Beyonce Interview at Late Show with David Letterman on 22 April 2009.

About Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), often referred to mononymously as Beyoncé, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child. According to Sony, Knowles record sales, when combined with the group, has surpassed 100 million.

During the hiatus of Destiny’s Child, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which became one of the most successful albums of that year, and signaled her viability as a solo artist. The album was a commercial and critical success, spawning the hits “Crazy in Love”, “Baby Boy”, and earning Knowles five Grammy Awards in 2004. The disbanding of Destiny’s Child in 2005 facilitated her continued success: her sophomore solo album, B’Day, released in 2006, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, and produced the hits “Déjà Vu”, “Irreplaceable”, and “Beautiful Liar”. Her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, was released in November 2008, and included the hits “If I Were a Boy”, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, “Halo” and “Sweet Dreams”. Knowles has attained five Hot 100 number one singles, becoming one of the two female artists with the most number ones attained within the 2000s. She is also the female artist with the most cumulative weeks at number one this decade, with 37 total weeks at number one, the most top fives and the most top ten hits this decade with twelve, as well as the most top 40 hits of the decade with 18 top 40 hits.

The success of her solo albums has established Knowles as one of the most marketable artists in the music industry, and she has expanded her career to acting and product endorsement. She began her acting career in 2001, appearing in the musical film Carmen: A Hip Hopera. In 2006, she starred in the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations. Knowles launched her family’s fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004, and has been engaged to endorse such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and L’Oréal. In 2009, Forbes listed Knowles fourth on its list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world, third on its list of the top-grossing musicians, and number one on the list of top Best-Paid Celebs Under 30 with over $87 million dollars in earnings between 2008 and 2009.

Beyoncé’s “Halo” was tight on the Late Show With David Letterman last night, which aired just hours after she called rumors she warbled off-key at the Today show last November “completely ridiculous.” The only snafu came after she stopped singing, when an impressed (and somewhat tongue-tied) Letterman called her album “I Am … Sara Fierce.”

Earlier in the day, the Internet was abuzz over a YouTube clip played on Howard Stern’s show that claimed to be a sound board recording of Sasha Fierce’s live feed while she sang “If I Were a Boy” on NBC’s morning show. The clip sounded doctored — pitches jumped improbably and somewhat randomly — and within hours TMZ had confirmed that a prankster had indeed digitally manipulated the song. Perez Hilton named the culprit as Aladdin82.

While in the interview chair, Beyoncé discussed her seven-month, 115-date world tour, which opens its U.S. leg at New York’s Madison Square Garden on June 21st. She also admitted that she watches her performance at President Obama’s inaugural ball repeatedly, and told a tale about Jay-Z changing “99 Problems” ’s lyrics to “99 Problems … and a Bush ain’t one” for an Obama event where the word “bitch” seemed a bit inappropriate. B also revealed that Destiny’s Child had to turn into a street gang to protect her younger sister, Solange, from a bully and complained that there’s no way to reach her sibling without resorting to Twitter.

About Beyonce:

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), often referred to mononymously as Beyoncé is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, choreographer, video director, actress and model. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the girl group Destiny’s Child. Knowles has sold more than 50 million records worldwide with the group and over 75 million records in her total career.

Her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, was released in November 2008, and included the hits “If I Were a Boy”, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, “Halo” and “Sweet Dreams”. Knowles has attained five Hot 100 number one singles, becoming one of the two female artists with the most number ones attained within the 2000s. She is also the female artist with the most cumulative weeks at number one this decade, with 37 total weeks at number one, the most top fives and the most top ten hits this decade with twelve as well as the most top 40 hits of the decade with 18 top 40 hits.

In 2009, Forbes listed Knowles fourth on its list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world, third on its list of the top-grossing musicians, and number one on the list of top Best-Paid Celebs Under 30 with over $87 million dollars in earnings between 2008 and 2009.

Benyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video won the 2009 BET Awards Video of the Year. In addition, it was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and ultimately won the award for Video of the Year.