Beyonce Knowles accepted her Woman of the Year award last Friday (Oct. 2) during Billboard’s annual Women In Music luncheon held at New York’s Pierre Hotel, and after admitting to hating “giving acceptance speeches,” the honoree kept it brief, thanking her family for their unconditional support.
“I can’t believe all of the things I’ve been blessed to do this year, and I know it would not be possible without my family,” she said, looking over to her parents, Matthew and Tina Knowles, her cousin and former assistant, Angie Beyince, and former Destiny’s Child bandmate Michelle Williams. “I’ve been working with my parents since the beginning of Destiny’s Child, when I was nine years old. I am the luckiest young woman in the world to have my parents and that connection and genuine love and people that tell me when I’m wrong and people that always support me and love me unconditionally.”
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Beyonce continued acknowledging how her parents, especially her mother, inspired her career during the interview portion of her appearance, led by radio personality and Oprah’s best friend, Gayle King. “I grew up with my mother being so stylish and always wanting to make women feel good,” she said about Mrs. Knowles. “She owned a hair salon and she could take a curtain and whip up a dress. In ‘Single Ladies,’ she made those black leotards the night before, because I decided that I wanted to wear black leotards. Till this day, she’s like a super woman.”
Coming of age surrounded by strong women has shaped her creative vision, Beyonce continued. “I’ve always tried to write anthems. My niche is empowering other women,” she said. “They look up to you for more than music and songs — it’s the way you live.”
King also probed Beyonce about how her alter ego, Sasha Fierce, came about, if she intended “Single Ladies” to become an anthem and her thoughts on Kanye West storming the stage during this year’s MTV VMAs. “I knew his intentions and that he was standing up for art. But when he walked on stage, I was like, ‘no, no, no!'” said Beyonce. “And then he spoke and I was like, ‘no, no, no!’ But in the end it ended up being a great night — Taylor Swift did get her moment and I didn’t have to make an acceptance speech.”
As for the future, Beyonce revealed her biggest goal yet. “”I really want to win an Oscar,” she said.