We look back on Queen B's impressive run before she hits the stage on Sunday.
By Jocelyn Vena, with additional reporting by Rebecca Thomas
Beyoncé performs at the 2009 VMAs
Photo: Getty Images
Beyoncé is not only up for three Moonmen at the 2011 Video Music Awards, she's also slated to storm the VMA stage live on Sunday night. But she's certainly no stranger to the big show.
The Queen B was still with her Destiny's Child girls — Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams — when she shared a win for Best R&B Video back in 2000. The group would go on to rack up 10 nominations and two statues over the course of their career.
By 2003, though, Beyoncé had gone solo, quickly proving she was a force to be reckoned with. And it was her performance at that year's awards ceremony that helped launch one of the most impressive VMA careers in the show's illustrious history. With just a day to go till B hits the stage, we're looking back on some of her most memorable moments!
2003
B released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June, and she kicked things off with a bang by performing the first two singles from the record. Hitting the VMA stage upside down, B sang her Sean Paul collabo "Baby Boy," before Jay-Z joined her onstage for her breakthrough hit "Crazy in Love."
She went home that night with three out of four possible wins: Best Female Video, Best R&B Video and Best Choreography for her "Crazy in Love" clip. "I have to thank my foundation, Destiny's Child," B said when she accepted one of the Moonmen. "If it wasn't for Kelly and Michelle, I wouldn't be here."
2004
While she didn't perform when the VMAs traveled to Miami for the show's 20th anniversary, Beyoncé once again landed a slew of nominations (five to be exact), including multiple nods for her sultry "Naughty Girl" and one for the dramatic "Me, Myself and I" video. "Naughty Girl" pulled out on top, giving her one VMA that year for Best Female Video.
B had a special date that night too: then-rumored boyfriend Jay-Z got a rare public shout-out from the singer when she closed her BFV acceptance speech by saying, "What up, Jay?"
2006
With sirens blaring, Beyoncé hit the stage wearing a trench coat over a black leather leotard for a frantic performance of "Ring the Alarm." Midway through her set, a group of officers rush the stage, apparently to take her into custody, but B and her trench coat-wearing dancers just kept it moving for a fiercely choreographed breakdown.
Officially released in October, "Ring the Alarm" was the second single from her second solo album, B'Day, and didn't qualify for that year's noms. But she still managed to take home some hardware. "Wow! I wasn't expecting this," she said, accepting the Best R&B Video award for the "Pink Panther"-themed "Check on It," featuring Slim Thug.
2007
The VMAs were all about trying new categories, including Female Artist of the Year, Quadruple Threat of the Year and Most Earth Shattering Collaboration. Beyoncé got nods for the first two categories, and she shared the Earth-Shattering Collaboration Moonman with Shakira for their "Beautiful Liar" duet.
But that wasn't all. Beyoncé competed in two other categories: Best Choreography and Best Editing. And while she was also up for Video of the Year for "Irreplaceable," she lost to Jay-Z and his then up-and-coming protégé Rihanna for "Umbrella."
2009
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" earned Beyoncé nine nods and three wins. Backed by an army of female backup dancers, she performed the massive hit, dancing the Bob Fosse-inspired routine that inspired all those YouTube tribute videos.
Of course, who could forget how she inadvertently got caught up in the Kanye West/ Taylor Swift incident, after Kanye interrupted the teen singer onstage to declare that B's video was more deserving of Best Female Video than Swift's "You Belong With Me."
Beyoncé decided to right that wrong, however, when she accepted her Video of the Year award for "Single Ladies." The star asked Swift to come back to the stage and finish her acceptance speech for Best Female Video. "I remember being 17 years old, up for my first MTV award with Destiny's Child, and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life, so I would like for Taylor to come out and have her moment," B said.
2010
Queen B had done two collabos with Lady Gaga — her own "Video Phone" and Gaga's "Telephone" — and both were up for a number of awards. While B's Hype Williams-directed video nabbed five noms, including Best Female Video, it failed to win any hardware. However, the thrice-nominated "Telephone" grabbed a Moonman for Best Collaboration.
Will Beyoncé take home a few more Moonmen this year? Will she have fans buzzing after yet another eye-popping performance? All will be answered on Sunday when the VMAs kick off at 9 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following the Selena Gomez-hosted pre-show at 8. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for Best New Artist by visiting VMA.MTV.com.
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