A solo album from Beyonce has been inevitable since Destiny's Child hit the scene in 1997 with their monstrous debut hit, "No, No, No." Beyonce, Kelly, and former members Letoya and Latavia are all fine, but Beyonce's svelte frame, caramel complexion, and around-the-way-girl demeanor gave her an edge. Plus, she can belt those Mariah Carey-like lines without, ahem, over-singing them like Mariah.

Amid the success of the four D.C. albums (which have collectively sold more than 20 million copies), and group member changes, Beyonce implemented a bit of damage control to assure that she didn't end up with the control-freak reputation of Diana Ross. So instead of rushing out her solo album, Dangerously In Love, following the release of D.C.'s 2001 disc Survivor, Beyonce took the role of Foxxy Cleopatra in the film Austin Powers In Goldmember instead, and let her group-mates first test the solo waters. Newest member Michelle Williams issued her gospel album Heart To Yours in spring 2002, and Kelly Rowland's R&B set Simply Deep followed that fall. But Beyonce fans kept waiting to find out exactly what this Houston-bred beauty was itching to unleash.

In a recent interview with urban editor Billy Johnson Jr. at New York's St. Regis Hotel, Beyonce discussed a little bit of everything, including her preparation for solo stardom, making movies, controlling her weight, and why she and rumored beau Jay-Z chose to record a song called "03 Bonnie & Clyde (Me And My Girlfriend)." Here's what she had to say:

LAUNCH: Do you feel ready to step out and do a solo project?

BEYONCE: I'm definitely nervous, and it's very, very scary. I think that people would be surprised to know that I'm terrified. I mean, honestly, it's very scary. I'm anxious. And I know in life when I get this feeling, I always say it--before Austin Powers I had this feeling; before Survivor I had this feeling; after Destiny's Child, after we saw and met Michelle I had this feeling--that feeling when you fall in love. You have this feeling, just that feeling that something great is going to happen, and that nervousness is a great sign. I know at least for me. With the group, I love Destiny's Child, that's my heart and that's where it starts. I started out singing with them when I was 7 years old. And I depend on them so much. It was so difficult recording my album without them there telling me it's great, or it's terrible or they love it or I'm tripping, or whatever--just having them there. It's almost like they're my security blankets. I need them, I love them, and I can't wait for us to do the next Destiny's Child record. I'm just happy we're able to do both.

LAUNCH: What is the style of your solo record?

BEYONCE: It's definitely a soulful, hard, hip-hop, gangster, ghetto, whatever-you-want-to-call-it album. It has a lot of soul, and it's very urban, and it's very fresh and new. It's very artistic, and the uptempo songs that are on the record are definitely club bangers that make you want to move. It's an album that makes you feel love, or reminds you of a time when you were in love if you're not, or makes you fall in love if you're not, or makes you just think about how you really, really feel. That's why I called it Dangerously In Love. It's basically all of the steps in a relationship from when you first meet a guy to realizing you're interested to dancing with him the first night to thinking that you're in love to realizing that you're now a little open to making love to breaking up to having to love yourself after the breakup. All of that. A celebration of love.

LAUNCH: So what's the dangerous part of being in love?

BEYONCE: There's definitely a dangerous feeling when you're in love, when it's real. And I think, for one, it's letting go and giving your heart to someone else and knowing that they have that control over your feelings. I know for me, who always tries to be so tough, that's the dangerous thing, that's the hard thing. But it's a part of growing up and it's a part of life.

LAUNCH: What made you want to take that approach for the record?

BEYONCE: Well, I wrote [the song] "Dangerously In Love" over three years ago, and it was on the last Destiny's Child album, and I loved the song, and I said, "When I do my album, I want to put the song on the album." Once I started recording more songs, I just wrote what I felt and wrote what I was going through, and not even what I was going through, but more so what I was hearing from other people, 'cause I don't necessarily write every song about myself. I write from personal experiences that I see through my friends and my peers and my family. Anyway, everything was about love. That's what I felt at the time, so I thought, "That's a perfect title for the album." And actually, that song is a bonus track on the album.

LAUNCH: Did you hold back with Destiny's Child last time around, knowing you were going to make this album?

BEYONCE: I didn't save anything for my solo record. Whatever I do, I give everything, 100 percent. Every idea, everything I can think of, whatever I do. Everything that's on my album was created in the studio, not premeditated. I didn't even make a conscious effort not to sound like Destiny's Child. People ask me that, but I didn't do that. I didn't say, "I want to sound like this, I want to sound like that." I just did what I felt, what came naturally.

LAUNCH: Do you think that people were surprised when they hear the record?

BEYONCE: I think people are definitely surprised when they hear the album. This album is a little more vulnerable, it's a little softer. I'm a human being and I fall in love and sometimes I don't have control of every situation. It's definitely a lot more mature. The words are a lot more sophisticated and adult, but still the beautiful thing is, I let young kids hear it and they hear the hooks and they hear the beats and they love it--and I let my mother's friends hear it and they're like, "Girl, I know what you mean." So everybody can relate to it. The album definitely shows growth and maturity.

LAUNCH: What is the process of writing for you?

BEYONCE: It takes me a long time to write some songs. I'm not trying to seem like I'm that fly, 'cause I'm not. Certain songs I had to sit down and write, but certain things are just from your heart, and when you're inspired by music, then you'd be surprised what comes out.

LAUNCH: Let's talk about your experience acting in Austin Powers In Goldmember.

"There's definitely a dangerous feeling when you're in love--it's giving your heart to someone else and knowing that they have control over your feelings. I know for me, who always tries to be so tough, that's the dangerous thing."

BEYONCE: Austin Powers was so wonderful for me! I haven't seen it in a while, but the last time I seen it was on a plane. That was the weirdest thing in my life because, well, first of all, not many people knew it was me 'cause I had this huge afro on, but there was this little boy who was sitting next to me with his dad and he was like, "Dad, that's Foxxy Cleopatra!" And everybody on the plane was turning around and I was like, so embarrassed. But it was such a great opportunity for me. It was great for that to be my first movie with such a wonderful cast, and such a huge movie. And now I get to do The Fighting Temptations, which is coming out soon--it wasn't much of a character, it was more of a real person, so I got to show more of my acting range. I got to do some emotional scenes where I had to cry, and some angry scenes, some happy scenes. I had another kissing scene--I hate those, even though it's not that bad kissing Cuba Gooding Jr., he's cool. But it's just uncomfortable!

LAUNCH: I read somewhere that you have a desire to be an art teacher and that you love painting...

BEYONCE: Painting is something that's very private to me. It's something that I would never show anyone. I mean, I would never say never, but I just do it for myself as therapy. I had no idea what I was doing, and I still don't know if I know what I'm doing. It looks pretty good, some of them. But it's fun and it's relaxing, and I feel free; I love colors and I love painting. I have a poem on my album where I say that I believe that harmonies are colors and every time I paint it sharpens my harmony, and I really believe that: They come together.

LAUNCH: So what do you do with your paintings?

BEYONCE: They're in storage. They're private. I think that if I start showing them to people then I'll really start trying to make them really good, and it'll take the whole joy out of it. I have said that if I wasn't singing that I would want to be an art teacher or something--not literally an art teacher, but I would love to do something creative with kids, like a dance class, or a drama class, just something artistic with kids.

LAUNCH: So there's a connection between your painting and the desire to teach kids?

BEYONCE: One of the things that kept me out of trouble, aside from my parents, was I was always a creative child and my parents encouraged it and I was always doing something creative. Whether it was writing songs or writing poems or making clothes or dancing, putting on shows, whatever, it was something creative. I just think that's so wonderful for kids. It gives you so much confidence and you just feel so good about yourself and you can accomplish so much. And creativity can't be judged. So it's just great for self-esteem for kids and I love teaching, and I think that I'm a natural-born leader and teaching is so fun for me, so I would like to teach something creative so kids have a place to escape.

LAUNCH: So, in some other articles I read about you, the subject of food came up a lot. What do love about food so much? What are some of the foods that they tell you shouldn't eat that you just can't resist?

BEYONCE: One food? I think I can name about 150 off the bat. Basically everything I like is not good for you. I like to eat, and I think that it's important for young girls to eat--not eat like crazy, and not be unhealthy, but I think that some hips and some thighs is great, and whatever makes you feel good, makes you feel good. But sometimes people put out an image that the smaller you are, the better. If you're smaller, that's great--small is beautiful too--but I think if you've got some curves there's nothing wrong with that, and I think it's healthy for young girls to eat. I don't like to see young girls trying to starve themselves so they can be what society says is beautiful.

LAUNCH: You're actually a very petite girl, but television makes a person look bigger. How do you deal with that?

BEYONCE: I know with everybody, TV makes you look larger, taller, bigger, everything. There were some bigger girls who met me at a restaurant and they said, "Girl, you skinny! I liked you 'cause I thought you was like us, but you skinny!" And I was like, "OK, I'm sorry people think I'm a lot bigger," but TV just does that to you.

LAUNCH: So, the Jay-Z thing…What was your reaction to his line: "Get your independent ass out of here/Question?" in Missy Elliott's "One Minute Man"? That was a direct reference to your song "Independent Woman."

BEYONCE: I thought it was funny, very funny.

LAUNCH: When you guys put out "Bonnie & Clyde," you knew that people were going to talk, so how did you guys feel about the fact that it was going to stir stuff up?

BEYONCE: I thought the song was great. I thought the concept was great. I thought Tupac's original version was great, and I thought the idea of one of the hottest rappers with one of the biggest or hottest whatever you want to call it, R&B artists, was a great concept. It was a great song, great music--everything else doesn't matter. And I think that the video was really great, and I love when R&B artists collaborate with hip-hop artists. I think they complement one another.

LAUNCH: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

BEYONCE: In 10 years, hopefully I would have done a movie that I really, really like. A couple of movies. I want to do a musical--I want to do a Chicago or a Moulin Rouge. hope that they'll get a singer to do one of those, 'cause I think it'll be great. Even though everybody did a really great job singing and dancing and acting in those previous movies, I just hope that they give us a chance at one of those musicals. Well, Queen Latifah got to do it, and she did a great job, I'm very proud of Queen Latifah. But I want to do a musical. I hopefully hope to have a successful solo album as well as Destiny's Child coming back and doing a successful Destiny's Child record. And I'll be 31 by then, so hopefully I'll be settled down, starting a family or maybe a marriage...but who knows that's in 10 years? I just want to be happy. I want Destiny's Child to be friends and I want to be making my mark in history.

LAUNCH: Going back about 10 years now, I know one time you were on Star Search. Do you remember how you felt at that moment? Do you remember how you felt after losing?

BEYONCE: Star Search is a memorable moment. I was 9 years old and we had been rehearsing forever. It seemed like a 100 years for a 9-year-old on this song, and we did the wrong song...but regardless, we lost. But when they said they gave us three stars, our faces--it was the most hilarious face. Like we were forcing a smile. We couldn't even last until we got backstage; the tears were already falling. We were devastated, we thought our lives were over. But then again, that was my first time I lost something that I really wanted to win, which is great for a person sometimes, 'cause sometimes things don't go exactly how you planned. And those things make you stronger. That was my first struggle, and my first hurdle that I had to jump over. And like the other hurdles we had to jump over, we just said, "OK, something's not right, we have to work hard." And we overcame that even at 9 years old, which I'm very proud of.

LAUNCH: So tell me about the struggle to get Destiny's Child going and the struggle to make it successful.

BEYONCE: It definitely humbles you. We were so young, but were dedicated, and we were very, very hungry. Something inside of us, even at 9 years old, was like, "This is fun, we love it, we want to do it," and we had supportive parents who allowed us to rehearse on the weekends and took us to these performances--all of that stuff helped.

LAUNCH: Speaking of struggle, what impact did growing up in the South and your father marching for equal rights and desegregation have on you growing up?

BEYONCE: My father has told me stories, and I can't still believe that my father, and even my mother, the things that they had to do basically--I can't believe they went through that. I can't believe that my father even marched and actually did demonstrations and sat in restaurants, and all that stuff you see in pictures. My father was living that. And it's such a beautiful thing that he overcame that and has a huge successful company, and my mother has her own hair salon. It just shows that all of that struggle has paid off, and all of that struggle that other people did and went through has paid off. It shows how spoiled we are now, but it's just wonderful that progress has been made, and it is still being made.

LAUNCH: What qualities does your father have that you look for in a man, when you're considering someone to date or be as your boyfriend?

BEYONCE: Basically in a man, it's not that complicated, but it's rare to find a real person--a sincere person, a mature person, a person with goals, a person that's not going to control my business and has their own life and their own goals, a person who has their own values, and a person that makes me laugh.

LAUNCH: What about your mother? You said that she's the strongest person that you know. Why is that?

BEYONCE: Well, I say it all the time. I feel blessed to know my mother, let alone to be her child. Just to be in her presence, I feel blessed, 'cause she is the definition of phenomenal woman, and I want to be like her. And as corny as it sounds, it's the realest thing that I've said in this interview. Every woman that's spent more than five minutes with her, like that's had a real conversation with her, loves her. She has that impact on everyone, and I just hope to be like that one day.

LAUNCH: Well, you're definitely a grown woman now. What's it like to be living on your own now, to be independent?

BEYONCE: To be honest with you, my life hasn't changed that much as far as seeing my parents. I see them the same, and I have for a long time. I think there's a misconception about how I live. First of all, I live in hotels, I don't live anywhere, and I'm always so happy to see my parents and so happy to see my family, 'cause I'm always so homesick and they remind me of things that are real in life. Even before I was 21, I was making adult decisions and I had an adult job and I had adult responsibilities. I guess the year I felt that I became a woman was when I turned 18, because that was the year before Survivor came out and I was forced to mature when the lineup changed and I had a lot of responsibilities. So now it's just a new chapter as far as the solo album, but I feel like I've been a woman for a while.