Jay-Z's leading lady garnered nominations for Best Female R&B Artist, Best Female Actress (for her roles in Obsessed and Cadillac Records), the Viewers' Choice Award and a pair of nods for Best Video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and “If I Were a Boy,” tying with T.I., who also scored five nominations but won't make the awards show as he is serving a 366-day prison sentence on weapons charges. Just behind Beyonce and T.I. with four nominations apiece are T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Keri Hilson, who racked up the most nominations for a new artist.
Beyonce's I Am…Sasha Fierce Tour kicked off at New York's Madison Square Garden on June 21, and thanks to a rare break in her busy schedule she was able to work in a performance at the BET Awards. The tour is in support of Beyonce's 2008 solo album of the same name, which is her third solo album since launching a solo career while still part of Destiny's Child in the early 2000s.
The perennial diva formed Destiny's Child while still in high school in her native Houston, Texas, and as the group stripped down its lineup to include Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams and secured fame due to hit singles like “Say My Name” and “Bug a Boo,” Beyonce emerged as the unofficial frontwoman of the girl-powered group. Just after Destiny's Child released its sophomore album Survivor in 2000, Beyonce landed her first acting role in the sequel to Austin Powers, also contributing her first solo song, “Work It Out,” to the soundtrack.
Once the seed for a solo career was planted, it was only a matter of time before Beyonce would truly branch out on her own, and that time came in 2003, when she released her debut solo album Dangerously in Love. The album arrived on the heels of her hit duet with Jay-Z, “03 Bonnie & Clyde,” and also included another chart-topping single in the form of “Baby Boy,” a duet with Sean Paul. After earning five Grammys for Dangerously in Love, Beyonce and Destiny's Child finished off their career as a group in style with the aptly titled 2004 album Destiny Fulfilled, which spawned hits “Soldier” and “Lose My Breath.”
After two big screen roles in Dreamgirls and The Black Panther, Beyonce released her sophomore solo album, B'Day. The hits continued on Beyonce's second solo effort, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and she didn't falter on her third tryout either. Beyonce will be on the road on her I Am … Sasha Fierce Tour throughout the summer, so check online for Beyonce tickets to see the five-time BET Awards nominee live!
