Beyonce tells fans 'her special purpose'

THE flick of her weave was pure Diana Ross, the strut and her phenomenal pins every inch Tina Turner, but last night Beyonce Knowles - and her stage alter ego Sasha Fierce - made Acer Arena her own.
The moment the wind machine caught her first curl and the spotlight turned her crystal-corsetted body into a human disco ball, it was clear the world's best female performer was in the house,

Telling the Sydney crowd her "special purpose was to empower women", there wasn't a single lady, or married one for that matter, who was not entirely on board the Beyonce soul train.

The all-woman band somehow kept pace with this force of nature who swept on stage to Crazy in Love and almost three hours later - seemingly without drawing breath - left the audience panting and spent.

The fashion icon changed into one incredible costume after another - from a Mad Max look that would have had Mel Gibson on his knees, to an angelic wedding dress for a rendition of Ave Maria guaranteed to have raised the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

All the single ladies loved her tortured torch song mixed with samples of Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know and Sarah McLachlan's Arms of an Angel.

The single blokes appeared to squirm in their seats and on to their feet for Irreplaceable as Beyonce put every bloke with an ego and a mistress in his place with her staggering self confidence and sheer strength of personality.

And that booty? That just had a life of its own, coming alive for Bootylicious and Single Ladies.

Whether crumping, sweeping across the stage in towering heels, or simply standing still, Beyonce was dynamite, blasting the benchmark for concert performers forever. Good luck trying to follow that act whoever you are.

First Aussie review of Beyonce at Rod Laver Arena

HER sold-out first Aussie gig on this year's tour displayed plenty of Beyonce - from emotionally charged balladeer to fabric-dodging sexpot.

Beyonce is backed by an all-female band, Suga Mama, who shoehorn in the impressive amount of hits she's enjoyed between her solo career and the band that launched her, Destiny's Child.
Beyonce is one of the only true superstars this decade has thrown up - and while she still hasn't made a truly amazing album (but plenty of truly amazing singles), it's in the live arena she really shines.
Her arsenal of hits is strong enough to withstand opening with the stroke of genius that is Crazy in Love. From there her excitable fans (including Katie Holmes and daughter Suri in industrial-strength earphones) were shown remarkable diversity.
Beyonce went from hard-edged R&B (Diva, Check On It) to soft-centered ballads (the stunning Smash Into You and Irreplaceable) with bite-size covers of hits by fellow independent women Sarah McLachlan (Angel) and Alanis Morissette (a G-rated You Oughta Know).
''I believe I'm here to empower all the ladies out there,'' Beyonce told the mainly female audience who nearly combusted during womanthem Single Ladies, re-creating MTV's video of the year.
Like her heroes (and there was a Michael Jackson tribute) , Beyonce is an old-fashioned all-singing, all-dancing, all-round entertainer.
And like her creative contemporaries Pink and Lady Gaga, she continues to elevate the form of live pop concerts.

Beyonce Knowles hits Melbourne in record time

COULD Beyonce be the world's busiest globetrotting pop star?

The jet-setting Bootylicious singer jumped world-time zones to land at Melbourne Airport, only hours before Beyoncewas due to hit the stage at Rod Laver Arena for the first concert of her Australian I Am tour.

Not one to miss a show, the song-and-dance queen boarded a private plane to Australia from New York, just an hour after performing her hit song Single Ladies and receiving the coveted best video of the year prize at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony on Monday.

Living up to her "Queen B" status,Beyonce literally wore her heart on her sleeve with hip-hop husband Jay Z's name scrawled across her chest in a tight fitting t-shirt as she looked fresh and fit for the cameras and strutted through the airport yesterday afternoon in knee-high, black stiletto boots and dark sunglasses.

Quivering with excitement, Hanna Abdallah, 20, of Diamond Creek said he was crazy in love and dying to meet his "queen".

Abdullah spent $1400 to meet and greet Beyonce at last night's concert and said he spent over $2000 this year on Beyonce merchandise.

He said the Government's stimulus package had meant he could afford to buy the best ticket.

Her sold out Rod Laver Arena show last night displayed plenty of other sides of Beyonce - from emotionally-charged balladeer to fabric-dodging sexpot.

As with her last Australian tour, Beyonce is backed by an all-female band - Suga Mama - who shoehorn in the impressive amount of hits she's enjoyed between her solo career and the band that launched her, Destiny's Child.

Beyonce is one of the only true superstars this decade has thrown up - and while she still hasn't made a truly amazing album (but plenty of truly amazing singles) - it's in the live arena she really shines.

Her arsenal of hits is strong enough to withstand opening with the stroke of genius that is Crazy in Love. From there her excitable fans (including Katie Holmes and daughter Suri in industrial-strength earphones) were shown remarkable diversity.

Beyonce went from hard-edged R&B (Diva, Check On It) to soft-centered ballads (the stunning Smash Into You and Irreplacable) with bite-size covers of hits by fellow independent women Sarah McLachlan (Angel) and Alanis Morissette (a G-rated You Oughta Know).

''I believe I'm here to empower all the ladies out there,'' Beyonce told the mainly female audience who nearly combusted during womanthem Single Ladies - recreating MTV's video of the year.

Like her heroes (and there was a Michael Jackson tribute) , Beyonce is an old-fashioned all-singing, all-dancing, all-round entertainer.

And like her creative contemporaries Pink and Lady Gaga she continues to elevate the form of live pop concerts.

Beyonce-Success In Her First Solo Album

The success of her solo albums has established Beyoncé as one of the most marketable artists in the music industry, and she has expanded her career to acting and product endorsement.Beyoncé began her acting career in 2001, appearing in the musical film Carmen: A Hip Hopera. In 2006, Beyoncé starred in the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations. Beyoncé 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 Beyoncé 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.

Beyonce-The Early Days

Beyoncé is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, choreographer, video director, actress and model. Beyoncé was born and raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé 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.

In June 2003, during the hiatus of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, 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 Beyoncé 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 "Deja Vu", "Irreplaceable", and "Beautiful Liar". Beyoncé 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". Beyoncé has attained five Hot 100 number one singles, becoming one of the two female artists with the most number ones attained within the 2000s. Beyoncé 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 17 top 40 hits.