Beyonce performing in her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour 2013. Source: Supplied
THERE is a reflective moment in Beyonce's show where the superstar muses: "I've done everything I wanted, and it was more than I thought it would be.
She adds: "I will leave my mark so everyone will know I was here."
Indeed, Beyonce's spectacular concert, The Mrs Carter Show, has left an indelible impression on Melbourne with two standout performances so far, and the finale tonight.
But her aspirational words, whispered near the end of the concert after a dizzying two hours of hits, pixie dust, choreography, confetti and flames, underscores a $450 million empire, and the business of being Beyonce.
At 32, Beyonce Knowles is a global brand and one of the world's most powerful women. US President Barack Obama described her as a role model for his daughters.
Beyonce's portfolio includes music, publishing, touring, perfume, a fashion line and big money-making endorsements with corporate giants including Pepsi, H & M, and L'Oreal.
Forbes Magazine started tracking her wealth five years ago, and she has regularly featured in the upper reaches of its celebrity rich list. She was No. 4 in the latest rankings by the magazine.
Beyonce and her husband rapper Shawn "Jay Z" Carter have also been acknowledged as the music industry's first billion-dollar couple.
"I'm never satisfied," Beyonce said in an interview with Forbes. "I'm sure sometimes it's not easy working for me."
She added: "But I've never met anyone that works harder than me in my industry."
Beyonce Inc reportedly has 400 people who work for her, or her enterprises.
But make no mistake.
Beyonce is in total control, whether it's centre stage at her Mrs Carter Show, to corporate boardrooms, to an apparent photo shoot outside a derelict house in Brunswick.
She collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger on two fragrances, promoted an Emporio Armani scent, and launched her own perfume Heat in 2010, then another, Heat Rush, in 2011, and another Pulse, later that same year.
"She had a dream, she envisioned it," Gail Mitchell, of Billboard Magazine, told CNN earlier this year. "Hard work, determination, and this is the result."
But, ever the forward planner, with a strong view of her music and image, Beyonce let go of her father as manager in 2011.
"It was hard for me to let her go - it was hard for both of us to let each other go," Matthew Knowles told The Sun newspaper. "This was not a normal ending of a business agreement. it was incredibly painful."
But Beyonce's output since the split - a tougher musical direction and bold scale of The Mrs Carter Show, suggests she wants a future beyond the safe soul parameters of her early solo work.
This new level of control extends to her own image. Beyonce has banned press photography at her latest tour. The clampdown came after websites ran unflattering shots from her show at the Super Bowl in February.
THE MRS CARTER WORLD TOUR
90 production staff
11 band members
9 dancers
2 choreographers
14 assistant choreographers
4 creative assistants
107 shows worldwide
23 songs in the set
$60 million in box office receipts so far
02 Nov, 2013
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Source: http://news.com.au.feedsportal.com/c/34564/f/632590/s/32e898c3/sc/1/l/0L0Snews0N0Bau0Centertainment0Cmusic0Cbeyonce0Einc0Epops0Emost0Epowerful0Ewoman0Cstory0Ee6frfn0A90E12267470A430A780Dfrom0Fpublic0Irss/story01.htm
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