If you happen to see Beyoncé Knowles today, be sure to wish her a happy birthday. The former Destiny's Child member and current Queen of the Universe turns 28 today, and with every passing year she manages to get a little bigger and better by pushing the envelope a little further. After scoring a series of hits with her former group, Beyoncé broke out on her own in 2003 with the smash album Dangerously in Love and the massive single "Crazy in Love." Since then, it's been nothing but peaks: She has four chart-topping singles, three multi-platinum albums, acclaimed performances in films like "Dreamgirls" and "Cadillac Records" and a boatload of Grammys.
Beyoncé has also managed to be a part of some of the most memorable music videos from this millennium. And she's only getting better, as she leads the way with nine nominations at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (which will air live from New York's Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, September 13) for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," and the subsequent clips from her latest album I Am ... Sasha Fierce ("Halo," "If I Were a Boy," "Diva," "Ego" and "Sweet Dreams") just keep getting better. "Single Ladies" is a shockingly great slice of minimalism, featuring Queen Bee and her two backup dancers shaking, stomping and gyrating to the pounding beat of the track. Shot in stark black and white, it's fantastically compelling and strangely beautiful. Beyoncé will be performing "Sweet Dreams" at the VMA show, but it's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" that brought her to the dance.