Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny’s Child, which featured her elder sister, Beyonc , among its members, before signing with her father Mathew Knowles’s Music World Entertainment label. At age 16, Knowles released her first studio album Solo Star (2002). Between 2004 and 2007, Knowles had several minor acting roles, including the direct-to-video Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006) and continued writing music for Beyonc and for former Destiny’s Child group members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.
In 2007, Solange began to record music again. Her second studio album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (2008) deviated from the pop-oriented music of her debut to the Motown Sound of the 1960s and 1970s. It peaked at number nine on US Billboard 200 and received positive reviews from critics. She followed this up with the 1980s pop and R&B-inspired extended play True (2012) on Terrible Records and her imprint Saint Records. Her third studio album, A Seat at the Table (2016) was released to widespread critical acclaim and became her first number-one album in the United States. The album’s lead single, “Cranes in the Sky” won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance. Her fourth studio album, When I Get Home, was released in March 2019 to further critical acclaim.
Solange was heavily influenced by Motown girl groups and says that her first passion is songwriting. She is frequently compared by the media to her sister, Beyonc , but Solange insists they have different aspirations and are musically different. She has been ranked by Billboard as the 100th most successful dance artist of all-time, and in 2017 was honored with the “Impact Award” at Billboard Women in Music. Her other ventures include an endorsement deal with Rimmel London and a line of hip-hop-oriented merchandise for young children.