BEYONCE is a breath of fresh air. Unlike other shrinking celebrities, the bootylicious singer is happy with her curves. She talks crash diets, marriage and babies. Oh, and music of course

Q: In a world where celebs are rapidly shrinking to US size zero, you&#x2019;re a breath of fresh air. So why have you been on a bizarre two-week diet of just maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water?

A: It was to lose weight for new film Dreamgirls. But it&#x2019;s nice to have curves. You should be happy with them and accept them. I lost a lot of weight for the movie, strictly for the movie &#x2013; I was way smaller than I thought was attractive for my body. I personally like my natural weight, which is a bit heavier than that.

Q: Well, you are known for your curves. Did anyone tell you to lose weight?

A: I decided to go on a diet. No one told me, and I didn&#x2019;t have to, but I wanted to make a physical transformation because I didn&#x2019;t want people to see &#x2018;me&#x2019; on screen.

My hair is darker and I wanted my body to look different. It was a sacrifice, and I felt like I looked more appropriate for the time &#x2013; my character Deena was around during the time Twiggy was hot, so she would have wanted to be thin.

Q: How well did this diet work?

A: It wasn&#x2019;t the only way to lose it, but it was the fastest way. The most effective way was to do this fast and it was difficult, as I don&#x2019;t believe in not eating and not being healthy. But I got through it and it worked &#x2013; I lost about 20 pounds (1.4 stones).

Q: Did you revert to your old ways once filming was over?

A: I ate everything when it was over! That was the fun part &#x2013; that was easy. I worked out and dieted for the whole movie &#x2013; it took all that time and hard work to get it the weight off, and I swear to you, the second I looked at a donut, it came back! I gained back all the weight, even weight I didn&#x2019;t want!

Q: You&#x2019;ve got a new single, Deja Vu, coming out. Not to mention the album, B&#x2019;Day.

A: It&#x2019;s my first since I made Dangerously In Love in 2003. I&#x2019;m releasing it on my 25th birthday (September 4). It was recorded in two weeks and I&#x2019;m working with the Neptunes, Swizz Beats, Rich Harrison and Rodney Jerkins on it.

Q: What&#x2019;s it sound like?

A: I was attracted to a lot of really hard beats. It&#x2019;s very melodic and innovative, with a lot of nice harmonies. It&#x2019;s a strong record of mainly uptempo songs as I wanted the record to sound like a celebration. It&#x2019;s my day to share my music with the world.

Q: What else does the singer have planned for her birthday?

A: Besides working like crazy, I&#x2019;m going to have a party after the MTV Video Music Awards four days before my birthday. I&#x2019;m performing and am going to have an after-party at (boyfriend) Jay-Z&#x2019;s club, 40/40. I&#x2019;ll hopefully have a good time, I&#x2019;m sure I will.

Q: As if you don&#x2019;t work hard enough, didn&#x2019;t you cancel your holiday to work on B&#x2019;Day?

A: I had so many ideas in my head, so I called all these producers and went into the zone for two weeks. We recorded 22 songs in that time. I couldn&#x2019;t stop. I didn&#x2019;t want to go home, I was just in the zone. The other writers and I sat around eating turkey sandwiches, chips and listened to songs &#x2013; it was really magical.

Q: What was it like working with Jay-Z in the studio?

A: I like to work with talented people. I always learn from them, and working with Jay is just like working with any other talented person. In my opinion, he&#x2019;s one of the best, if not the best, hip-hop rapper we have. I respect him, as a musician, so I let him do his thing and he lets me do my thing. It&#x2019;s no different from if I was working with anyone else that I&#x2019;ve worked with.

Q: You&#x2019;ve collaborated on a few singles together, including Deja Vu and Upgrade U from B&#x2019;Day. Is it easy mixing business with pleasure?

A: I don&#x2019;t think it&#x2019;s forced. We&#x2019;ve never tried to sit down and say &#x2018;OK, I&#x2019;m going to put an album out, you&#x2019;re going to be on my first single. Let&#x2019;s try and write it&#x2019;. That&#x2019;s not how it works. I usually do a record, and it&#x2019;ll need a rap, and he&#x2019;s the best. So who else would I get? If I can get the best, then I&#x2019;m going to try to get the best! And he&#x2019;s the same when he needs a chorus, then he calls me. It&#x2019;s very organic.

With Deja Vu, I finished the record and I loved it, but Jay heard it and his lips started moving. So I said &#x2018;Let&#x2019;s go to the studio,&#x2019; so we did. Upgrade U is really cocky and fun, but Jay said I needed a male perspective.

Q: Apart from music and acting, you&#x2019;ve created a fashion line with your mother, Tina. Tell us a bit more about House Of Dereon.

A: I&#x2019;m passionate about fashion and my clothes line. My mother and I decided to do a clothing line because everyone kept asking where they can get the clothes I wear. I get excited when I find something that fits well and doesn&#x2019;t need to be altered, and makes you look sexy and feminine, so I was really adamant about the fit.

Our jeans have special darts at the back to make sure they fit people with hips and thighs without gaping at the waist. I tried them about 20 times because I wanted them to fit. I don&#x2019;t want to stamp my name on a line and have a celebrity brand that I wasn&#x2019;t proud of.

Q: With a steady boyfriend and stellar career at only 24, do you ever think of settling down?

A: I would like to be married before I had kids, but I&#x2019;m not in a rush. Everything happens when it&#x2019;s supposed to happen and I&#x2019;m still very young. I just want to do my records and continue to do what I&#x2019;m passionate about.