Your first huge hit with Destiny's Child – Independent Women – was released in 2000. Have you changed over the past 10 years?
Absolutely, yes. Eighteen years old. I was a baby. When our first single came out I was 15. My lyrics, and my goals, are completely different now. In the beginning, I was so happy to be in a studio and so hungry for us just to sell half a million records. Now I want to create something that I'll be proud of 20, 30, 40 years from now – something that will last beyond me. The things that used to excite me just don't any more. I'm always trying to challenge myself.
You've just come back from China on the latest leg of your tour. They must know who you are there...
Wow. The whole experience was pretty overwhelming. I just didn't expect there to be so many photographers and so much media outside [when I arrived]. It was midnight, and they were really excited. To be able to travel the world, especially to places I never thought I'd be... it's really, you know, still fascinating for me.
It's possibly surprising that for someone who comes out of contemporary R&B and hip-hop, your live shows are incredible.
I really believe that when I perform live, I'm the strongest [that I am]. My hand is in everything – from the styling to the designing of the lights to the set list and all the little segues ways. And all of these things take so much time. For the first five or six months of this tour, I'd watch the show back every night, just to tweak and make things a little tighter. I think there's always room for improvement.
Similarly, your records push the boundaries...
I did a lot of things differently this time with my album. A lot of it was [recorded] live, less production with the vocals, I didn't do as many arrangements... that was with the I Am side. Then with the Sasha Fierce side, I tried to do things that were, sonically, a little more modern and a little more electronic. A little bit. But still mixed in with my drum loops. You know, I feel like the only way I can be around as long as I pray that I can be around is to always push the envelope. And it's really exciting that now people are allowing music to just be music... and R&B and hip-hop artists are collaborating with different types of artists. Hopefully we can just continue to grow and just step outside of hip-hop or rap or rock or whatever and it can all just be good music.
You told Forbes magazine: "I've worked too hard and sacrificed too much to do something silly that would mess up the brand I've created all of these years." What have you sacrificed?
I just sacrificed... life. Being able to walk down the street and being able to make mistakes and not have it recorded for ever... being able to have regular relationships and dates... just regular, normal things that people probably don't even think about. Sometimes it's hard.
I was in Egypt yesterday and visited the pyramids and it was so spiritual and beautiful. But then I had the news cameras and the paparazzi that follow me and.... it's really odd sometimes. I haven't had longer than a couple of months off ever in my life, since I was 15. So it's those type of things. But I was raised that anything that's worth anything takes a lot of sacrifice. And when anything is too easy for me I get scared.
You've always kept quiet about your relationship with Jay-Z. Does it seem strange to you that other stars will share the details of their private lives with the public?
It doesn't seem strange at all. It actually seems like the natural thing to do because you're being yourself and people ask and people are interested... But I never wanted to be famous for my personal life. I wanted to be famous for my music and my talent, and I always wished I could cut it out when I left the stage. And Jay was private before I met him. It was just who we were. Even before we were celebrities.
It must be quite irritating for you that you're not the most powerful African-American couple in the world any more…
That is hilarious. Absolutely not! Thank God for that couple.
You sang for the president and his wife for their first dance at their first inauguration ball. What was that like?
I just can't believe I was part of that moment. Everyone had chills, everyone had tears and you could see everyone's admiration for the president. And my admiration: I could barely sing. I still get chills when I meet them.
It felt like the country was heading down a pretty dark tunnel with the previous president.
I'm just happy for the day! I think so many people are more interested in politics and so many young people feel like they were spoken to and we're all a part of the country. And I think the perception of African-Americans has changed so much.
Just to return to the Forbes quote: what is the Beyoncé brand?
I don't really like to call myself a brand and I don't like to think of myself as a brand. I'm a singer, a songwriter, a musician and a performer. And an actress, and all the other things that I do. When you add it all together, some might call it a brand but that's not my focus. My focus is my art and that's what I love to do. I have to be really passionate in order to do something. I've turned down many things that I just didn't believe in.
What do you think about shows like American Idol which have taken over the airwaves?
I don't watch much television but I've watched those shows and I've cried, I've welled up, I'm like, "Oh my God, I hope they win, I hope they get a chance!" And me being from Houston, Texas, there weren't many outlets for me and for the girls [in Destiny's Child]. But don't they perpetuate an idea that fame is just handed to you?
There's always a new artist that people are fascinated with, and I think becoming famous is not so hard any more but staying... and I don't even like the word famous... staying a celebrity is not so easy, especially now that people have access to celebrities even when they don't want you to. In the end you have to have some kind of talent. When you think about Michael Jackson and Prince, back in the day when they were mysterious... that mystery was attractive and now it's hard to have that.
So what happens next? Is your diary already filled for the next decade?
I usually know what I'm going to do within a year. I have the next year planned out. But for the first time ever, after a couple of dates in February and a couple of award shows, I promised myself that that it's time to smell the roses. I'm going to take – hopefully – a couple of months off. I'm not going to plan anything. I'll perhaps take some art classes, I'll visit some museums and I'll check out some shows on Broadway. I'd like to travel somewhere – maybe back to Egypt – without anyone, without any security, and focus on things I've always wanted to do myself.
Is there anyone left you'd still like to record with?
Oh, where do I begin? There's so many people I'd like to work with still, but I'd like to maybe go outside of the box. My sister [Solange] has put me on to bands like [indie group] Of Montreal and some other different types of artists. I would love to do something like that on my next album.
And starting a dynasty?
I don't know. I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I still have time for myself. I've worked so hard and I need to relax and make sure I'm ready for that and I don't think I am. But knowing I have time off... I don't even know how to feel about that. I'm so excited.
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