Beyonce Knowles posing as her alter-ego Sasha Fierce

Meet Sasha Fierce or, as she is more commonly known, diva Beyoncé Knowles.

These sultry shots see the singer transformed into her on-stage alter ego in a series of dramatic outfits, including a gold metal tops and matching cyborg-style glove.

The photographs have been released to promote the American R'n'B star's third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce.
Alter-ego: Beyonce Knowles posing as her alter-ego Sasha Fierce, who she describes as aggressive, strong and sexually confident

In true diva-style, and in a concerted bid to build upon her iconic status, Beyoncé has now insisted to be known as Sasha Fierce when she performs.

In one image, in which Beyonce is depicted as Sasha Fierce, she shows off her flexibility as she pulls her patent super-high heeled stiletto boots towards her head.

While Beyonce prefers the au naturel look, Sasha Fierce goes for big hair, dramatic clothing and lashing of eyeliner everytime.

In a recent interview with V Magazine, the 27-year-old explained that she has long felt like a totally different person on stage, hence the name change.

She said: 'When I'm onstage I'm aggressive and strong and not afraid of my sexuality. The tone of my voice gets different, and I'm fearless. I'm just a different person.

'It's a way for me to differentiate what I do onstage from who I really am - It's a way for me to not lose myself, to keep my life in perspective, because it's really hard sometimes to stay on earth when you're a celebrity.
Flexible: Beyonce as Sasha Fierce strikes a complicated pose in super-high 'point heels' and her favourite new accessory - a cyborg metallic glove

'There's so much going on, and so many people give you whatever you want and say everything you do is great.'

Beyonce has often discussed her stage persona, previously known as simply just 'Sasha', over the years, but the singer is now bringing her to the fore and making the alter-ego more prominent than ever.

The 17-track double-disco album, which was released in the UK on Monday, has already entered the Japanese International Album Chart at number one following an earlier release date.

It comes as the singer prepares for a huge 110-date world tour starting next year. She is destined to hit London's 02 Arena in May, where she will perform tracks from the album including If I Were A Boy and Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).

On Sunday she is set to appear at the American Music Awards.
Curvylicious: A gothic looking Beyoncé dressed in a slinky figure-hugging jersey gown to host the cover party for Gotham Magazine in New York on Tuesday night
Other singers set to perform at the 36th annual event includes Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Kanye West, Jonas Brothers, Alicia Keys, and Rihanna.

On Tuesday night, the star hosted Gotham Magazine's annual gala in New York.

The Bootylicious singer donned a black form-fitting Rock & Republic turtleneck gown with her hair pulled back.

Meanwhile the singer has volunteered to unleash her alter ego at the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama.

She said: 'I know I'll definitely be there [at the swearing in]. I want to be there to witness it.'

As for performing, she added, 'Of course I'd love to. Who wouldn't?'

Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce strikes a pose for V Magazine

She's known as the sexy, strong, fierce singer famous for her stylish outfits and curvy figure.

But Beyoncé sheds her tough outer skin to reveal a softer side in a new interview as she begins the exhaustive preparations for her 110-date tour starting next year.

'When I'm onstage I'm aggressive and strong and not afraid of my sexuality. The tone of my voice gets different, and I'm fearless. I'm just a different person'.
Beyoncé strikes a pose for V Magazine as she talks about her image: 'It's really hard to stay on earth sometimes when you're a celebrity'

And the name of that different person? Her alter ego, 'Sasha Fierce', whose name is the title of the second CD of her new 17-track double album.

'It's a way for me to differentiate what I do onstage from who I really am - It's a way for me to not lose myself, to keep my life in perspective, because it's really hard sometimes to stay on earth when you're a celebrity.

'There's so much going on, and so many people give you whatever you want and say everything you do is great.'
The singer starts a 'stripped down, but bigger than ever' 110-date tour in April and is planning a stylish entrance

'At this point, I kind of have it down. I know boundaries, and I can look at somebody and say I don't want them in my circle.

'I've been doing this for twelve years professionally, and I've learned. it's easier now.

'Fame is a lot of work, but it doesn't consume my life. I'm not obsessed.'
Dressed to impress: 'When I'm onstage I'm aggressive and strong and not afraid of my personality'

The singer tells V Magazine (www.vmagazine.com) that her new tour will be 'stripped down, but also bigger' than 2007's appropriately titled 'Beyoncé Experience'.

In that show she made her entrance in a cloud of theatrical smoke wearing a floor-length, cracked disco ball dress while pyrotechnics rained down behind her, and commandingly asked the audience, in three distinct parts: 'Ladies and gentlemen. Are you ready. To be entertaaaaaaaaaaaained?'

Transformation: Beyoncé storms the cover of V Magazine

'It's funny because right before the show I'm under the stage making sure my double-stick is in the right place, my pack is turned on, and my shoes have the stickies on the bottom so I don't slip - all of these things that are so not glamorous.

'Then I take my last slip of water, clear my throat, close my eyes, and tell myself: "You are fierce. You are fierce. You are fierce!"

'And the second I take that first step and hear the crowd, I kind of transform. By the time I get up to the stage, I'm in the zone.

'It's like I'm ready for war.'

Beyoncé in a range of poses as she prepares for her next world tour

V Magazine (www.vmagazine.com) asked top photographer Bruce Weber to shoot Beyoncé for the cover, and the songstress arrived at the shoot in an Obama state of mind, wearing an Obama T-shirt and with the president-elect’s surname manicured on her fingernails.

Striking a pose: Alternative covers for V Magazine's Beyoncé edition

Her mood was matched by the magazine, which prepared 50,000 'Obama's in the House' red, white and blue stickers to add to front cover.

Editor Stephen Gan said 'the issues were on their way to newsstands and this was our own small way of commemorating the moment.'

Also in the issue is Steven Meisel’s take on a recent U.K. trend of 'dogging', in which young couples engage in explicit activities in parked cars and public parks.

Meisel shot 28 pages and the model-filled images represent his first shoot for the magazine.

Beyonce Knowles

Beyoncé Knowles has married rapper Jay-Z

Beyoncé Knowles has married rapper Jay-Z in a private ceremony in New York.

The couple's parents joined a group of close celebrity pals, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, as well as Beyoncé's bandmates in Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and her sister Solange.

Jay-Z – real name Shawn Carter – and 26-year-old Beyoncé applied for a marriage licence last Tuesday and married on Friday night.
Award winning couple: Beyonce and Jay-Z are two of the biggest names in the urban music industry

They then threw a lavish party at Jay's apartment in the fashionable New York district of TriBeCa.

A large white marquee was erected on the top of the building and audio-visual equipment, large flower arrangements and a 5ft tall candelabra were also brought in.

Celebrity florist Amy's Orchids was hired to provide more than 50,000 white orchids from Thailand.
Ladies in white: Gwyneth Paltrow (left) and Beyonce's 21-year-old sister Solange arrives at the nuptials in New York

Guests – all the women wore white – were banned from bringing mobile phones inside and had to leave them with their chauffeurs.

A friend told People magazine late on Friday night: "It happened earlier this evening. Jay wanted it to be a really private affair – close friends and family."

Earlier, Rowland and Williams had posted a video of themselves on YouTube from their room at the Four Seasons hotel in which they teased viewers that they were at an 'undisclosed location' and refused to say why they were making the flying visit to New York.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z, 37, have been together for six years after teaming up for the rapper's single 03 Bonnie & Clyde.
Destiny's reunion: Beyonce's former Destiny's Child bandmate Michelle Williams arrives for the nuptials on Friday night

They also collaborated on her hit singles Crazy In Love and Déjà Vu.

They are the most successful couple in the R&B and hip-hop world.

Jay-Z, a seven-times Grammy winner, is reportedly poised to sign a £75million touring deal with Live Nation, while Beyoncé is worth about £15million.
Newlyweds?: Beyonce and Jay-Z, pictured on the French Riviera last summer, are reported to have married on Friday

Beyonce Knowles

Beyoncé reveals the secret to her bootylicious behind: 'Bridget Jones' pants

Beyoncé Knowles let slip her secret weapon to keeping her bootylicious behind in top shape - a giant pair of 'Bridget Jones' control pants.

The pop singer was in the throws of an energetic dance routine when her thigh-skimming silver dress flicked up and revealed more than expected.

Flip out: Beyoncé revealed her slimming secret during a dance routine in Shanghai

Beyoncé, who was performing in Shanghai as part of her world tour, has joined a growing legion of women who have abandoned skimpy underwear in favour of oversized pants which keep wobbly bits under wraps.

The Grammy Award winner has regularly spoken of the constant battle to keep her weight under control, admitting she loves indulging in fried chicken and treats.

Last year, Beyoncé lost 20lbs on a liquid diet for her role in the musical Dreamgirls, but quickly put it all back on again.

Skirting the issue: the pop star took to the stage in a thigh skimming silver number

She said at the time: "I would not recommend it if someone wasn't doing a movie, because there are other ways to lose weight.

"But I needed to lose it really quick, and I put the weight back on as soon as I finished, so I am no smaller or bigger than I've always been. It was strictly for the movie."

In step: the singer is in the midst of her Beyoncé Experience world tour

She admitted she was relieved when her liquid-diet days were over, and enjoyed getting her curves back.

She said: "The funniest part was putting the weight back on and eating my doughnuts and all the other things."

"So now I'm back to my body. I'm very conscious of being a curvy woman and I'm very happy that I am a curvy woman."

Beyonce Knowles

Upset, Beyonce ?

The singer hasn't got an Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls song.

Beyonce knowles' publicists are playing down reports the singer/actress is distraught after discovering she has been disqualified from the Oscars' best song category, insisting the star always knew she's miss out on a nod.

Academy Awards rules stipulate only three people can be officially nominated for each Best song and judges are forced to pick the trio who contributed most to the tune. that means Beyonce misses out because she merely added a few finishing touches to the hit song Listen from the Dreamgirls soundtrack.

According to the Academy, henry Krieger, Anne Preven and Scott Cutler will be recognized as the songwriters.

But Beyonce's publicist Alan Nierob insists his client always knew she'd miss out on a best song Oscar nod. He says, "Beyonce is aware of the Oscar rule that says only three songwriters can be nominated.

It's all about percentages how much each person contributed to the song.

"Beyonce contributed greatly to Listen, But her percentage is lower, so she didn't expect to be eligible for nomination. She's very happy that her co-writers may be recognized."

The singer has said that she enjoys her fame and would not change her superstar status despite all the pressure it entails.

According to Beyonce, the biggest disadvantage of fame is not finding friends she can trust. She told contactmusic.com: "Work is my drug.

I'm not worried about having a breakdown. There are negative sides to fame, sure. It's hard to find yourself when everyone tells you everything you do is excellent.

She added: "It's hard to stay humble, hard to make friends. It's hard to know who is real. It's also hard if you don't have people you trust before you become famous."

Beyonce Knowles

Beyoncé: You Can't Rush a Man Into Marriage

Fresh from last week's hot rumor – swiftly shot down by their reps – that Beyoncé and Jay-Z were getting married at a luxury Caribbean resort – the Dreamgirls star hints in the January issue of InStyle that it might be just a matter of time.

"You can't rush a man into anything – whether it's a relationship, marriage or having children," the singer, 25, says. "When he's ready, he'll let you know."

As for herself, she says, "I was never one of those girls who dreamed of a big wedding. Maybe me and my man will go away to an island; maybe we'll go to a church. I have no idea."

Checking out a report that she and her rapper beau were to have a $3 million ceremony in Anguilla, she tells InStyle: "It looks like a nice wedding – and very expensive. Unfortunately it's not true."

She wants to get married, though, she says in Sunday's issue of Parade. "My parents have been married for 27 years, and they're still in love. That's a great example for me. I know it's possible."

The most important thing in a relationship? "It's wonderful to understand and want the same things, but the friendship is most important," she tells Parade. "You know someone loves you by the way he treats you and respects you. You know it by how you both feel when you're together."

Beyonce Knowles

beyonce gets fur scare

'Fur' Rocious! Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce Knowles and her Mother were forced to flee
A dinner fans won at an auction when the devotees turned
out to be animal rights activists.

The activist pair, who won the chance to dine with beyonce
at a music auction, bombarded the pop dive with questions
about her decisions to wear fur and includes fur in her clothing line.

And the onslaught didn't stop there as beyonce and her mum
Sat Awkwardly at a trendy nightclub in new york recently
The unnamed animal rights activist pair placed a portable
DVD player and forced the knowles girls to watch a video
Expose of the fur industry, narrated by pamela anderson,

Featuring footage of animal who are Trapped, Drowned, and
Electrocuted for their pelts. beyonce and her mother quickly
excused themselves and left the restaurant.

The animal Spokesman michael mcgraw says,
" we contacted beyonce numerous times over the years,
begging her to stop promoting the violence of the fur industry.
By wearing and designing fur,

She is setting a terrible example for young women
who look up to her and want to emulate her.
she is promoting one of the most violent industries on the planet."

Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce's not talkin ' politics

Beyonce, labelled a bush fan ever since she has performed at white house,
says she never talks about politics in public ad has never supported bush .
she says ; "I played at the inauguration because
there were a lot of kids in the audience that i wanted to reach,
that all maybe one day i will speak of my political beliefs,
but only when i know wht i am talking about."

Beyonce Knowles