Beyonce Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), commonly known as Beyonce , is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she 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 R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the best-selling girl group of all time.In June 2003, after a series of commercial successes with the group, Beyonc released her debut solo album, Dangerously In Love.The album became one of the most successful albums of that year, spawning the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy", and earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004. "If I Were a Boy" is a song by American R&B singer Beyonc Knowles. It was written by Toby Gad and BC Jean and produced by Gad and Knowles for her third solo album, I Am Sasha Fierce (2008). Alongside "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", the song was released as the album's lead single to U.S. radios on October 8, 2008. The CD single was released November 11, 2008. The song topped 11 charts worldwide, mostly in.