Beyoncé

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( bee-ON -say; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and businesswoman. An influential cultural figure, she has been credited with transforming the sound of popular music with her vocal ability and live performances. Billboard ranked her as the greatest pop star of the 21st century and Rolling Stone named her the one of the greatest vocalists of all time.As a child, Beyoncé began performing through various singing and dancing competitions. She debuted in the late 1990s and rose to fame as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. She released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which became one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. Her commercial success continued with the albums B'Day (2006), I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), and 4 (2011), which all spawned the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 hits "Crazy in Love", "Baby Boy", "Irreplaceable", "Check On It", "If I Were a Boy", "Halo", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Run The World (Girls)" and "Love On Top".After forming her own management company Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé released acclaimed concept albums Beyoncé (2013) and Lemonade (2016), which explored themes of feminism, womanism and racial inequality. The albums are credited with popularizing surprise albums and visual albums, with the former being credited with changing Global Release Day to Friday. Her ongoing trilogy project currently consisting of dance album Renaissance (2022) and country-Americana album Cowboy Carter (2024) ― has highlighted the contributions of Black pioneers to American musical and cultural history, spawning the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Break My Soul" and "Texas Hold 'Em". Her albums are noted for creating monocultural events, with all of her albums debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, as the only female artist to do so.Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold 200 million records worldwide. Her accolades include the most Grammy Awards (32), NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards and Soul Train Music Awards for any artist. She was repeatedly named artist of the decade for both the 2000s and 2010s, including recognition as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)'s Top Certified Artist of the Decade and Pollstar' s Touring Artist of the Decade. She is the only artist to top 23 different Billboard charts simultaneously. She is a ubiquitous figure within popular culture and has influenced various other artists.