She has risen from a seven year old singing in local competitions to an icon – and what many consider the Queen. Beyoncé is someone who needs no introduction, and the timeline of her career is a series of collaborations, hits, and an untouchable level of determination that has led her to where she is today.

On top of the entertainment industry as a whole, Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z brought in a total of $95 million in the year of 2013. Starting the year off with a Super Bowl halftime show performance that every man woman and child in America at least heard about, the queen was off to a good start.

The Queen took advantage of the spotlight, and announced her world tour to the 108.41 million viewers who watched her Super Bowl performance. The Mrs. Carter Show world tour started in April of 2013, and has yet to end this March, 2014. In less than a year, Knowles will perform 60 shows in Europe, 47 shows in North America, 7 in South America, and 18 in Australia/Asia. The 132 total shows brought in a total of $188.6 million at the box office, with most shows sold out; 95% of total tickets have been sold.

Watching that Super Bowl performance in complete amazement was Elder Senior Jay Quitter. The president of the Glee Club has a deep appreciation for music, singing – and the Queen.

“Everything she does in her life is done with class. Her determination to be an independent, grown woman, shows in every venture she takes,” Quitter said.

He along with many others lost their minds when the world tour was announced. Jay and friend Lindsey Ackerman found out this past summer that they would witness Beyoncé – in the flesh. Lindsey, a Seton graduate and current freshman at The University of Louisville, called Jay one day with some news that would be the greatest he ever heard. Lindsey’s mom had a friend, and found a connection, and landed two tickets to the Louisville show.

Apparently at some point in the last year, someone had the idea to write, record, and produce a 14 song studio album, with 17 music videos to accompany the new songs – in secret. Somehow Beyoncé and the people that work behind the scenes with her, went somewhere far underground to pull off the surprise release of the decade. No promoting, no announcement – no inkling whatsoever on any Beyoncé fan page – that any new material was coming from the singer.

On the night of December 12^th, 2013, Jay Quitter and Lindsey Ackerman were headed into the KFC Yum! Center to witness what would be quite a memorable experience. Lindsey and Jay described a tearful and unbelievable show that left them in awe. Post-concert mindset varies from person to person, but usually people tend to be high on the music of the particular musician that they just witnessed in person. Ears still ringing, the sold out show in Louisville ended, and Beyoncé left the stage in that arena – only to take the world stage yet again in just the next few hours.

That night just happened to be the night that her surprise manifestation, the self-titled “Visual Album”, was released to the world without the slightest hint. It appeared on iTunes at midnight on December 13^th, and made waves across entertainment news and social media before the sun could rise. It took only two weeks for the album to sell a million copies on iTunes alone.

Beyonce doesn’t like to release singles, as Seton Senior Marcy Driehaus told me, “She loves producing a whole body of work and let her fans enjoy it.”

As soon as people got their hand on the new music, they took their opinions to the internet and much debate about the feminism, consumerism, and sexual representation that Queen Bey focused on with her new material. She is a prominent female figure in the world, and provides a voice for all the people still brought down by others without reason. Sexual objectification and the pop-culture obsession with beauty and figure is taken on in full by Mrs. Knowles in her new release, which she calls a “gift” to her fans.

“She’s trying to dismantle the stereotypes set for women,” said Driehaus.

As Quitter said, “She can sing, dance, etc. and still have the ability to stay humble, and be a leader for not just women but also men.”

The magnitude of her fame alone makes her larger than life, but the fact that she stays true to herself, and sticks to her position as a “strong, independent, and grown woman” in a world where that’s no easy life to take on.