Tina Knowles Stopped Solange from Being Beyoncé’s Austin Powers Backup Singer

Oh, behave! Back in the early 2000s, Beyoncé memorably made her theatrical film debut in Austin Powers in Goldmember, and Solange almost played a part in the comedy before Tina Knowles shut it down.

According to Vulture‘s oral history of Queen Bey’s time as Foxxy Cleopatra, a then-15-year-old Solange was all set to serve as her sister’s back-up singer in the 2002 three-quel. “I remember Beyoncé and I giggling because [Solange] was young and everything in Austin Powers is so suggestive,” recalled choreographer Marguerite Derricks. “‘He’s got the Midas touch, but he touched it too much’ — that was a lyric that we were freaking out about for her sister.”

However, when it came time to shoot the scene, Tina Knowles put her foot down. Costume designer Deena Appel explained, “What happened, the way I understood it, was when Tina heard the song and realized what that really meant, she felt it wasn’t appropriate for Solange. I want to say the costume had already been built, so it was a mad scramble to find somebody to replace her.”

The bit part ultimately went to actress Sybil Azur on screen, though Solange remained a credited performer on “Hey Goldmember” on the movie’s official soundtrack. She went on to release her debut album, Solo Star, six months after the raunchy comedy hit theaters.

Nowadays, the elder Knowles sister is readying the release of her seventh solo effort Renaissance, which will include her hit house-influence single “BREAK MY SOUL.” For her part, Solange’s most recent album remains 2019’s When I Get Home. Meanwhile, much of the original Austin Powers cast — including Mike Myers, Seth Green, Rob Lowe, and Mindy Sterling — reunited earlier this year in a Super Bowl commercial for General Motors.

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