About Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is known for her music, song-writing, dancing, and strong feminist beliefs. Her influential thoughts and beliefs throughout the years have impacted many around the whole world. From this she incorporates her stance and viewpoint in life into her music enhancing the message even more.

Beyoncé was born on September 4, 1981, the oldest among her siblings; Solange, her half- siblings: Nixon and Koi, and her stepsister, Bianca. The singer had spent her childhood in Houston, Texas creating the lyrics for one of her most iconic songs, "Houston Texas Baby.

" As a child, she had begun to sing at the age of 6 and had fell in love with performing and music ever since then. Continuing with this, to further enhance her connection and grasp of the performing arts, Beyoncé's mother, Tina, had signed her up for dance classes when she was 7 years old, and at that age she had performed for the first time in front of a crowd (Taraborrelli, 18). Beyoncé had often been bullied as a child, so in order to build up her confidence and self-esteem again, she sang and performed in order to feel self- accepted (Pointer, 33). From henceforth, at the age of 7, Beyoncé had competed and won in many pageants and contests, further developing her presence as both a powerful figure and performer.

Beyoncé had first started to become widely acknowledged and gained critical fame through the R&B group, Destiny's child. The group was first started when two ladies; Deborah and Denise wanted to form an all-girls group. Both Deborah and Denise were informed to go watch Beyoncé's performance at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, quickly grabbing their attention and leading them to make Beyoncé their first acquisition to the all-female group (Taraborrelli,38). After that, Beyoncé's had auditioned with two other girls she had never met before, Staci LaToison and Jennifer Young. The group had trained and practiced together, with Beyoncé singing lead, in preparation for their first performance together at the Hobart Taylor Hall at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View (Taraborrelli,40). The group then continued to perform at various other venues including AstroWorld.

As she had such major personal success at such a young age, Beyoncé left Destiny's Child in pursuit of her own individual career, leading to the group's addition of the singers Kelendria Rowland (Kelly), Ashley Davis, rapper LaTavia, and dancers Nina and Nicki, as well as the group's rebranding as Girl Tyme (Taraborrelli, 45).

As her life was succeeding at such a young age, Beyoncé's original group had left leading to the addition of the singers; Kelendria Rowland (Kelly), and Ashley Davis, the rapper; LaTavia, and dancers Nina and Nicki. From here on, the group was known as Girl Tyme (Taraborrelli, 83). Although, Beyoncé was accomplishing her goals as a singer and performer, her education was often under looked. School was not a top priority to either her or her parents, who tried to find schools that did not require a lot of effort. Beyoncé was struggling in school not only academically, but socially as well; she often did not socialize with other students or individuals at school aside from those in her music group. Not only was Beyoncé struggling in school, but her social life was very bland in school as well with her having no friends except for her musical group ( Pointer, 78).Through this it had led her to drop out of school during 9th grade, therefore she was homeschooled from then on so she could focus more of her time on her music career .

Next another chapter in Beyoncé's life had started. This had included performing on the show with her group, Star Search. From here the performance had consisted of everyone but her coming and harmonizing at wrong times leading to the loss of Girl Tyme. The loss had damaged the group by not getting any record deals and ruining their girl group. Due to this, Beyoncé's dad had devoted all his time to Girl Tyme in order for his daughter's dreams to come true. As a result of her dad's nature, he had drove Ashley out of the group, but having a girl named LaToya Luckett replace her (Taraborrelli, 111).

Later Girl Tyme had gotten a record deal, but only wanting four of the girls resulting in Nina and Nicki leaving. The group had now changed their name to "Destiny" and then to "Destiny's Child" after receiving a contract from Columbia/Sony. On July 1, 1997, the group had released their first song, "Killing Time" and then "No No No" on November 11th. Soon after the release of "No No No" it was number 3 on the Billboard's hot 100. Through this it had then led to their first album release on February 17, 1998 reaching number 4 on the Billboard 200 album pop chart (Taraborrelli, 145). After their first album was released they had went on tour. From here the preparation of their second album had started with Beyoncé starting and learning to write her own music. their second album, 'The Writing's on the Wall" had become a huge success with it being number six on the Billboard 200 chart. From this album, the song "Say My Name" had received two Grammy awards and made their second album even more famous, leaving them to go on tour again after their second launch of an album (Taraborrelli, 159).

Although, the group was glorified with success, the drama within was hurting them. Kelly and Beyoncé were always separate from LaToya and LaTavia, dividing the group in half. This was due to the fact that Beyoncé had more attention and superiority over the other girls, because Beyoncé father was in charge and always came to his daughters needs and not the others. As a result of this drift, LaToya and LaTavia had left a letter right before the shooting of the music video, "Say My Name." This had just left Kelly and Beyoncé to shoot the video, leading Beyoncé to go in a state of depression (Pointer, 129). During her state of depression, her and Kelly were forced to perform as a duet, and due to her mental state at the time, Beyoncé was always half- absent on stage. At the beginning of 2000, LaToya and LaTavia had sent a disaffirmation letter, because they had not technically left the group yet, only taking a break until their needs were meant. From this letter, they had expressed that they were mad that Beyoncé and Kelly had appeared on stage as Destiny's Child without them affecting Beyoncé's mental state more by angering her. From this it had concluded of LaToya and LaTavia leaving Destiny's Child (Pointer, 148).

As LaToya and LaTavia had left Destiny's Child the music video of "Say My Name" still needed to be done. In order for this to happen the girls had to be replaced and after searching they Tenitra (Michelle) and Farrah were found. Later after their tour in England, problems with Farrah had occurred making her want to leave the group. When going to interviews, Farrah would not show up, leading the other girls to cover up for her tell the interviewer she was "ill."From here, the group was going on tour to Australia, with Farrah not showing up, leading to Beyoncé to finally snap and lash out on her (Taraborrelli, 201). After six months of Farrah being with the group, Destiny's child she had left.

In January of 2002, the third album of Destiny's Child, "Survivor" was almost over. When it was released in May, it was number one on the Billboard top 200 for twenty- eight weeks. In this album, it had consisted of the song, "Bootylicious" that involved female empowerment, which had ended up being the most popular song in the album (Pointer, 168). Through this it had marked the first song of hers that expressed how she feels and her views on certain things. In this case, the song had left the opinion of accepting your body like it is. Going along with this, in the song "Survivor," it had implemented the message of not giving up. Not only did this album allow Beyoncé to lyrically write her point of view, but it also led her to writing most of the songs. As the third album was released, the group had gone on a world tour. The tour had consisted of; Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, England, and Ireland, which were all sold out. This tour had led Beyoncé closer to the rapper, Jay Z. Along, with this it had gave her a new interest in Jay Z, her now husband. Not only did sparks fly, but later she released her first solo album, Dangerously in Love.

Although, Beyoncé was still in Destiny's child she had released her solo album, B'Day on September 4, 2006. One of the songs in her album, "Irreplaceable" had hit number one on the Billboard hot 100 chart for 10 weeks and had become the bestselling single in the U.S. of 2007(Pointer, 201). The song "Irreplaceable" was also another song Beyoncé had used to express her thoughts about what females should in a certain circumstance. The lyrics, "To the left, to the left, everything you own in a box to the left," became a lyric many women had remembered when feeling vulnerable, it had gave a message that led females to feel empowered especially through a breakup. It allowed females to know that no man is a permanent. In addition to this, throughout all her songs in this album from, "Déj? vu," "Ring the Alarm," "Get Me Bodied," and "Green Light," the theme had involved a very feminist point of view (Taraborrelli, 331).

After the end to their Destiny Fulfilled... And Lovin It tour, the group had broken up after nearly fifteen years together. This lead them to pursue their individual efforts and goals fulfilling their dreams alongside supporting each other as they move on. They continued to achieve careers in movies, music, theater or in TV. After the breakup, Beyoncé continued to make music and released her third album "I am Sasha Fierce" on November 12, 2008 (Pointer, 251). In her album, "I am Sasha Fierce," her song "Single Ladies" had gave the message for females that they should not feel bad about themselves and should embrace their own selves instead of feeling inferior to a male. Along with this the album also conveys the importance of embracing all of oneself. The album was tilted, " I am Sasha Fierce," because Beyoncé was illustrating her two sides of herself the one that performs on stage and the one that lives in a regular life. From this, it was a way for Beyoncé to cope with the side that she did not appreciate as much as the other. She also took over the big screen and starred in Dreamgirls with Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx. In the same year, Beyoncé married the rapper Jay- Z with a small ceremony in New York City. (Taraborrelli, 391). After being newlywed, the couple had yet worked diligently than before composing two hit singles "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies." In her song, "If I Were a Boy," let her message through that about the separation of males and females and how if she were a male she would be one to where she would do it right, because she knows how it feels to be hurt. The following year, Beyoncé had the honor of singing "At Last" for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at his inaugural ball (Taraborrelli, 363). Through the next few months, Beyoncé had also released a clothing line with her mother called House of Dereon. In addition, she introduced her fragrance, Heat, in 2010. Due to her hardworking and dedicated capabilities, she had the privilege of being a spokesperson and models for various brands, including Tommy Hilfiger (Pointer, 321).

Apart from all these accomplishments in the industry, Beyoncé has played a major role in being an iconic female star that influences her fans and speaks for many. Through many accounts, it has been known that women aspire to be like Beyoncé. Her success, ethics, and glamour make any female want to be like her. Although music is the foundation for her success, Beyoncé has shown knowledge in business, family, and feminist movements.

Beyoncé is currently the founder and CEO of her own record label and production company. Consequently, her personal earnings are more than double her husband's, Jay-Z. By earning her own wealth through her own business shows that anything is possible if one is dedicated. Although she earns more than her husband, their net worth and success have earned them to be "dubbed [as] Barack and Michelle Obama of pop culture" (Knight, 2015). Furthermore, they have had the opportunity to meet Prince William and Kate Middleton as well creating a worldwide connection. With an outreach to many countries like London, the business model for Beyoncé is limitless. Her music can be heard everywhere allowing her to be the role model she is.

In addition to successful earnings and branding herself, Beyoncé has a strong belief in equality of sexes. To further add to her achievements, "Forbes declared Beyoncé to be the world's most powerful celebrity" due to her gender equality and influential charity, #BeyGood Project (Knight, 2015). She believes in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes and hopes that her organization can be the foundation to push for an equal society. With the project and platform to voice her influential opinion, Beyoncé has changed the way the female society views the world. On International Women's Day, her project reminded people how despite the progress, females still remain as the majority of the world's unhealthy, unfed, and unpaid (Knight, 2015). In order to change that statement, Beyoncé has consistently used her concert set-ups, connections, and personal earnings to foresee a change. Her adamant actions have provoked other celebrities to speak up about feminism showing that a change must occur. By standing up for the female society with her high platform, Beyoncé has and will continue to be a role model for those wanting a change.

From success to iconic movements, Beyoncé does it all. Her characteristics include activism, art, entrepreneurship, and family. She has a limitless potential making fans and followers question what she can't do. Beyoncé has leveraged her music by expressing her feminist views, used her earning to make a difference, and has carried values that make her an all-around icon.

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