By Bisola Bello
Singer, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, turned 34 on Friday, September 4. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as lead singer of R&B girl-group Destiny’s Child.
A self-described modern-day feminist, Beyoncé creates songs that are often characterised by themes of love, relationships, and monogamy, as well as female sexuality and empowerment. On stage, her dynamic, highly choreographed performances have led to critics hailing her as one of the best entertainers in contemporary popular music.
Throughout a career spanning 18 years, she has sold over 118 million records as a solo artist and a further 60 million with Destiny’s Child, making her one of the highest selling artistes of all time.
Married to hip-hop mogul, Jay-Z, the two are blessed with a daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. The Houston native has managed to ‘break the internet’ with her extraordinary appeal more than once. Here are five ways she has done so.
- The unretouched photos
Beyoncé supposed unretouched photos caused a stir that some are yet to get over from. Over 200 pictures, allegedly of Beyoncé from her 2013 L’Oréal shoot, were released online by TheBeyonceWorld.com — and then quickly removed after fans became angered over her “untouched” look. The Twitter and Insta-verse were in turmoil. Leave it to Queen Bey to cause controversy over pictures.
- 7/11 video
Beyoncé released a unique, three and a half minute selfie video that appends a 15-word song which is undoubtedly a club hit. Within 24 hours, Beyoncé’s ‘7/11’ has garnered upward of 20,000,000 views on YouTube, which is impressive but not unpredictable when considering the star’s clout.
- Her Surprise album release
In December 2013, Queen Bey posted an Instagram video with the caption “Surprise!” announcing a new “visual” album featuring 14 songs and 17 videos. This move raised so much buzz that even co-artistes posted their surprise on social media immediately. Only Beyoncé can make such a power move.
- Flawless ft Chimamanda
Beyoncé is a known feminist and she showed the world her true thoughts when she released ‘Flawless’ featuring Nigeria’s Chimamanda. The video knocked out all other songs and climbed the chart faster than one could say meow.
- Her September Vogue cover
The pop queen covered the most coveted issue of Vogue in a fab way. Beyoncé made history by becoming the first black female musician to cover the September issue of the magazine and also the third black woman ever to do so (following Naomi Campbell in 1989 and Halle Berry in 2010). That was not her first time on the magazine cover though. Beyoncé previously covered the magazine’s March 2013 and April 2009 issues. But the September cover is the one to die for.
