136 Fun Facts About Beyonce

Which 2003 album was Beyoncé's solo debut?

Dangerously in Love was nearly shelved: Beyoncé later said label executives told her it didn't have one hit, yet it produced two Hot 100 number ones and won five Grammys.

Which singer dedicated her 2017 Album of the Year Grammy to Beyoncé?

Adele won Album of the Year for 25 over Lemonade, then used her speech to say 'the artist of my life is Beyoncé' and that Lemonade was the album she felt deserved the honour.

Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs to praise the video for which Beyoncé hit?

Single Ladies had just lost Best Female Video to Swift when West took the microphone; it won Video of the Year later that night, and Beyoncé called Swift back out to finish her speech.

Beyoncé portrayed the character of Deena Jones in which musical drama film?

Dreamgirls cast Beyoncé as Deena Jones, a singer modelled on Diana Ross of the Supremes, but it was her co-star Jennifer Hudson, in her first film, who won the Oscar.

Beyoncé broke the Grammy wins record of Georg Solti, who was what?

A conductor and longtime music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti won 31 Grammys; Beyoncé passed him with her 32nd, for a dance album.

Who managed Beyoncé's career from her girl-group days until the two parted ways professionally in 2011?

Her father, Mathew Knowles, left a sales career at Xerox to manage Girl's Tyme and then Destiny's Child; he stopped managing Beyoncé in March 2011.

Beyoncé launched a relief drive for her flooded hometown in 2017 after which hurricane?

Harvey flooded Houston in August 2017; Beyoncé launched BeyGOOD Houston to supply displaced families and came home to host a lunch for survivors at her local church.

Which Destiny's Child bandmate lived with Beyoncé's family as a child?

Kelly Rowland moved in with the Knowles family as a girl; her Nelly duet Dilemma topped the Hot 100 in 2002, a year before Beyoncé's first solo number one.

Beyoncé's 2022 album 'Renaissance' is rooted primarily in which genre?

House music runs through Renaissance, which Beyoncé dedicated to her late Uncle Jonny, the gay relative she credits with first exposing her to the music and culture behind the album.

Which song, featuring Jay-Z, was the lead single from Beyoncé's 2003 debut solo album?

Crazy in Love got its Jay-Z verse late in the sessions: he heard the finished track and worked out his rap in about ten minutes.

Beyoncé voiced a lead character in the 2019 remake of which Disney classic?

The Lion King cast Beyoncé as the adult Nala; she also produced and curated a tie-in album, The Gift, built around African artists such as Wizkid and Burna Boy.

What is the name of Beyoncé's eldest daughter?

Blue Ivy Carter was born on 7 January 2012; within days her cries were heard on Jay-Z's song 'Glory', making her the youngest person ever to appear on a Billboard chart.

In 2018 Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline which American music festival?

Coachella had booked her for 2017, but she postponed on doctors' advice while pregnant with twins; a year later her set, built around a Black college marching band, was nicknamed 'Beychella'.

Which of these is a fashion and athleisure brand founded by Beyoncé?

Ivy Park began in 2016 as a joint venture with Topshop; Beyoncé's company bought out her partner's stake in 2018, and she then relaunched the line with Adidas.

Which music legend joined Beyoncé on stage at the 2008 Grammys, months before her own comeback tour?

Tina Turner, then 68, sang 'Proud Mary' with Beyoncé in her first major appearance in years; that October she began her first tour in nearly a decade.

Which Beyoncé song arrived without warning on her surprise album in December 2013?

Drunk in Love, a duet with Jay-Z, landed with the surprise album in December 2013; six weeks later the couple opened the Grammys with it, their first live performance of the song.

What was Beyoncé's first fragrance, sold with the tagline 'Catch the Fever'?

Heat arrived in February 2010; its steamy television advert was judged too sexy for daytime by Britain's advertising watchdog and banned from showing before the evening.

Which disruption stopped the Super Bowl soon after Beyoncé's 2013 halftime show?

A power outage dimmed the Superdome early in the third quarter and stopped play for 34 minutes, earning Super Bowl XLVII the nickname 'the Blackout Bowl'.

Which Beyoncé song is built on a sample of Major Lazer's 'Pon de Floor'?

Run the World (Girls) rides Major Lazer's 'Pon de Floor'; for its video Beyoncé flew the Mozambican dance group Tofo Tofo to Los Angeles after failing to master their moves from YouTube clips.

Beyoncé's 2006 album, which included hits like 'Irreplaceable' and 'Déjà Vu', is titled what?

B'Day is named for Beyoncé's 25th birthday, which its release in September 2006 was timed to mark; she had made it in recording sessions she kept quiet, during a holiday after a film shoot.

Which 'Renaissance' single, featuring guitar by Chic's Nile Rodgers, won Best R&B Song at the 2023 Grammys?

CUFF IT took the award, accepted on Beyoncé's behalf by Nile Rodgers, who said he asked to play on the song as soon as he heard it and recorded his guitar part in one take.

What is the name of the management and production company Beyoncé founded?

Parkwood Entertainment began as Parkwood Pictures, the film unit through which Beyoncé executive-produced Cadillac Records, before growing into the company that manages her career.

Which 2020 Beyoncé-directed visual album film was a companion to 'The Gift'?

Black Is King reached Disney+ in July 2020 after more than a year in production, with a cast and crew spread across six countries on three continents.

What are the names of Beyoncé's twins, born in June 2017?

Rumi and Sir Carter arrived in June 2017; the Instagram photo announcing the pregnancy drew over six million likes within hours, then the most for any image on the platform.

Beyoncé's surprise 2013 album was first sold exclusively through which digital service?

The iTunes Store had the album to itself for its first week in December 2013; shut out of the launch, Target and Amazon then declined to stock the CD.

Which hit from The Writing's on the Wall won Destiny's Child their first two Grammys in 2001?

Say My Name won Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group; its video introduced two new members miming to a record made with the two they replaced.

In which 2009 film did Beyoncé star opposite Idris Elba and Ali Larter?

Obsessed cast her as a wife whose husband is stalked by an office temp; her attic brawl with Ali Larter won Best Fight at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, and the film opened at number one.

Which 'Lemonade' track features Jack White of The White Stripes?

Don't Hurt Yourself began, Jack White said, when Beyoncé told him 'I wanna be in a band with you'; the track samples Led Zeppelin and earned a Best Rock Performance Grammy nomination.

Which singer-songwriter co-wrote Beyoncé's 10-week No. 1 'Irreplaceable'?

Ne-Yo wrote 'Irreplaceable' in a country style, with Shania Twain or Faith Hill in mind, before it went to Beyoncé and was reworked as the R&B ballad that topped the Hot 100.

Which Beyoncé video casts her as a beauty pageant contestant?

Pretty Hurts opens her 2013 self-titled album with its pageant story; every one of the 14 songs got a video, 17 short films in all, which is why the release was billed as a visual album.

Which track from 'Renaissance' features a prominent sample of Robin S.'s 1993 hit 'Show Me Love'?

BREAK MY SOUL pairs the Robin S. hook with Big Freedia's bounce track 'Explode'; its lines about quitting a job saw it adopted as an anthem of the 'Great Resignation'.

In which 2001 film did Beyoncé make her acting debut?

Carmen: A Hip Hopera was an MTV television film that retold Bizet's 19th-century opera as hip-hop, with Beyoncé in the title role a year before her first cinema release.

What was the title of Beyoncé's 2003 global hit with Sean Paul?

Baby Boy is as much dancehall as R&B, which is why Jamaica's Sean Paul was the guest; it topped the Hot 100 for nine weeks, one more than her first number one.

Which 2014 Beyoncé single came with a home-made video of her dancing around a hotel suite?

7/11 was added to the 2014 Platinum Edition of her self-titled album; its lo-fi clip, shot in a Los Angeles hotel suite, opens with her dancing on the balcony in a 'Kale' sweatshirt.

The leotard routine in Beyoncé's black-and-white 2008 video was inspired by a 1969 TV number by which choreographer?

Bob Fosse created 'Mexican Breakfast' for his wife Gwen Verdon and two other dancers on The Ed Sullivan Show; Beyoncé saw it after a mash-up of the clip went viral online and built her video on it.

Which song did Beyoncé perform at the 2010 Grammys, weaving in Alanis Morissette's 'You Oughta Know'?

If I Were a Boy was her 2010 Grammys number, spliced with Alanis Morissette's 'You Oughta Know'; she won six awards that night, a record for a woman, though Album of the Year went to Taylor Swift.

In which 2002 film did Beyoncé make her theatrical film debut, playing Foxxy Cleopatra?

Austin Powers in Goldmember made Foxxy Cleopatra a send-up of 1970s blaxploitation heroines, her name borrowed from the films Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones.

Destiny's Child's 'Bootylicious' is built on a guitar riff sampled from 'Edge of Seventeen' by which singer?

Stevie Nicks's riff, Beyoncé has said, made her think of a voluptuous woman during a long flight; her co-producer's version is that he reached for it only after failing to find 'Eye of the Tiger'.

Which of these singers is Beyoncé's younger sister?

Solange began as a teenage backup dancer for Destiny's Child and went on to co-write two songs for her sister's second solo album, 'Get Me Bodied' and 'Upgrade U'.

In which historical role did Beyoncé star in the 2008 film 'Cadillac Records'?

Etta James was Beyoncé's role in Cadillac Records; weeks after its release she sang James's signature 'At Last' for the Obamas' first dance at an inaugural ball.

Beyoncé's girl group bowed out with which 2004 studio album?

Destiny Fulfilled came out in November 2004; the following June the trio told a Barcelona audience mid-concert that they would disband when the tour ended.

Which song from Beyoncé's 2006 film musical was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar?

Listen was written for the film with Beyoncé among its four writers, but the Academy's nomination named only the other three, so she was not herself a nominee.

What is Beyoncé and Jay-Z's collaborative album, released as The Carters, called?

Everything Is Love was a surprise: the couple announced it from the stage at a London stop of their On the Run II Tour in June 2018, with no advance word that an album existed.

Beyoncé's 2011 song 'Countdown' samples 'Uhh Ahh' by which R&B group?

Boyz II Men's 1991 single 'Uhh Ahh' is the sample at the heart of 'Countdown', which is why two of the group's members, Nathan and Wanya Morris, share its songwriting credit.

What did Beyoncé sing at Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013, a performance later dogged by lip-syncing claims?

The Star-Spangled Banner was her piece; days later she admitted singing along to a pre-recorded track, then sang it live for reporters at her Super Bowl press conference.

Beyoncé's 'Flawless' samples the TEDx talk 'We Should All Be Feminists' by which Nigerian writer?

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave the talk at TEDxEuston in London in 2012; published as a book in 2014, it was later given to every 16-year-old student in Sweden.

What was the name of Beyoncé's 2013-14 world tour?

The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour took its title from her married name, Jay-Z having been born Shawn Carter; it opened in Belgrade in April 2013 and ran for 132 shows.

Seven-year-old Beyoncé won a school talent show singing which famous ballad?

Imagine, John Lennon's 1971 ballad, beat rivals of fifteen and sixteen; she has said the win was the moment she knew she wanted to be a singer.

Beyoncé's childhood group Girl's Tyme lost on which TV talent show?

Girl's Tyme lost on Star Search to a rock band called Skeleton Crew; Beyoncé later blamed the song choice and opened her 2013 track 'Flawless' with a clip of the defeat.

The name Destiny's Child was drawn from a passage in which book of the Bible?

Isaiah is the book where Tina Knowles found the word 'destiny' when she turned to her Bible for a name in 1996; her husband Mathew then added 'Child'.

Destiny's Child's first release was on the soundtrack of which Will Smith film?

Men in Black's soundtrack came out in summer 1997 on Columbia, their new label, and carried the group's song 'Killing Time'; the album topped the Billboard 200 months before their debut single 'No, No, No'.

Which 2002 Jay-Z single marked his first collaboration with Beyoncé?

'03 Bonnie & Clyde, released in October 2002, cast Beyoncé as Jay-Z's girlfriend in its video; it was the first public hint of their romance and set off years of rumours.

Whose halftime wardrobe malfunction overshadowed the 2004 Super Bowl, where Beyoncé sang before kickoff?

Janet Jackson's halftime duet with Justin Timberlake ended in the 'wardrobe malfunction' that overshadowed Super Bowl XXXVIII and brought the broadcaster an indecency fine.

Beyoncé's 2003 duet 'The Closer I Get to You' paired her with which singer?

Luther Vandross and Beyoncé won a Grammy for the cover in 2004; Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's 1978 original had been nominated too, but lost to the Bee Gees.

Beyoncé played pop star Xania in which 2006 Steve Martin comedy?

The Pink Panther makes her Xania the girlfriend of a murdered football coach whose diamond ring vanishes; 'Check on It', recorded for the film, topped the Hot 100 for five weeks.

Which singer joined Beyoncé on the 2007 single "Beautiful Liar"?

Shakira never shared a studio with Beyoncé for 'Beautiful Liar': it was first recorded as a solo track, and she added her vocals months later from a different studio.

Beyoncé's birthday, Jay-Z's birthday and their wedding share which day of the month?

The 4th: she was born on September 4, he on December 4, and they married on April 4, 2008; she called the number special when she named her fourth album after it.

Beyoncé's first name comes from her mother's what?

Her mother's maiden name was Beyoncé: Tina Knowles, born Celestine Beyoncé in Galveston, says a clerical error left her spelling one letter different from her relatives' Beyincé.

Beyoncé's ten nominations at the 2010 Grammys tied the women's single-year record set in 1999 by which singer?

Lauryn Hill earned ten nominations in 1999 and won five, then the most for a woman in one night; in 2010 Beyoncé tied the first record and broke the second by winning six.

Beyoncé guested on which Lady Gaga single in 2010?

Telephone was first written by Gaga for Britney Spears, who recorded only a demo; Gaga then cut it with Beyoncé, and its video picks up where 'Paparazzi' left off.

In 2011 Beyoncé was the first solo woman in over 20 years to headline which festival?

Glastonbury gave her its Sunday-night Pyramid Stage slot in June 2011, three years after her husband Jay-Z's headline booking there set off a row over whether hip-hop belonged at the festival.

Beyoncé revealed her first pregnancy at the 2011 MTV VMAs after performing which song?

Love On Top ended with Beyoncé revealing her pregnancy on stage; MTV said the moment helped the show draw 12.4 million viewers, then the biggest audience in the network's history.

Where was Beyoncé's first child born in January 2012?

New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital was the birthplace on 7 January 2012; two days later Jay-Z released Glory, a song that closes on the newborn's cries.

Beyoncé's 2013 documentary Life Is But a Dream premiered on which network?

HBO aired it in February 2013; Beyoncé co-directed the film herself, mixing concert footage with private video diaries recorded on her laptop.

Beyoncé voiced Queen Tara, ruler of a hidden forest world, in which 2013 animated film?

Epic, from Blue Sky Studios, shrinks a teenager into Queen Tara's forest kingdom; Beyoncé also co-wrote its closing song 'Rise Up' with Sia.

Beyoncé and André 3000 covered Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" for which 2013 film?

The Great Gatsby (2013) soundtrack, executive produced by Jay-Z for Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the Fitzgerald novel, included their 'Back to Black' cover.

The 2016 album Lemonade first streamed exclusively on which service?

Tidal, the streaming service Jay-Z bought in 2015, had Lemonade to itself from 23 April 2016; the album did not reach rival streaming platforms until exactly three years later.

The spoken interludes in the Lemonade film adapt poetry by which young London writer?

Warsan Shire was London's first Young Poet Laureate; once the film aired, weekly sales of her 2011 pamphlet Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth soared.

Beyoncé performed "Daddy Lessons" at the 2016 CMA Awards with which group?

The Dixie Chicks, renamed The Chicks in 2020, joined Beyoncé for 'Daddy Lessons' at the November 2016 CMA Awards; the country-flavored Lemonade track drew backlash from some country fans.

Beyoncé announced the Formation World Tour in an ad aired after guesting with which band at the 2016 Super Bowl?

Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show; Beyoncé's guest spot was Formation, released only the day before, danced with a troupe in Black Panther-style berets.

Which single from the Carters' 2018 joint album has a video filmed inside the Louvre?

Apeshit was the album's only single; the Louvre credited the video with helping it draw a record 10.2 million visitors in 2018.

Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé was released in April 2019 on which streaming service?

Netflix released Homecoming on 17 April 2019, the same day a surprise live album dropped; the film went on to earn six Emmy nominations.

Beyoncé's first Oscar nomination came for "Be Alive", written for which 2021 film?

King Richard tells the story of Venus and Serena Williams's father; Beyoncé performed 'Be Alive' from a Compton tennis court during the 2022 ceremony.

Beyoncé's seventh solo Hot 100 No. 1 was a 2020 remix of a song by which rapper?

Megan Thee Stallion's 'Savage' remix with Beyoncé topped the Hot 100 in May 2020; proceeds went to Bread of Life Houston's COVID-19 relief efforts.

Which dance-era icon guests alongside Tems on the Renaissance track "Move"?

Grace Jones, a star of the 1970s New York club scene that Renaissance salutes, was 74 when she appeared on 'Move' with the Nigerian singer Tems.

Renaissance closes by interpolating "I Feel Love" by which disco star?

Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love', the 1977 Giorgio Moroder production often cited as a blueprint for electronic dance music, is interpolated in the closing track 'Summer Renaissance'.

The Renaissance cover recalls Bianca Jagger on horseback at which nightclub?

Studio 54 is where Jagger was photographed on a white horse on her birthday, though she insists she never rode it in; fans named Beyoncé's mirrored steed 'Reneigh'.

Beyoncé's invitation-only comeback concert in January 2023 took place in which city?

Dubai's Atlantis The Royal resort hosted her first full concert in over four years, for invited influencers and journalists; fans criticised it because homosexuality is illegal in the United Arab Emirates.

The 56-show Renaissance World Tour opened in May 2023 in which city?

Danske Bank economists even blamed the Stockholm opener for a bump in Swedish inflation as fans flooded hotels.

Beyoncé announced 'Texas Hold 'Em' at the end of a 2024 Super Bowl ad for which company?

Verizon's ad paired her with actor Tony Hale and ended with her saying 'drop the new music'; the single appeared, with a second, while the game was still on.

"Texas Hold 'Em" made Beyoncé the first Black woman to top which Billboard chart?

Hot Country Songs had never had a Black woman at number one; days earlier an Oklahoma country station's refusal of a listener's request for the song had set off hundreds of protest calls and emails.

Rhiannon Giddens plays which instrument on 'Texas Hold 'Em', one whose African roots she has long championed?

Banjo, whose early forms were made by people of the African diaspora, is Giddens's cause as a musician and scholar; she also plays viola on the track.

Cowboy Carter's fictional radio station has DJs Dolly Parton, Linda Martell and which Texas-born country legend, then 90?

Willie Nelson hosts the 'Smoke Hour' interludes on the album's station KNTRY; fellow DJ Linda Martell, a Black country pioneer signed in 1969, earned her first Grammy nomination through the record.

Cowboy Carter includes a reworked cover of which Dolly Parton song?

'Jolene' on Cowboy Carter rewrites Parton's plea as a warning; Parton had spent years publicly hoping Beyoncé would cover it and introduces the track in a spoken interlude.

"Blackbiird" on Cowboy Carter covers a 1968 song by which band?

The Beatles' Paul McCartney has said 'Blackbird' was inspired by the US civil rights struggle; Beyoncé sang it with four Black women country singers over the instrumental from his original recording.

"II Most Wanted" from Cowboy Carter is a duet with which singer?

Miley Cyrus offered Beyoncé two songs for the album; Beyoncé chose one called 'Shotgun Rider' and renamed it 'II Most Wanted', and the duet went on to win a country Grammy.

Cowboy Carter made Beyoncé the first Black artist to win which Grammy category?

Best Country Album went to Cowboy Carter at the 2025 Grammys, where Beyoncé also won Album of the Year at last, after four earlier nominations in that category had come to nothing.

Scaptia beyonceae, a species named after Beyoncé, is what kind of insect?

A horse-fly from Queensland, it was first collected in 1981, the year Beyoncé was born; researcher Bryan Lessard named it for the dense golden hairs on its abdomen.

Which rapper used 'bootylicious' on a 1992 Dr. Dre track, years before the Destiny's Child hit?

Snoop Dogg used the word on 'Dre Day' to mock a rival's weak rhymes; the 2001 Destiny's Child hit made its admiring sense famous, and the Oxford English Dictionary later took it in.

Cécred, the brand Beyoncé launched in February 2024, sells what kind of products?

Cécred is a hair care line Beyoncé spent six years developing; she traces it to her first job, sweeping up hair in her mother Tina's salon.

Beyoncé gave her Cadillac Records salary to Phoenix House, a charity she visited while researching her role, which treats what?

Drug addiction is Phoenix House's field; Beyoncé met women in treatment there to prepare for playing a singer who battled heroin, then funded a cosmetology training centre at its Brooklyn site.

Which Beyoncé song did Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign adopt as its official anthem?

Freedom, the Lemonade track featuring Kendrick Lamar, became the campaign's official song after Beyoncé, who endorsed Harris, gave her permission to use it.

Beyoncé's vocal range is usually classified as what?

Mezzo-soprano is the usual label; critic Jody Rosen credits the hip-hop era with shaping her rhythmic, rap-like phrasing, while her ballads, gospel runs and falsetto show a traditionalist streak.

Destiny's Child's "Independent Women Part I" was the theme song for which 2000 film?

Charlie's Angels had 'Independent Women Part I' as its lead soundtrack single; it is the only single to feature Farrah Franklin, who had left the group before its release, and it spent 11 weeks at number one.

Beyoncé's 2023 Renaissance concert film bypassed the Hollywood studios in a direct deal with which cinema chain?

AMC Theatres distributed the film itself, the model it had used weeks earlier for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour film, cutting out a traditional distributor and leaving the artists a larger share.

Which songwriter and producer wrote 'Halo' with Evan Bogart?

Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic wrote 'Halo' with Evan Bogart and produced it with Beyoncé; Kelly Clarkson later accused him of reusing its arrangement on her own single 'Already Gone'.

In 'Formation', Beyoncé's shout-out to which seafood chain was followed by a reported 33% jump in its sales?

Red Lobster was tweeted about more than 42,000 times in the first hour after the song appeared, and it trended for the first time in the chain's history.

In 'Formation', which condiment does Beyoncé boast of carrying in her bag, a habit Hillary Clinton later claimed too?

Hot sauce became a common refrain after the song's release and inspired a wave of fan-made merchandise. Clinton brought it up in a radio interview during her 2016 presidential campaign.

Which tennis champion makes a dancing cameo in the black-and-white video for Beyoncé's Lemonade track 'Sorry'?

Serena Williams twerks through a Southern mansion in the clip, which one reviewer summed up as a raucous ladies' night.

Which woman's name does Beyoncé give her husband's supposed mistress in a much-quoted line of Lemonade's 'Sorry'?

Becky set off an online hunt for a real-life mistress, and one critic credited that one lyric with breaking the internet.

On 'Formation', Beyoncé laughs off a conspiracy theory that credits her success to which supposed secret society?

The Illuminati rumour gets brushed aside before she turns to celebrating self-made Black businesswomen, in a song she performed at the Super Bowl one day after releasing it.

Which rapper guests on Beyoncé's album Lemonade and joined her to open the 2016 BET Awards?

Kendrick Lamar performed his verse in an on-stage pool of water, stomping through it beside her and her dancers.

Which Canadian singer joins Beyoncé on '6 Inch', Lemonade's ode to a hard-working woman in heels?

The Weeknd sings over a sample of Isaac Hayes's 1969 version of 'Walk On By', which put Burt Bacharach and Hal David in the writing credits.

Beyoncé's album title Lemonade echoes a line from a party speech by which relative of Jay-Z?

His grandmother, Hattie White, said it at her own 90th birthday party in 2015, and Beyoncé placed the recording near the end of the album.

In the Lemonade film, Beyoncé's collaboration with Jack White breaks for a speech excerpt from which 1960s Black leader?

Malcolm X is heard in a passage from his speech 'Who Taught You to Hate Yourself', set against the hardest rock track on the album.

Beyoncé's 'Hold Up' on Lemonade reworks the chorus of 'Maps', a song by which American indie rock band?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs earned a writing credit because Ezra Koenig had once tweeted a rewording of their chorus, then built a demo around it with Diplo.

Which Destiny's Child hit did Beyoncé write after a radio station joked about members leaving the group?

Survivor took its title from the reality show the station compared the group to, after three members had gone. Much of it was written on a flight between tour dates.

Which 1999 single, with a video set in a hair salon, gave Destiny's Child their first Hot 100 number one?

Bills, Bills, Bills knocked Jennifer Lopez's debut single off the top of the chart, five weeks after entering at number 84.

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter track 'Ya Ya' borrows from 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'', a 1966 hit for which singer?

Nancy Sinatra welcomed the nod, writing that having a little piece of her record in the track meant a great deal because she loves the younger star.

Beyoncé's 2013 love song 'XO' was criticised for opening with audio recorded moments after which American disaster?

Challenger explosion audio runs for six seconds at the start, and NASA said the 1986 accident should never be trivialised. Beyoncé replied that it was meant as a tribute to the crew.

Beyoncé cut a snippet of the 2003 hit 'Milkshake' from her song 'Energy' after which singer complained?

Kelis called the borrowing a theft because nobody had warned her, even though her old producers the Neptunes hold the writing credit. She later said she was happy with the removal.

Beyoncé's 2022 track 'Alien Superstar' borrows the cadence of 'I'm Too Sexy', a 1991 hit for which British group?

Right Said Fred said they were grateful for the credit, and its writers together own a bigger share of the track than any other one writer.

Which Beyoncé ballad by Diane Warren did she perform in the United Nations General Assembly Hall in 2012?

I Was Here was filmed before a live audience for World Humanitarian Day, with images of aid volunteers projected on the screen behind her.

The horn blast on Beyoncé's 2003 debut solo single with Jay-Z is sampled from a 1970 song by which soul group?

The Chi-Lites recorded 'Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)', and the sample earned their singer Eugene Record a writing credit on a number-one hit.

The French monologue closing Beyoncé's 2013 song 'Partition' comes from the French dub of which Coen brothers film?

The Big Lebowski supplied a speech first delivered in English by Julianne Moore, in what one critic called maybe the wildest moment on the album.

Beyoncé's 2017 photo announcing that she was expecting twins set a record for likes on which social platform?

Instagram users gave the maternity portrait more than 6.3 million likes within a few hours, the most for any image on the app at the time.

Which 2019 Beyoncé song features her eldest daughter and won the Grammy for Best Music Video?

Brown Skin Girl won in 2021, and Guinness World Records named the child the youngest individually credited winner in Grammy history.

Leaked lift footage in 2014 showed Beyoncé's sister lashing out at Jay-Z after which annual celebrity event?

The Met Gala after-party was at the Standard hotel in Manhattan, and TMZ published the security video days later.

Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles, born in Galveston, traces her family's roots to which other Southern state?

Louisiana Creole ancestry on Tina's side blends African, French, Irish and Native American roots; Beyoncé's father's family comes from Alabama.

Which fashion line did Beyoncé launch with her mother, Tina Knowles, in the mid-2000s?

House of Deréon honoured Tina's mother, Agnéz Deréon, whose 1940s wardrobe inspired its beaded lace, lush colours and retro pencil skirts.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z posed in ski masks on the poster for their first joint stadium tour, which went by what name?

On the Run took its outlaw theme from the couple's earlier collaborations, and Live Nation said it came together in about a month where most stadium tours take a year.

Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's dad, spent ten years selling medical equipment for which office-technology company?

Xerox hired him after he moved to Houston in 1976, five years before his famous daughter was born in the city.

Which Jay-Z song, released two days after Beyoncé gave birth to their first child, features the baby's cries?

Glory made the newborn the youngest person ever credited on a Billboard-charting track, a feat recognised by Guinness World Records.

Beyoncé's younger sister won her first Grammy in 2017, for Best R&B Performance, with which song?

Cranes in the Sky came from A Seat at the Table, the chart-topper that made the pair the first sisters with US number-one albums in the same year.

Which Pretty Little Liars actress became Beyoncé's stepsister in 2015, when her actor dad married Tina Knowles?

Bianca Lawson is also a great-niece of Motown founder Berry Gordy; the marriage that linked the two families ended in divorce in 2024.

Which pop star replaced one of Beyoncé's backup dancers in a 2008 Saturday Night Live spoof of 'Single Ladies'?

Justin Timberlake talked a reluctant Beyoncé into the sketch with a visit to her dressing room, then danced alongside Andy Samberg and Bobby Moynihan.

On which TV series does a school football team perform Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' routine in the middle of a game?

Glee had Kurt pass the dance off to his dad as a football drill; Heather Morris, who played Brittany, had been one of Beyoncé's real backup dancers for the song.

Which cartoon girl group, voiced by Anna Faris and Amy Poehler, covered Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' in a 2009 film?

The Chipettes sang it in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, the sequel that added the trio to the live-action films a year after the song came out.

Which veteran entertainer makes a cameo performing Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' in the 2010 film Sex and the City 2?

Liza Minnelli sang it in her cameo alongside a Cole Porter standard, in a sequel that critics otherwise savaged.

Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' won three Grammys in 2010, including which of the ceremony's four general-field awards?

Song of the Year was one of six Grammys she took home that night, then the most ever won in a single evening by a female artist.

The idea for Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' came to its co-writer shortly after which private 2008 event in her life?

Her secret wedding to Jay-Z that April went unannounced, and a producer recalled her slipping off the ring during recording to keep it quiet.

Which futuristic accessory, designed by her jeweller Lorraine Schwartz, does Beyoncé wear in the 'Single Ladies' video?

A titanium glove built in several pieces, including a ring and an upper-arm section, made its first public appearance at an awards ceremony in November 2008.

Which co-writer of Rihanna's 'Umbrella' also co-wrote and co-produced Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies'?

The-Dream, born Terius Nash, kept writing with her for years, with later credits that include 'Partition' in 2013.

Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' video popularised which lead-and-follow dance style born in a Mississippi college dance line?

J-Setting began with the all-female dance line of a Mississippi university in the 1970s and spread through Black gay clubs across the South.

The brass on 'All Night', near the end of Beyoncé's Lemonade, is sampled from a song by which Atlanta rap act?

OutKast's 'SpottieOttieDopaliscious' supplied the brass line for a track one critic called a rare pop ode to long-term monogamy.

Beyoncé surprise-released 'Black Parade' in 2020 on which holiday, which originated in her home state of Texas?

Juneteenth was marking its 155th anniversary that day, and all proceeds from the track went to her fund for Black-owned small businesses.