It’s the day white people never saw coming: when Beyoncé turned black.
Saturday Night Live (abbreviated as SNL) is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC’s Saturday Night. The show’s comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest (who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast) and features performances by a musical guest.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child, and rose to fame in the late 1990s as lead singer of R&B girl-group Destiny’s Child. Managed by her father, Mathew Knowles, the group became one of the world’s best-selling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of Beyoncé’s debut album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which established her as a solo artist worldwide, earned five Grammy Awards and featured the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles “Crazy in Love” and “Baby Boy“.
A self-described “modern-day feminist“,[9] Beyoncé creates songs that are often characterized by themes of love, relationships, and monogamy, as well as female sexuality and empowerment. On stage, her dynamic, highly choreographed performances have led to critics hailing her as one of the best entertainers in contemporary popular music. Throughout a career spanning 19 years, she has sold over 118 million records as a solo artist,[10][11]and a further 60 million with Destiny’s Child,[12][13] making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[14][15] She has won 20 Grammy Awards and is the most nominated woman in the award’s history. The Recording Industry Association of America recognized her as the Top Certified Artist in America during the 2000s decade.[16][17] In 2009, Billboard named her the Top Radio Songs Artist of the Decade,[18] the Top Female Artist of the 2000s and their Artist of the Millennium in 2011.[19][20] Time listed her among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013 and 2014. Forbes magazine also listed her as the most powerful female musician of 2015.[21]
