their careers to her; they’ll even acknowledge this fact). Janet is a Jackson: she has the good looks, perfect smile, mystique, great dance moves, great production team (Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis), and drive for perfection that became the family’s trademarks.
Knowles, like I said on a previous post you put on here about her, is an inarticulate, half-talented high-class chickenhead who entire “career” was based vastly by MANUFACTURED HYPE. Nothing more, nothing less.
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i actually said booty envy as a joke
I like her songs and think she is pretty – dont have an opinion beyound that
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The saturation theory is an interesting one.
I remember one of her recent albums had a video for every single song. And most of them were pop drivel with no real meaning or message like “kitty kat” and “greenlight”.
So I guess I understand why people might start to feel a little jaded with her and her appearance. Unlike with someone like Jen Hudson who is newer and has songs with meaning and relevance.
Having said that, personally as a guy I still find her very attractive so I don’t mind her over exposure so much. Guess I’m biased that way.
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I tend to agree with Kat and mynameismyname: she is pushed so hard at us yet her music is not all that great. Also, where Whitney and Janet seem to be serious about making good music, Beyonce seems to see her music as a way to say “Hey, look at me!”
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i agree with S FLARE. like i said some people hate her for some reason i don’t know why. she does have talent and have good music and can sing, even though she goes overboard. comparing her to whitney should be a compliment because they both can sing and made great songs, although whitney songs are classic that never gets old. beyonce got a long way to go but hey she’s doing her thing right now and i don’t look at her like some chicken head. but like i said some people choose to hate on her.
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Beyonce does not get as much hate like Rihanna. After seeing her get her ass whooped by Chris Brown supports my claim. Not too many black women stood up for her. They just made excuses to blame her. I’m not even a Rihanna fan at all. Her music is just as flat as Beyonce. They are both mainstream artist that are selling to pay the bills. Not mad at all but they are definitely not on my ipod lol. Anyways she is annoying and she tries to over saturate the game with her pointless music and redundant dance moves. Sasha Fierce is entertaining but she did it to herself for people to grow irritable of her. She wants to be a legend but then stays in the media because she is afraid people are going to forget about her. Legends don’t care they just do what they do. She says she is confident but she doesn’t have much confidence to me by her actions. Anyways I give props to successful folks and she is one of them. However, Beyonce has more fans than haters. For every hater that says something about her, she has a fan to defend right on the money. It never gets old lol. I see other people get trashed on the daily like Rocsi from 106 Park and she doesn’t have anyone defending her like Beyonce does. So yeah people over exagerrate the hating on this chick. Sounds like people can’t take someone saying something bad about their favorite artist. It’s really not that serious to me. Not all negative things come from people being jealous haters it could just be brutal honesty. Has anyone ever thought about that? Hell I’m fans of many artist but I don’t get my panties in a bunch because a opinion is just that opinion. The only thing that matters is that I like what I like.
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dani said:
She wants to be a legend but then stays in the media because she is afraid people are going to forget about her. Legends don’t care they just do what they do.
I like that. Good point.
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Very good points Dani. I hope no one is getting seriously offended or anything. It’s just a discussion. That’s what this blog is for. We all have our positions on the matter. Thanks 4 letting us Bey appreciaters express ours.
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I think Haters are normally more vocal than fans – thus the phrase “quiet majority” Just because a group of people is more vocal – it doesnt mean they are right.
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Anyone going to see Beyonce in a new movie called Obssessed?
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I might.
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we all should go see it.
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Beyonce does look different from the way I remember her in her earlier days. It seems she did have cosmetic surgery. I thought she was beautiful as she was before the surgery.
http://www.stars-plastic-surgery.com/beyonce-plastic-surgery.html
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Damn near all celebs get some form of plastic surgery. It’s the Hollywood rite of passage.
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I am not always opposed to cosmetic surgery, but I would prefer that they accept the looks they were born with. In the case of Beyonce, I still think she is beautiful, but I preferred the way she looked before.
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“OBSESSED” (6.0) thats my take on the movie.
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i agree with dani. B is beautiful, rich, successful and talented. i like 2 c her on TV.She can put on a show, especially with her looks, it’s great.the only thing that annoys me is what the media makes her out 2 b : a legend, an amazing dancer, the best voice around, etc.
well, i believe those r huge lies!!!!
a legend ? it takes more than beauty, booty and pole dancing,and an quite talented artist ! that’s my opinion. i listen 2 b for some days, and i lose interest.she needs to come up with more memorable songs. Her music caters mostly to teens and gays.Legends are so inspirational in terms of talent, creativity, originality and hardships.Like Danis said, she seems insecure .that s also the reason why her team keep on pushing the legend thing, bcoz ppl dont c her that way !!! Talented dancer ? pleease ! In Africa, there are women who can do booty dances that b cant even dream of doing, technically she z not sucha talented dancer. all she does is copy ppl’choreagraphy and do simple stripper,dancefloor moves. The thing about her is that we LIKE to see HER dance i.e shez sexy….the best voice around ? have u heard of Mariah carey, leona lewis, christina aguilera and J.HUDSON, who smacked her down in Dreamgirls !? B is all about packaging and marketing. i remember it was da same thing with JLO…..our values and taste in music have dropped so low compared than in da past…marketing looks and shakira moves !
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I have a love/hate relationship with her. While I do think that she can sing, I think the fact that she exploits herself through her sexuality overshadows how talented she is. She is too pretty and talented for that. She doesn’t have to do the things that she does to have longevity. I don’t think she’s a good role model for young girls, but she sends the msg that you have to use your looks to get what you want. There are plenty of beautiful women who are wealthy and successful and don’t resort to the oldest trick in the book – sex….
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because she sends the msg….
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I think people don’t like Beyonce because she knocked so many others singers out of the spotlight. It’s like the media only wants to see Beyonce, and many people hate this. I miss in the 80s and 90s when there were many singers out. When Beyonce went solo, all this changed. I think there’s room for everyone.
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beyonce is my idol, i really appreciate her so much and become her big time fan. many people support her and i am one of her avid supporter. as a way of thanking her for the joy she is giving me everytime i hear her songs i made a site for her together with some of the most famous singers. know, hear and follow her. feel free to visit my site. thank you very much.
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I think people hate her so much because she comes across as being to perfect.
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OK, this is too funny…
Here in Brazil we have a humor site known as Kibeloco which is responsible for most of our internet-based memes.
One of their long-running memes is “If X was born poor”, where they take a famous celebrity and photoshop them so that they appear as they would appear if they were a member of, say, the Brazilian working class.
Beyoncé is now on tour in Brazil, so guess who got the treatment this week?
Heh, heh, heh…
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What’s better is that it’s not even ‘shopped! 😀
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I’m surprised you guys don’t know why Beyonce is resented and that you, Abagond, left out the old controversy of kicking out the original two members of DC. Beyonce is resented for when she and her father Matthew Knowles kicked LaToya and Latavia out of Destiny’s Child. Ever since then people –especially black people–see her as an ambitious Diana Ross. Before that fiasco I don’t recall any hatred towards Beyonce. So I guarantee you, it’s the old DC member controversy.
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That’s a very pretty pic of Beyonce at the top! She looks so much better with dark hair. It contrasts so beautifully with her skin tone, I wish she’d get rid of the blond hair, doesn’t suit her at all. The mute barely- there nude make up looks very sexy on her 🙂
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@ MerriMay: I agree, she looks much better in black hair.
@ eve: I thought it was just Beyonce’s father who kicked out Latavia and LeToya, though it was always unclear to me as to why. Since it did not seem to be due to a lack of talent I assumed it was an argument over money.
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That’s funny because I remember when the destiny’s child came out with “No, No,No” back in the 90’s, I love them but my favourite one was Kelly because for me she was so beautiful, the most beautiful of all of them and the other reason is because people were saying I look like her,lol … but Beyonce I never really liked her since they came out and I never really knew why either and it’s not hate but I just that I cannot explain it and it was the same for my sister and friends and my sister still do not like her and still don’t know why.
One day while watching on MTV about Beyonce’s life and career, I remember her mum saying that since she was a little girl she struggled making friends because most of the little girls didn’t want to be her friend or play with her. One day while she was at her school, she saw Beyonce standing alone and she(mum) asked one of the little girl if she wanted to play with Beyonce and the little girl refuse and the mum asked her why and she said that she didn’t like her and the mum asked her why again she said because she just didn’t like her, and that’s one the things that reinforce her shyness.
I think she’s just one of those people that the majority of the people dislike without any reason or without knowing why, which is sad for her because she seems to be a nice and kind woman. And I believe that most of the people who dislike her without being able to explain it knows that she’s a very talented, beautiful and kind woman…well, that’s what I think personally but there’s just something about her that just put people off.
Anyway there’s a lot of people that like her as well as they dislike her.
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If she was as fake then as she is now, then it makes total sense that no one wanted to play with her. Insincerity has a way of irritating people.
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I ABSOLUTELY cannot believe she has been picked to play Angela Davis! that is RIDICULOUS!
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For those who discussed the shady family history and the DC fiasco, you are correct. Beyonce is not displaying any more or any less talent than other starlets. Her career will always have a question mark because of how the group ended. There it is.
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I don’t know if she could be called a legend but she is an icon. And I don’t think it’s fair to say she doesn’t share her pain in her music b/c she does. She did a song called “Resentment” , “Smash into you” which I love, “Honesty”, and for crying out loud she did “Ave Maria”, and this other song called “I can’t take no more” where she’s questioning why so many people feel the need to constantly degrade her. She also made a song specifically for her dad. You have to remember also, she is a private person. Can’t fault her for wanting to keep some things in her life under wraps. I feel like the people who are too open are the ones that turn into disaster stories. I don’t think she has the best voice in the world but compared to the mainstream singers out now, she does take the cake with the exception of a few like christina aguilera and J. Hudson. She puts on a great performance and really connects with her fans. As for her acting…eh. She was good in Goldmember and Dreamgirls, a little wishy washy in Cadillac Records but her singing was good.
I think the biggest problem is that people can’t accept that she does a different sound than from when she was in D.C. but can you really fault her??? If you just stick to the same things your whole career, you’re gonna fade off into the background which is what happens to a lot of great singers. I don’t think every song someone puts out has to be serious and heartbreaking. Sometimes you just want to have fun and be silly. I don’t know if any notices the trend but every time a black artist who starts out doing r and b and decides to branch out, they get accused of selling out…..I really don’t get that. She gets accused of trying to be white for having blond hair 0.o seems really stupid to me. But I really like her newest album. The songs are a lot different that what we are used to. Her voice is at its best. She has this great song called “I was Here” and that alone is the reason why I continue to support her.<333333
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She can’t sing as well as rock singers like Jon Bon Jovi and Michael Bolton
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