Earlier this month, Beyonc announced that she would be auditioning female musicians to form a backing band for her upcoming tour in support of her second solo album, B’Day. After try-outs in five cities, the finalists were brought together in New York in front of Beyonc and a panel of judges, including her father, Mathew Knowles. “I wanted to get together a group of fierce, talented, hungry, beautiful women and form an all-girl band,” she told MTV.com. “I’m all about female empowerment. I’m all about pushing the envelope. I know it’s my responsibility to do something different. I said, ‘I want a band, I want something different.’ I had worldwide auditions; people flew in from Atlanta, Houston, Israel, all over the world.” Beyonc added that she had a name in mind for her new band, but didn’t want to tip her hand just yet.

She continued, “I wanted only a nine-piece band, but the girls were so amazing, I couldn’t decide. I think I’m going to wind up having 12 people so I have two [people playing] certain instruments, because [some of the contenders] were just brilliant. It’s a thing called star quality, it’s a thing you can’t put your finger on, can’t describe. When they were playing, I said, ‘I want to see y’all battle.’ I brought in two of every instrument and that’s how I chose. You see the one that really wants it. It was so entertaining, the energy, seeing the girls battle … God, it was the best. It was magical.”

With her new single, “Deja Vu” hitting the airwaves, Beyonc is gearing up for the promotion of B’Day. “I knew that even before I started working on my album, I wanted to add live instruments to all of my songs,” she told MTV.com. “It’s such a balance [of music on the song], it has live congas, live horns, live bass. It’s still young, still new and fresh, but it has the old soul groove. The energy is incredible. It’s the summer anthem, I pray. I feel it. It’s already broken records. Rodney Jerkins is incredible, [Jay-Z] of course is on it, he blessed the song, I’m happy with it.” B’Day will be released on September 5 in the U.S. but its international release date is September 4, Beyonce’s 25th birthday.

- FMQB Radio News