Beyoncé

Beyoncé blamed for inflation surprise in Sweden

The start of the singer's world tour in Sweden last month sparked such a frenzy of demand for hotels and restaurant meals that it has shown up in the country's economic statistics.

Sweden reported higher-than-expected inflation of 9.7% in May.

Rising prices for hotels and restaurants were behind the surprise.

Michael Grahn, economist at Danske Bank, said he thought Beyoncé helped drive the jump in hotel rates. She may also have been the force behind the unexpectedly strong uptick in recreation and culture prices, he said.

Tina Turner: Beyoncé, Mick Jagger and Elton John honour 'total legend'

Beyoncé said she was the "epitome of passion and power", while Sir Mick Jagger called her a "wonderful friend" and "enormously talented" performer.

Turner was also praised by Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey as a "survivor" who overcame years of domestic abuse.

The Obamas praised her for "singing her truth through joy and pain".

They were joined by current US President Joe Biden, who noted that Turner had started life as a farmer's daughter and hailed her "once-in-a-generation talent".

Beyoncé tour: UK fans snap up tickets despite Ticketmaster glitches

The pop superstar is playing stadium shows in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Sunderland and London in May and June.

Some users had problems with the Ticketmaster website, while others said they were kicked out of the queue, which in some cases was 500,000 strong.

Three more London dates were added on Tuesday "due to high fan demand".

A Ticketmaster spokesperson said: "We experienced and successfully handled an extraordinary level of demand and traffic today for Beyoncé.

Beyoncé ticket rush begins as pre-sale opens for UK tour dates

O2 customers were the first to have access at 10:00 GMT, but some reported problems with its app and website.

Those who did manage to purchase tickets reported prices ranging from £56 to £199, with VIP "on stage" seats at a wallet-busting £1,950 to £2,390.

There will be further pre-sales on Friday and Monday.

Tickets for the pop superstar's five UK stadium shows in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Sunderland and London will then go on general sale on Tuesday.

The UK concerts are part of a 43-date world tour in support of her Grammy-nominated Renaissance album.

Beyoncé's Renaissance debuts at number one

The album outsold its nearest competition by three-to-one to reach the summit, said the Official Charts.

It follows the star's previous chart-toppers, Dangerously in Love (2003), 4 (2011) and Lemonade (2016). She also made number one as part of Destiny's Child on the 2001 album, Survivor.

Renaissance was also the week's biggest-seller on vinyl.

The album has also topped the charts in Australia, Ireland and France, and is predicted to have the biggest opening week of the year in the US.

Beyoncé to re-record offensive Renaissance lyric

The song Heated, which was released on Friday, contained a derogatory term that has often been used to demean people with spastic cerebral palsy.

The star's publicist told the BBC the word, which can have different connotations in the US, was "not used intentionally in a harmful way".

It "will be replaced in the lyrics", they added, without giving a timescale.

The backlash came just a couple of weeks after US pop star Lizzo apologised for using the same word in her song GRRRLS.

Beyoncé, Drake and the revival of 90s house music

The foundation of her new sound actually dates back to the diva house movement of the 1990s, with its deep grooves, soaring melodies and insistent four-four beats.

She even shares the writing credits with Allen George and Fred McFarlane, composers of the timeless house classic Show Me Love for Robin S.

Weirdly, Break My Soul neither samples nor quotes their song. It simply uses the same bass sound, a preset on the infamous Korg M1 keyboard. But Beyoncé has always been careful to acknowledge the black creators who have influenced her.

Beyoncé announces her first album in six years, Renaissance

It will be the follow-up to 2016's Lemonade, a meditation on black identity and marital infidelity that topped multiple end-of-year lists.

Fans had been waiting for the news ever since Beyoncé deleted her social media profile pictures last week.

She put them out of their misery on Thursday morning, by sharing the words "act i … RENAISSANCE" on her accounts.

Streaming sites including Spotify and Apple Music swiftly posted artwork for the record, offering fans the chance to pre-save the release.

Beyoncé and Taylor Swift make history

The star is now the most-awarded woman in Grammys history, overtaking bluegrass singer Alison Krauss.

"I am so honoured, I'm so excited," she said while accepting her record-breaking trophy, for best R&B performance.

Taylor Swift also made history at Sunday's ceremony, by becoming the first female artist ever to win album of the year three times.

The star was rewarded for her lockdown album Folklore - after previously winning with Fearless in 2010 and the pop opus 1989 in 2016.

Why Nigerian protesters want Beyoncé to be more like Rihanna

But protesters hit out when Beyoncé spoke up. Why?

Protesters against police brutality say that on Tuesday night in Lagos men in army fatigues closed in on them and shot at them while they sang the national anthem, something the army denies as "fake news".

The irony struck a chord across the world. South African comedian Trevor Noah said: "Just like we've seen in the US, the police in Nigeria are responding to protests about police brutality with more police brutality.

A host of international A-list of celebrities showed their support for protesters.