Music and voice

and the Knowles has cited various classic artists who influenced her music. She grew up listening to songs of Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, the latter whom she eventually collaborated with. She was exposed to the jazz music of Rachelle Ferrell, after singing the Ferrell’s songs during her voice lessons. She also cites influences from American artists Prince, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Tina Turner, with whom the former and latter she co-performed during the 46th Grammy Awards50th Grammy Awards.

Knowles, a mezzo-soprano with a 3.5 octave vocal range, has always been identified as the centerpiece of Destiny's Child. Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that she has the voice that defines the group. James Anthony of The Guardian called her voice distinctive and fast, with almost hiccuping vocal technique. Andrew Leahey of Allmusic called her siren-voiced, while The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that she has a "husky" and "Southern-accented" voice. The Cove magazine ranked Knowles as their seventh among one hundred outstanding pop vocalists worldwide, giving her forty-eight out of fifty points based on several criteria ranging from her vocal ability to ranges to harmony.

Knowles' music is predominantly considered contemporary R&B, but has also included genres of dance-pop, funk, pop and soul. While she almost exclusively releases English songs, Knowles did record several Spanish records for the re-release of B'Day. Destiny's Child had already recorded a Spanish song and received favorable responses from their Latin fans. Knowles took Spanish in school when she was young, but can now only speak a few words of the language. Prior to recording the Spanish titles on the re-released version of B'Day, she was coached phonetically by American record producer Rudy Perez. She sang in French once at the Oscars, having also learned it through coaching.