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In the midst of course request and planning schedules for the upcoming semester, student buzz has risen about a new class with an unexpected focus: Beyonce.

Professor Petra Rivera-Rideau, who has worked in the Africana Studies department at Tech for three years, will be offering “Theorizing Beyonce” for the first time in spring 2015.

“My idea came from two places,” said Rivera-Rideau, who also teaches introduction and graduate-level Africana courses. “First, there are some Beyonce courses at other universities. There are other universities and courses that use one particular person as a focal point, like Duke has a class on Michael Jackson and Georgetown has one on Jay Z. I was always interested in teaching a course like that.”

In addition to being influenced by other academics, Professor Rivera-Rideau also gained inspiration from her students.

“In my intro course, one of the assignments students have to do is write a paper where they look at some sort of representation of race in popular culture,” Rivera-Rideau said. “I often have students pick Beyonce and I realized a lot of my students were using Beyonce’s work to think about the issues and theories we were dealing with.”

“Theorizing Beyonce,” technically listed as AFST 4354: Issues in Africana Studies, will center around the famous singer in an effort to discuss greater race and gender issues.

You're not alone if you can't wait to watch Beyoncé take the stage at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards this Sunday.

Following the exciting announcement earlier this week, we've been dying for any details on the 33-year-old singer's upcoming performance—and wondering how in the heck she's going to top last year's Grammy opener when she kicked off the show with husband Jay Z with a super-sexy rendition of her hit "Drunk In Love" (not to mention her jaw-dropping performance at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards).

So, of course, when we caught up with President/CEO of The Recording Academy Neil Portnow at the Billboard Power 100 Celebration in Beverly, Hills last night, we had to get him to spill the beans on all things Queen Bey.

"Well this will be so dramatically different than anything you've seen her do in a long time," Portnow teased of the "Flawless" beauty's forthcoming performance. "It's really going to be a spectacular moment for us and for her for sure."

Beyoncé, who's tied for the top of the pack with six nominations (including Album of the Year and Best Music Film), is expected to sing "Take My Hand Precious Lord" before segueing into John Legend and Common's Oscar-nominated song "Glory" with the musical duo.

The 57th Annual Grammy Awards air this Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.

The complete winners list of the 2015 NAACP Image Awards has been revealed. Beyonce was among the winners at the awards event airing on Friday night, February 6 as she took home the Outstanding Female Artist trophy after edging out competitors including Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and Ledisi. Congratulations!

UPDATE: Beyonce took to Facebook to thank for her award:

"Humbled and very grateful for the NAACP Image Award received last night. Thank you!"

Beyonce has joined the all-star lineup for Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life — An All-Star GRAMMY Salute!

The primetime special will honor Stevie‘s iconic career with performances from various entertainers celebrating his huge body of work.

The live concert will take place on February 10 and will air live Monday (February 16) on CBS. Other performers announced include Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, and Usher. Check out the full list of performers here.

You can buy tickets for the concert via AXS.com.

Nicki Minaj’s collaboration with Beyoncé on a remix of “Flawless” was one of the most electrifying musical moments of 2014. So when Minaj was recording her third album, The Pinkprint, Beyoncé was happy to return the favor by guesting on Minaj’s song “Feeling Myself” — lending that distinctive Yoncé swagger to Minaj’s ode to self-celebration of all kinds. (Good luck finding a better put-down than this one, courtesy of Minaj: “Bitches ain’t got punchlines or flow / I have both, and an empire, also.”)

In a new interview with TIME, on stands Feb. 6, Minaj opens up about the challenges of building her business, body image pressures in the music industry and the abortion she had as a teenager. But she also has a lot to say about her work with Bey.

“When I did ‘Flawless,’ she said that she would do something for The Pinkprint,” Minaj says. “I was ecstatic. She had ‘Feeling Myself’ — she wanted to know how I felt about it. I said, ‘I love it.’ I knew girls were going to be posting pictures on Instagram saying ‘#feelingmyself.’ I told Beyoncé that. I was like, ‘You already know what’s going to happen.'”

But both performers wanted to recreate the magic. “There was pressure,” Minaj says. “‘Flawless’ impacted so hard. But people seemed to love ‘Feeling Myself,’ too. I was excited that we got another one. With ‘Flawless,’ it makes girls feel good about themselves. You could say, ‘I’m feeling myself’ or ‘I’m flawless.’ It’s something every girl wants to say.”

The second annual iHeartRadio Music Awards will return to NBC on Sunday, March 29th. Wednesday morning, iHeartMedia and NBC revealed the nominees for the show's eleven categories. Beyonce's nominations include:

Hip Hop/R&B Song of the Year
"Don't Tell 'Em" - Jeremih featuring YG
"Drunk in Love" - Beyoncé featuring Jay Z
"Flawless" - Beyoncé
"Loyal" - Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne and Tyga
"New Flame" - Chris Brown featuring Usher and Rick Ross

Best Fan Army
5SOSFAM - 5 Seconds of Summer
Arianators - Ariana Grande
Bey Hive - Beyoncé
Team Breezy - Chris Brown
Sheerios - Ed Sheeran
Church Choir - Eric Church
Directioners - One Direction
Selenators - Selena Gomez
Mendes Army - Shawn Mendes
Swifties - Taylor Swift

Voting for the fan-determined Best Fan Army category will begin on Monday, March 3 and extend through Friday, March 20.

After starting off the 2014 Grammys with a bang thanks to her sexy chair dance to “Drunk in Love,” Beyonce is returning for a less sultry, more serious performance on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Nominated for six awards this year, the pop diva, 33, will hit the stage to sing “Take My Hand Precious Lord” before segueing into John Legend and Common’s Oscar-nominated song “Glory” off the soundtrack to the film Selma.

"We do have an incredible introduction to our performance,” Common exclusively told Us Weekly at the Tanqueray Trunk Show in New York City on Jan. 31. “A segue into our song ‘Glory,’ as a tribute to Selma, being done by the great Beyonce. That's one of the greatest talents you can have, helping us segue into it. To co-create a performance with someone like her. It's good."

Legend and Common already took home the Golden Globe for the tune.

A source tells Us that Jay Z’s wife will be introduced by her longtime pal Gwyneth Paltrow. Beyonce joins a staggering list of Grammys performers that includes Kanye West, Katy Perry, Madonna, Sam Smith, and Ariana Grande.

While 14 performers have already been announced for this weekend's Grammy Awards ceremony, there might still be a few question marks.

Billboard is hearing that Beyonce will perform as part of a tribute to Selma during the telecast. (Reps for the Recording Academy and Beyonce did not immediately return requests for confirmation.) Common and John Legend -- who are behind the Oscar-nominated Selma song "Glory" -- are already announced as performers.

Regardless, Beyonce is expected to show up for Sunday's ceremony, since she's nominated for six awards, including album of the year for Beyonce.

Already-announced performers include Madonna, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga and many more; Taylor Swift confirmed Monday (Feb. 2) that she would not be performing, but would be presenting at the awards.

Today Beyonce and exercise physiologist Marco Borges announce their business partnership in 22 Days Nutrition and launches the 22 Days Nutrition plant-based home delivery meal service.

Beyonce, who trains with Borges, took the 22 Days Nutrition challenge in the winter of 2013 with her husband, JAY Z, and has since made an effort to include more plant-based foods in her everyday diet. The program's philosophy is based on the concept that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit and on the 22nd day you are well on your way to forming new habits.

The home delivery service was born out of a demand from Borges' friends, colleagues and clients who enjoyed his delicious meals that were naturally low in fat, sugar and salt and filled with flavor from whole-foods such as vegetables, beans, grains, herbs and spices. The home delivery program takes away all the guesswork and makes it easy to adopt the plan.

"I am so grateful that I took the challenge and credit Marco with leading by example," says Beyonce. "He is the most energetic person I know and it's all because of his decision to live a healthy lifestyle. He came up with a great program to get people motivated to make better nutritional choices. All you have to do is try. If I can do it, anyone can. I am excited to partner with him."

The longtime fitness expert, who has been a leader in the field for over 20 years, says it's really not about asking everyone to become a vegan but rather to make simple healthier food choices so they can live a more energetic and productive life.

Beyoncé is coming to The University of Illinois at Chicago.

The uber-famous singer, songwriter and businesswoman will not be a featured performer at the UIC Pavilion. She’s the subject of a new spring semester course offered by gender and women’s studies.

“Beyoncé: Critical Feminist Perspectives and U.S. Black Womanhood” will use the artist’s music and career as a way to explore her attempt to be positioned as a feminist and queer figure, as well as larger issues involving media images and representations of African American women.

Course instructor Jennifer Richardson, research assistant professor of gender and women’s studies, says Beyoncé’s lyrics, wardrobe, media coverage and marriage to Jay Z, the hip-hop artist, producer and entrepreneur, offer plenty of material to explore critical perspectives of black womanhood.

“She is the subject matter to an extent, but this could really be about any black woman in media, and in the world,” said Richardson, who offered first lady Michelle Obama as another example.

“We would have the same type of tools, the same kind of critical analysis of how she is represented, who she is as a person and what that means in terms of what corporate mainstream media says about black women. It’s not just about Beyoncé.”

The nominees for this year's Brit Awards have been announced, and Beyoncé is nominated in one category. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, February 25 at The O2 Arena in London.

International Female Solo Artist
Beyoncé
Lana Del Rey
Sia
St. Vincent
Taylor Swift

The tracklisting for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack has been unveiled - and includes two songs by Beyonce. Her contribution takes the form of two remixes, of her 2003 Number One 'Crazy In Love' and her recent album track 'Haunted'. The soundtrack will be released on 10 February.

The tracklisting in full:

1. Annie Lennox – I Put a Spell On You
2. Laura Welsh – Undiscovered
3. The Weeknd – Earned It
4. Jessie Ware – Meet Me In the Middle
5. Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
6. Beyoncé – Haunted (Michael Diamond Remix)
7. Sia – Salted Wound
8. The Rolling Stones – Beast of Burden
9. AWOLNATION – I’m On Fire
10. Beyoncé – Crazy In Love (2014 Remix)
11. Frank Sinatra – Witchcraft
12. Vaults – One Last Night
13. Skylar Grey – I Know You
14. Danny Elfman – Anna and Christian
15. Danny Elfman – Did That Hurt?

It was a New Year's Eve to remember for approximately 2,000 troops stationed in Kuwait and Afghanistan as they were treated to USO screenings of HBO's "ON THE RUN TOUR: BEYONCÉ AND JAY Z," courtesy of the couple themselves. The USO screenings, which took place during the countdown to 2015, were attended by servicemen and women stationed at Camp Arifjan and Camp Buehring in Kuwait, and at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The New Year's-themed concert events kicked off with a pre-taped, heartfelt message from BEYONCÉ - who thanked troops for their service and sacrifice, and wished them (and their families back home) a happy new year. Throughout the first full week of 2015, photos, video and New Year's Day messages from troops poured into the USO reflecting the moment-filled experience.

Beyonce created a profile on Vine! Hopefully, we'll get to see more updates from her soon!

UPDATE: The profile seems to have been deleted.

Following "This Is The End," which featured cameo appearances from Rihanna, Paul Rudd, Emma Watson and pretty much every funny actor in Hollywood -- all playing variations on themselves -- it was assumed that co-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg would continue to play with reality in "The Interview." The comedy, which was pulled from theaters this week, is built around an entertainment interview program, "Skylark Tonight," where host Dave Skylark (James Franco) interviews a variety of celebrity guests. (During an MTV special to promote the film this summer, Franco as Skylark spoke with Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea.) And when the 210-page budget for "The Interview" leaked online this month, many famous names appeared: Jay Z, Beyoncé, Brad Pitt, Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Vick and even Kevin Federline, among them.

But the finished film includes none of those stars in any significant capacity, if at all. (It's possible they could appear in the background or during a brief glimpse of the "Skylark Tonight" opening credits. Having seen the film twice, however, I feel comfortable saying they're absent altogether.) In fact, only three recognizable faces appear as variations on themselves in "The Interview": Rob Lowe (who reveals he's bald), Eminem (who reveals he's gay) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who reveals he likes puppies).

In news that should surprise absolutely no one, Nicki Minaj has selected Beyonce-featuring jam “Feeling Myself” as the next single from The Pinkprint. “Radio has really gravitated to their own songs, like I’m guessing ‘Feeling Myself’ is the next urban song,” the rap diva told Hot 97. “They picked it on their own.” It’s an absolute no-brainer given the success of their previous collaboration, “Flawless,” on urban radio and the song’s popularity on iTunes. In fact, “Feeling Myself” is currently best-selling track from The Pinkprint — even ahead of the femcee’s official new single “Only.” Listen to the interview below.

In only its second week on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Beyoncé's "7/11" reaches No. 1, granting the singer her eighth chart-topping title as a solo artist.

Beyoncé is now in a three-way tie with Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys for the fourth-most No. 1s among women in the 56 years since the chart launched as a sales/airplay hybrid tally. Only Aretha Franklin (with 20 No. 1s), Janet Jackson (16), Mariah Carey (10) have more. (Gladys Knight has also accumulated 10 No. 1s, but nine of those came as part of the group Gladys Knight & The Pips.)

Beyoncé also tallied four No. 1s in 1998-2000 as part of the group Destiny's Child before reigning for the first time as a soloist with "Crazy in Love," featuring Jay Z, in 2003.

"7/11" -- one of the new songs on the deluxe reissue of Beyonce's self-titled album -- also earns the week's Streaming Gainer honors. It jumps 52 percent in domestic streams (from 7 to 11 million -- fitting, given its title) in the week ending Dec. 7, according to Nielsen Music. It leaps 12-2 on Streaming Songs, her highest appearance since "Drunk In Love," featuring Jay Z, spent four weeks atop the two-year old chart in February.

It might not claim the #7 or #11 position, but Beyonce’s “7/11″ does reach a new high on this week’s Billboard Hot 100.

The superstar’s latest release rises five places to #13 on Billboard’s weekly, all-encompassing track chart. The rise comes courtesy what Billboard identifies as the “biggest gain in streams” among Hot 100 members.

The nominees for the 46th Annual NAACP Image Awards have just been unveiled and Beyonce leads the pack with six nods! You can vote for her only in one of the categories so be sure to do so here!

Outstanding Female Artist
Alicia Keys
Beyonce Knowles
Jennifer Hudson
Ledisi
Mary J. Blige

Outstanding Music Video
"Pretty Hurts" - Beyonce Knowles
"You & I (Nobody in the World)" - John Legend
"It's You" - KEM
"i" - Kendrick Lamar
"Love Never Felt So Good" - Michael Jackson feat. Justin Timberlake

Outstanding Song
"We Are Here" - Alicia Keys
"The Man" - Aloe Blacc
"Pretty Hurts" - Beyonce Knowles
"i" - Kendrick Lamar
"Good Kisser" - Usher

Beyoncé, Sam Smith and Pharrell Williams are the top contenders for the 57th annual Grammy Awards, leading a crop of nominees with six nods each.

Beyoncé is the most-nominated female artist in Grammy history, with the new nominations bringing her total to 53.

Album Of The Year
"Morning Phase," Beck
"Beyoncé," Beyoncé
"X," Ed Sheeran
"In the Lonely Hour," Sam Smith
"Girl," Pharrell Williams

Best R&B Performance
"Drunk In Love," Beyoncé Featuring Jay Z
"New Flame," Chris Brown Featuring Usher & Rick Ross
"It's Your World," Jennifer Hudson Featuring R. Kelly
"Like This," Ledisi
"Good Kisser," Usher

Best R&B Song
"Drunk In Love," Beyoncé Featuring Jay Z
"Good Kisser," Usher
"New Flame," Chris Brown Featuring Usher & Rick Ross
"Options (Wolfjames Version)," Luke James
"The Worst," Jhené Aiko