Like an elite athlete, an artist is hard wired to reach a goal and then, having achieved it, to raise the bar even higher, always pushing to perform at top capacity, crafting a personal best.

Beyoncé knows this. She's blessed with a relentless
spirit that fuels her. "Everything that I do creatively has
to make me work harder and hopefully steer me in
a direction I've never been before, " she explains."
If it's easy, then the excitement is gone because
I don't like to be bored and comfortable when it comes
to my music. I like to challenge myself and all those
around me to get the very best creatively."

That creativity took center stage on Beyoncé's 2003 solo
debut, Dangerously In Love, which won an astounding five Grammy Awards, confirming her status as one of pop/R&B's premier songwriters, producers and singers. With hits like"Crazy In Love" and "Baby Boy," Beyoncé shattered sales records, headlined sold-out tours worldwide, and presented the full range of her artistic vision, redefining herself in the process. So, how do you top a personal best?

Working quickly Beyoncé assembled her dream team
-- Swizz, Jerkins, Harrison, Sean Garrett -- brought them
all to the same New York City studio and put them in different rooms. Then the games began as Beyoncé (who was in a separate room with co-writers Angela Beyince, Makeeba and younger sister Solange Knowles) would run from studio to studio. In a musical version of the dozens, she'd drop good natured subtle jabs like "Oh, Rodney, he's got some heat up there," then head over to Harrison's session exclaiming,"Hey, Swizz is really bringing fire, you gotta come with it! " Beyonc? laughs, "There was no negative competition. Everything
just happened so quickly, so I didn't have to arrange expensive flights and deal with drama and schedules.
The process was magical, everyone was truly excited
to be in the studio, just getting to be creative."

Working at breakneck speed, the sessions took less
than 3 weeks and yielded 25 songs, which were whittled down to B'Day 's11, and mastered in early July.
"It's the best thing I've ever done," she says matter-of-factly.

Beyoncé knows a little something about achieving the best, having constantly raised the bar over the course of her career.