Beyoncé

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and businesswoman. Regarded as one of the most influential cultural figures in history and the greatest artist of the 21st century by several publications,}} Beyoncé has been credited with transforming both the sound of popular music and the music industry itself through her artistic innovations.}} She is renowned for her expert vocal ability and live performances, with ''Rolling Stone'' naming her the world's greatest living entertainer and one of the greatest vocalists of all time. Her work is widely considered to be amongst the greatest 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. The group's hiatus saw the release of Beyoncé's debut album, ''Dangerously in Love'' (2003), which solidified her as a cultural icon and became one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. She then followed up with the funk-infused ''B'Day'' (2006), pop-leaning double-disc ''I Am... Sasha Fierce'' (2008), and R&B-soul record ''4'' (2011). These albums spawned several ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits, including "Crazy in Love", "Baby Boy", "Irreplaceable", "Check On It", "Beautiful Liar", "If I Were a Boy", "Halo", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Run The World (Girls)" and "Love On Top".

Beyoncé's career shifted as she formed her own management company Parkwood Entertainment, creating cultural events through critically and commercially successful avant-garde projects. She released electro-R&B ''Beyoncé'' (2013) and multi-genre ''Lemonade'' (2016), which are credited with the invention of the surprise album and visual album, the change of Global Release Day to Friday, and the popularization of sociocultural movements such as fourth-wave feminism and Black Lives Matter. Her subsequent trilogy project, currently consisting of Black queer-inspired dance album ''Renaissance'' (2022) and Americana-country album ''Cowboy Carter'' (2024), is credited with raising awareness for the overlooked contributions of Black pioneers to American musical and cultural history. She is the only female artist to have all of her eight solo studio albums debut at number one on the ''Billboard 200''.

Beyoncé's collaborative music ventures include ''Everything Is Love'' (2018), an album with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, released as the Carters, and the musical film ''Black Is King'' (2020), inspired by the music of the film soundtrack ''The Lion King: The Gift'' (2019). Self-directed concert films, include ''Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé'' (2019) and ''Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé'' (2023). Outside of music, she has starred as an actress in films such as ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002), ''The Pink Panther'' (2006), ''Dreamgirls'' (2006), ''Cadillac Records'' (2008), ''Obsessed'' (2009), and ''The Lion King'' (2019).

Having sold 200 million records worldwide, Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her accolades include a record high 32 Grammy Awards and a Peabody Award. She also has won 24 NAACP Image Awards, 35 BET Awards, and 17 Soul Train Music Awards – all of which are more than any other artist. Her success during the 2000s earned her recognition as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)'s Top Certified Artist of the Decade and ''Billboard'' 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. Provided by Wikipedia