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Beyoncé Knowles (1981-) is an R&B singer, actress, and model. She started off in the girl group Destiny's Child, and soon became the Face of the Band.
In 2002, she started a solo career (mostly collaborations with rappers but without the other girls), and got her first big hit a year later, "Crazy in Love", with a rap by her future husband, Jay-Z. Since then, she's become one of the true icons of pop and R&B - every one of her solo studio albums has at least gone platinum, and she's been one of the rare artists to achieve #1 singles on the Pop, R&B and Country charts.
Discography:
- Dangerously in Love (2003)
- B'Day (2006)
- I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008)
- 4 (2011)
- Beyonce (2013)
- Lemonade (2016)
- Renaissance (2022)
- Cowboy Carter (2024)
Selected Filmography
- Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001) — Carmen
- Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) — Foxxy Cleopatra
- The Fighting Temptations (2003) — Lilly
- The Pink Panther (2004) — Xaina
- Dreamgirls (2006) — Deena Jones
- Cadillac Records (2008) — Etta James
- Obsessed (2009) — Sharon Charles
Beyonce provides examples of the following tropes:
- Absolute Cleavage: She get's quite a lot of mileage out of this trope in her videos, such as the one for Deja Vu.
- Alter Ego Acting: Sasha Fierce...or could be a demon possessing her, according to some people.
- Battle Couple: Her and Jay-Z.
- But Not Too Black: Often cited as a reason for her success. Nevertheless, she is uncompromising in her support for Black causes, and a noted philanthropist to boot.
- Cover Version: Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's "The Closer I Get to You" with Luther Vandross, Rose Royce's "Wishing on a Star," Etta James' "At Last". And Samantha Sang's "Emotion" while she was with Destiny's Child. To say nothing of her songs that have sampled other artists' work, including Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" (on "Naughty Girl") and Andy Williams' "Can't Get Used to Losing You" (on "Hold Up").
- Dark-Skinned Blond: Even though her hair is naturally dark, this has become something of a signature look for her.
- Dream Team: With Lady Gaga.
- And Shakira.
- And Miley Cyrus.
- Distinct Double Album: I Am...Sasha Fierce. The I Am... disc being filled with introspective ballads and Sasha Fierce seeing Beyonce's signature R&B/Pop style complete with a new persona, Sasha Fierce.
- Fan Disservice: Not from her, of course. But NFL star Warren Sapp once imitated her famous "booty dance" during a TD celebration. 300+ pound Defensive Tackle Warren Sapp.
- Fairytale Wedding Dress: Although her actual wedding dress is a secret, she's worn a couple for performances. One for a video, and this one with a feather-trimmed skirt for the 2009 BET awards.
- Genre Shift: The song Diva was more hip-hop/rap orientated than her usual pop/R and B style. 2024's Cowboy Carter was even more of a stylistic departure, pivoting toward country.
- Hot Mom: To Blue Ivy Carter, her daughter.
- Melismatic Vocals: This and her vibrato's make it easier to note her on the radio
- Mood Whiplash: Not really with her music, but more with her videos, with her first solo album, most of her videos were rather fast-paced, elaborate, bright, and colorful (Look at "Crazy in Love.") Now, she's done a lot of video that are very simple (usually her and a couple of dancers in black and white ("Single Ladies.")
- Mind Screw: Run The World (Girls). Okay, it's a pop song, but there's no structure in the song whatsoever.
- Ms. Fanservice: Oh boy, she's the first musician to be on a cover of Sports Illustrated.
- New Sound Album: Cowboy Carter. The artist herself was quick to point out that it was not a pure country album, but it gave her a #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart with "Texas Hold 'Em" and a Grammy for Best Country Album, making her the first Black woman to achieve either feat.
- Actually this wasn't her first brush with the world of country, as Reba McEntire had earlier covered "If I Were a Boy."
- Pretty in Mink: Has worn loads of furs, and even her promise to stop to please PETA was short-lived.
- Real Life Relative: Has done several songs with her husband Jay-Z, on both her albums and his.
- Signature Song: "Crazy In Love", as of late it's become "Single Ladies".
- Soundtrack Dissonance: All of her music being "Girl Power" anthems or having a "Men Suck, we're not just pieces of meat" theme, combined with Three Minutes of Writhing in tiny outfits on her videos.
- Also, when you hear a song called "Single Ladies" coming from Beyonce, your first thought is probably a song about the joys of being single like "Independent Women," not a song that basically says "MARRY ME, DAMMIT!"
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: See Face of the Band and taken Up to Eleven at the 2011 vmas.
- Outrun the Fireball: At the end of the music video for Diva. Complete with Unflinching Walk.
- Three Minutes of Writhing: The video for "Single Ladies" is pretty much this.
- The Unfair Sex: "If I Were a Boy" falls hard into this territory, enough so that R. Kelly made a remix of the song, adding in his own verses from the male perspective.
- Whole Costume Reference: The outfit and hair cut from Countdown are based on Audrey Hepburn's most famous outfit from the film Funny Face.
- Urban Legend: There is a very persistent one that her pregnancy was fake and she actually had a surrogate. People were convinced after a video of her on an Australian talk show showed her stomach supposedly "folding". This theory ignores the fact that she would have no reason to hide having a surrogate.
- Zettai Ryouiki