25 reasons we love Beyoncé

On April 23, 2016, Beyoncé gave the world "Lemonade." It's her sixth solo studio album and a visual album that first released on the music streaming service Tidal. Aside from the quality of music, the album went viral because of Queen Bey's not-so-subtle shots at her husband, Jay-Z. "Lemonade" is up for Album of the Year at the upcoming Grammys.

My cousin mentors a little girl who did not know that Beyoncé originated from Destiny's Child (I know), which made me so sad to think that an entire age group doesn't know the magic of "Survivor," "Bootylicious" or "Say My Name." It's our responsibility to never forget these songs.

Here is a 12-year-old Beyoncé Knowles, not yet only known by her first name, auditioning on "Star Search" with a girl group called Girls Tyme. They came in second place to a group called Skeleton Crew.

OK, this is amazing. Acting power couple Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde have a son named Otis. Otis is in love with Beyoncé, so for his second birthday, Beyoncé gave Otis a signed photograph.

Most people would say their alter ego is Beyoncé. But since Beyoncé is Beyoncé all the time, she needed a different alter ego: Sasha Fierce. Beyoncé is said to have "killed off" Sasha Fierce around 2010, two years after she released the album "I Am... Sasha Fierce" in 2008 with hit songs "Halo," "Single Ladies" and "If I Were a Boy."

Beyoncé has long been a role model and source of inspiration or empowerment for girls and women everywhere. This hit a crescendo in 2011 with the single "Run the World (Girls)" off of her album "4."

It is not news to state that Beyoncé is an outspoken woman. She embodies not having a care in the world when it comes to what people think about what she feels or how she chooses to express it whether the topic is love, feminism or anything else.

"Lemonade" amped up discussion about Beyoncé's outspoken nature in the context of social activism, specifically civil rights activism. The album's lead single, "Formation," garnered a lot of attention because of its accompanying music video, which was labeled "unapologetically black."

There's posting on Facebook that you're pregnant, and then there's rubbing a subtle baby bump on stage after a uproarious "Love on Top" performance at the MTV Video Music Awards for all the world to see. Guess which one Beyoncé did. Her pregnancy announcement is in the Guinness Book of World Records for causing the most tweets per second.

Beyoncé performed for 16 minutes straight at the 2016 MTV Music Video Awards. She went through her entire "Lemonade" catalog and even took a bat to the camera. It was a medley but still didn't feel long enough.

The performance was laced with crisp choreography, like all of her performances, and nods to the social problems plaguing the country. She also won Video of the Year for "Formation."

Luckily for us, we have gotten a double dose of Beyoncé performing the Super Bowl halftime show in four years' time. The first time came in New Orleans at Super Bowl XLVII . She brought out Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland for a mini Destiny's Child reunion. Shortly after her performance, the lights went out and the game had to be postponed for 34 minutes. Not a coincidence.

The second was just last year at Super Bowl 50 featuring a dance-off with Bruno Mars and a bold political statement.

Still nobody knows who "Becky with the good hair" is or if she even actually exists. "Lemonade" was a very public airing of the grievances for Beyoncé and her marriage with Jay-Z. Whether the lyrics painted a true picture or were nothing more than musical fiction is unknown, but either way, she called her husband out.

Blue Ivy just turned 5 years old on Jan. 7. Since her birth, she has made plenty of adorable public appearances with her parents. Not sure anything beats this secret handshake (that is no longer a secret) she has with her mom, though.

Speaking of the "Formation" music video, Beyoncé successfully dangles out of the window of a moving car and looks flawless in doing so.

On Jan. 10, Interview Magazine released an interview with Solange Knowles conducted b y her sister, Beyoncé. The interview begins with Beyoncé asking Solange if she's exhausted. Not because of her new album "A Seat At the Table" but because she just had a parent-teacher conference. 

Read the full interview here.

Serena Williams doesn't need help in order to get attention. She's a 22-time Grand Slam tennis champion and one of the greatest athletes ever. But thanks to Williams' good friend, Beyoncé, we get to see her outside of the tennis court. Beyoncé featured Williams in the music video for her single "Sorry" and brought her on stage to perform "Sorry" at MetLife Stadium during the last show of her Formation Tour.

"Lemonade" was not just a monstrous success in the music industry. The album and Beyoncé were also nominated for four Emmys in 2016: Outstanding Variety Special; Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special; Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Event or Award Special; and Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming.

In 2006, Beyoncé co-starred alongside Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy in the movie "Dreamgirls" about a female soul trio (Beyoncé, Hudson and Rose).

Beyoncé was in "Dreamgirls," but that's not even close to the only time she's appeared on a screen . She's also been in the television show "Wayne Brady," "Austin Powers in Goldmember," "The Fighting Temptations," and made various other television or concert-film appearances.

As a welcomed surprise at the 2016 BET Awards, Kendrick Lamar joined Beyoncé to perform "Freedom" while splashing in water. It was a passionate and powerful performance that the duo replicated during the Formation Tour.

The five U.S. Olympic gymnasts who took over the world in August 2016, also known as the Final Five, presented Queen Bey with her Best Female Video award at the MTV Video Music Awards shortly after returning from the Olympics. Laurie Hernandez appropriately freaked out, and we all could relate.

It's a good bet that there aren't a lot of people named Beyoncé. Fun fact: Beyoncé got her first name as a tribute to her mother, Tina Knowles, whose maiden name Beyince. After Beyoncé rose to fame, the name gained popularity among baby girls.

In 2013, Beyoncé released an HBO documentary titled "Life Is but a Dream." The documentary explored Beyoncé as a woman and detailed intimate parts of her personal life, including the pain she endured through a miscarriage before Blue Ivy was born.

Spike's popular television show "Lip Sync Battle" featured husband and wife Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum in January 2016. Channing stole the show and the entire series forever when Beyoncé appeared from behind sliding doors to help him finish his performance of "Run the World (Girls)."

Of the performance, Channing later told Ellen DeGeneres: "I wanted to bring a cardboard cutout of Beyoncé out, just to be funny. And then ultimately, I end up having to meet Beyoncé doing Beyoncé and it was definitely the most terrifying thing I've ever done. She's like Keyser Soze. You know she exists, but you never see her until all of the sudden you're like, 'Wait, it happened, that was her, right?' And then you always know she's somewhere in the world that can reach out and touch you."

In June 2016, Beyonce was awarded the the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Icon Award at the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City.

So we know about Beyoncé because of her voice and entertainment factor, but she's also used her platform for matters much larger and more important than music. In 2012 she was ambassador for World Humanitarian Day.

She performed for World Humanitarian Day and then helped Kid President at the event in 2013.