Got me lookin' so crazy right now
Got me hoping you page me right now
SuperBowl halftime shows ain't what they used to be.
Beyoncé Knowles got her start in show biz at the age of seven, when she entered and won a talent show, besting much older performers.
She joined an all-girl singing and dancing group called Girl's Tyme shortly thereafter. Beyoncé's father -- a Xerox salesman -- quit his job in 1995 to manage the group, which had been renamed Destiny's Child.
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| Beyoncé with her father, Matthew Knowles |
His decision cut the family's income in half and forced his wife and him to move into separate apartments, but it paid off in spades: Destiny's Child became one of the biggest-selling groups in history. (Their third album, Survivor, has sold over ten million copies.)
Destiny's Child went on hiatus in 2001, and Beyoncé became the group's third member to release a solo album. Dangerously in Love debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart and has sold almost five million copies to date.
"Crazy in Love" was the first single from that album. It made it to #1 on the Billboard "Hot 100" and four other Billboard charts. It was also a #1 hit in the UK and made it to the top ten in Canada, Australia, and virtually every major country in Europe -- with the exception of France. (What exactly is your problem, France?)
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| Beyoncé and Jay-Z (a/k/a "Beauty and the Beast") |
"Crazy in Love" was described by the critics as "deliriously catchy" and a "stunning pop masterpiece." According to Beyoncé, Jay-Z was a last-minute addition to the track.
"Crazy in Love" was another one of those classic moments in pop culture that none of us expected. I asked Jay to get on the song the night before I had to turn my album in -- thank God he did. It still never gets old, no matter how many times I sing it.
As everyone knows, Jay-Z and Beyoncé got married in 2008. They are without a doubt the most successful couple in the music industry -- each is a huge star.
But Beyoncé is much, much more than a recording artist. She's a movie star (Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dreamgirls, Obsessed), has a fashion line, and endorses world-class brands (like L'Oréal, Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vizio). In 2010, Forbes magazine ranked her #2 on its list of the "100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the World" (trailing only Oprah).
But Beyoncé is much, much more than a recording artist. She's a movie star (Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dreamgirls, Obsessed), has a fashion line, and endorses world-class brands (like L'Oréal, Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vizio). In 2010, Forbes magazine ranked her #2 on its list of the "100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the World" (trailing only Oprah).
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| The pregnant Beyoncé Knowles |
Beyoncé gave birth to a daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, on January 7, 2012. Barely one year later, she is headlining the SuperBowl XLVII halftime show. Don't be surprised if Jay-Z shows up to help her perform "Crazy in Love."
If he does show up, he probably came in on the couple's $40 million Bombadier Challenger 850 business jet, a $40 million Father's Day present from Beyoncé to Jay-Z.
The Challenger 850 is a business-jet variant of Bombadier's CRJ200 regional jet, which seats 50 passengers. The 850 is usually configured to seat 15 to 19 passengers -- it must have excellent legroom -- and has a cruising speed of 500 mph and a maximum range of over 5000 miles.
The Challenger 850 is a business-jet variant of Bombadier's CRJ200 regional jet, which seats 50 passengers. The 850 is usually configured to seat 15 to 19 passengers -- it must have excellent legroom -- and has a cruising speed of 500 mph and a maximum range of over 5000 miles.
Here's the award-winning music video for "Crazy in Love." In the words of one newspaper reviewer, Beyoncé "shakes every inch of her famously photogenic goddess frame" in the video. (You can say that again.)
Click here to buy "Crazy in Love":
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Back a few years when the Who were the Super Bowl headliners, I thought it was good that the NE Patriots weren't in the game--their namesakes fought against a real "British Invasion". It reminded me of the time we visited England, and I went to the Border Regiments military museum in Carlisle. One display case showed relics from 1775 to 1780 when some of the Regiments were sent to "North America to deal with rebellious colonists." Hey! That's US!
ReplyDeleteI got into a discussion with the wife of one of the members at my home railway museum. She happened to like Beyonce's version of "At Last". I corrected her, saying "Beyonce borrows it, but Etta James OWNS it!" (Just like Evie owns "I Can't Let Go.") And Evie can capture my attention without dressing in a "gownless evening strap".