Beyonce's baby bump reveal sparks Twitter record (AP)

NEW YORK – Beyonce's pregnant performance at the MTV Video Music Awards sparked a Twitter record.

When Beyonce performed at 10:35 p.m. EDT Sunday night, there were 8,868 tweets per second. Twitter said that rate was a record for the service.

At the VMAs, Beyonce revealed a baby bump, cupping her growing belly for photographers as she arrived and rubbing her tummy when she performed. The 29-year-old singer is married to Jay-Z.

The VMAs drew MTV's biggest audience since the network began measuring its viewership. Sunday night's show attracted 12.4 million viewers.

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Beyonce's baby, Gaga's alter-ego spice up VMAs (AP)

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Mon Aug 29, 2:26 am ET

LOS ANGELES – BEYONCE'S SURPRISE DATE: Beyonce made a big announcement that practically upstaged the MTV Video Music Awards — and she did it without saying a word.

The 29-year-old superstar announced her pregnancy on the red carpet by cupping her stomach in an "I'm expecting" sort of way. Wearing a blond ponytail and flowing red gown, she used her hands to show the tiniest beginnings of a baby bump.

A publicist for the pop star confirmed the pregnancy to The Associated Press Sunday.

Beyonce and Jay-Z were married in 2008. This will be their first child together.

Jay-Z offered a (much smaller) surprise of his own Sunday: He performed alongside Kanye West on the VMA stage.

Beyonce took the stage herself later in the show, telling viewers, "I want you to feel the love that's growing inside of me."

At the end of her performance, she unbuttoned the sequined blazer she was wearing and rubbed her tummy on stage. The camera cut away to Jay-Z, who beamed a broad smile.

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RECORD ADVERTISEMENT: Lil Wayne is taking advantage of his Video Music Awards performance by dropping his anticipated new album the very same night.

The tattooed rapper closed the Video Music Awards with tunes from his new album as an ad blinked on the bottom of the screen reading: "Be the first to download `Tha Carter IV' on iTunes."

The album was to be released digitally at midnight on Aug. 29 and in stores later that day.

"There's only one man brilliant enough to piece this plan together," rapper Drake said as he introduced Lil Wayne.

Wayne opened with the melodic "How to Love" before tearing off his shirt and jumping around during "John," which borrows heavily from Black Sabbath's familiar "Iron Man" riff.

Fellow rapper Rick Ross called Wayne's strategically timed album release "big for hip hop."

"The strategic moves we've been seeing in the last few months, from the release of "Watch the Throne" and the pop-up stores, etcetera, I think it's big for hip hop and it's only going to continue to open doors for biggest numbers and bigger profits and a bigger future," Ross said.

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WHAT A DRAG: It was ladies' night at the Video Music Awards, as Katy Perry, Adele, Beyonce and Lady Gaga were among the top performers and winners. But Gaga, and later Nicki Minaj, were also tuned into their masculine sides.

Gaga opened MTV's Video Music Awards dressed in drag as her male alter-ego, Jo Calderone, who sports short dark hair and smokes constantly. She/he sat down at the piano and performed Gaga's latest single, "You and I."

The envelope-pushing artist (who wore a dress made of meat to last year's VMAs) remained dressed as Calderone throughout the night. After accepting the award for best female video for "Born This Way," Calderone came into a backstage press room smoking a cigarette and drinking what looked like whiskey. She stamped the cigarette out on the carpet before posing for photos.

Asked what she can express as Calderone that she can't as Gaga, she replied, "I don't understand the question." She said Gaga asked Calderone to come in her stead, saying, "If you really love me, you'll go instead of me and you'll get in that spotlight."

"So I did," said Calderone, describing himself as a guy from New Jersey whose family hails from Palermo, Italy.

"I'm not a singer or a model or an actor or anything. I'm a guy," she said. "I'm just a guy, you know, and I just wanted to show my girl how much I love her, that's all."

Earlier in the evening, Nicki Minaj, winner of the hip-hop video award, said her new album will feature her inner male artist, Roman.

"He's a boy that lives inside of me," Minaj said. "He's a lunatic and he's gay."

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BRITNEY TRIBUTE: Britney Spears has made many memorable appearances at the Video Music Awards (that liplock with Madonna, dancing with a snake to "Slave 4 U"), and she was honored for them with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

Lady Gaga, dressed in drag as her male alter-ego, presented the moon man trophy to a smiling Spears.

"One of my biggest inspirations was Britney Spears," Gaga said. "Britney taught me how to be fearless. She taught us all how to be fearless. She's a pop-music legend and the industry would not be the same without her."

Gaga's male Jo Calderone character then lingered, apparently hoping for a kiss from Spears, but Spears demurred.

"I've done that already," she said.

Dancers performed a medley of Spears' most popular songs, iconic outfits and signature dance moves.

"This award means so much to me," she said. "Especially on the night before Michael Jackson's birthday. He had such a huge influence on me."

But other celebs at the Video Music Awards said Spears was their big influence, including teen superstars Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber.

"She's been a huge inspiration to me," Gomez said. "I just think that she doesn't really take no for an answer. A lot of people try to bring her down and maybe judge her too quickly, and she still makes a comeback and she's still hot."

Bieber called Spears "an icon," saying, "She opened the doors for young people to do what they love."

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• AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen can be reached at www.twitter.com/APSandy.

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Beyonce's father denies stealing from her (AP)

NEW YORK – Mathew Knowles insists he still has an amicable relationship with his daughter Beyonce — even though she dumped him as her manager two months ago — but is alleging that people close to her have tried to destroy his reputation with allegations that he stole from her.

Knowles filed papers in a Texas court this week alleging that members of Beyonce's camp, which he says includes her label, Columbia Records, Live Nation and her superstar husband Jay-Z's Roc Nation, have made "negative comments about me."

"We absolutely have not taken any money from Beyonce, and all dollars will be accounted for," he told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday afternoon. "In no way have we stole money. Again, this about the people who have made these claims — they have to come into the light."

Knowles guided his daughter's career since she was child, first to superstardom as part of the group Destiny's Child, and then as she continued with her blockbuster solo career. Beyonce has sold millions of records, won numerous Grammys, is a lucrative spokeswoman for different products, and has also had considerable success in film with movies like the Oscar-winning "Dreamgirls" and the movie "Obsessed."

When Beyonce announced in May that she would no longer use her father to guide her career, she stressed that at almost 30, she was ready to take control of her own affairs and pledged her adoration for him.

"He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me," Beyonce said at the time.

On Thursday, Knowles said he had no problem with his daughter.

"The relationship with Beyonce is extremely amicable. I want to make that clear. Where there's concern is the people that she's doing business with," he said. "I'm challenging all of these folks on integrity, professional integrity."

Knowles said he does not believe the allegations that he stole money from her are the reason why he was fired, and said his daughter completely cleaned house: "She changed almost every aspect of her business."

But he painted a picture of a concerted effort to oust him from the helm of her career.

"The team ironically appeared to be a cross-pollination of Beyonce's team, Roc Nation's team, and Live Nation's team, who ironically have the most to gain," he said.

When asked if there was a deliberate plan to take him out of the equation, he said: "I'll let people come to their own conclusion."

Knowles said he has not spoken to his daughter specifically about the allegations, but at one point told her: "The only way we will be able to understand this is through a court of law. That's the only way either one of us will be clear if someone in our camps did something that was not correct."

Beyonce released her fourth solo album, "4," last month, and it debuted at the top of the charts, and remained at the top for the second week in a row this week. Still, it has yet to produce the kind of massive hits that Beyonce has charted routinely during her career, which has spanned more than a decade.

Knowles blames her camp and her label for that. "They put out the record in a vacuum," he said, adding that her success came despite setbacks.

"It makes you believe that there are some artists that don't need radio. There are some records that don't need a record label, and Beyonce is one of those artists," he said.

While Knowles had only positive things to say about his daughter, he acknowledged when asked that he they have not spoken since she let him go.

"We have not had that conversation," he said.

Representatives for Beyonce and Roc Nation did not respond to requests for comment. Columbia Records and Live Nation had no comment.

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Online:

http://www.beyonceonline.com

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Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the music editor for The Associated Press. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

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Sales slide for Beyonce's new chart-topper (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R&B singer Beyonce went to No. 1 on the U.S. pop album chart with her fourth consecutive release on Wednesday, although its sales were the lowest of her solo career.

Her new album "4" sold 310,000 copies during the week ended July 3, according to tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan -- about the same amount as the next four albums combined.

Her previous release, the double-disc "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," sold 482,000 copies during its first week of sale in November 2010, fueled by the hits "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."

Her first solo outing away from Destiny's Child, "Dangerously in Love," started with 317,000 in 2003, while 2006's "B-Day" opened with 541,000.

The new album has not yet had the benefit of a hit single, with "Run the World (Girls)" stalling at No. 29 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 singles chart. It is now at No. 84.

Executives at her Sony Music label have been on the counter-attack in recent days after the album leaked on June 7 and fans took to the Web to give it a lukewarm reception.

Elsewhere on the album chart, English pop singer Adele's "21" rebounded one place to No. 2 in its 19th week, with 91,500 copies. Its tally stands at 2.5 million copies, easily making it the biggest album of the year.

Rapper Big Sean's debut release "Finally Famous: The Album" came in at No. 3 with 87,000 copies.

Disney starlet Selena Gomez, currently in theaters with the teen comedy "Monte Carlo," arrived at No. 4 with sales of 78,000 for "When the Sun Goes Down," an album on which she shares credit with her band the Scene. Their previous set, "A Year Without Rain," opened at No. 4 with 66,200 last September.

Last week's champ, R&B singer Jill Scott, fell to No. 5 with "Light of the Sun" (54,800).

"American Idol" accounted for the two other newcomers in the top 10. Season 7 winner David Cook debuted at No. 7 with his second album "This Loud Morning" (45,800 copies). It marked a sharp drop from his self-titled debut, which arrived at No. 3 with 280,000 copies in the same week as Beyonce's previous album.

Reigning champ Scotty McCreery came in at No. 10 with the Walmart-exclusive EP "American Idol Season 10: Scotty McCreery" (40,400). A full-length album, released immediately after his victory in May, debuted at No. 12 with 23,000 copies.

Filling out the top 10, country singer Jason Aldean's "My Kinda Party" (47,800) rose four to No. 6 in its 35th week, talent contest winner Jackie Evancho's "Dream With Me" (43,900) fell four to No. 8 in its third week, and the Eminem side project "Hell: the Sequel" (42,200) fell three to No. 9, also in its third week.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

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