"She’s asked her label to put out a new album in April as she thinks this is the way to remind people what her day job is."

The bootylicious singer’s last album B-Day failed to match the success of previous albums.

"B-Day didn’t meet expectations and it’s being reflected in the tour," the source added.

"Beyonce has been reluctant to do a lot of promotion, which is customary when releasing a record. Unfortunately the approach backfired."

Beyonce in hepatitis alert - Mar 1 2007
Beyonce and a host of top models have been caught up in a hepatitis A scare after a swanky party caterer discovered an employee had the virus.

Guests at Sports Illustrated magazine’s swimsuit issue bash were sent alerts by the LA County Department of Health recommending that if they ate raw food, they should have a vaccination by today.

The cook involved, who had acute hepatitis A, which attacks the liver and can cause fever, diarrhoea and jaundice, but is rarely fatal, is now on medical leave.

Anyone who attended three other events where Wolfgang Puck Catering provided the food between February 14 and 20 have also received the vaccination advice.

Beyonce, who was the special edition’s cover star, was joined at the Valentine’s Day party by catwalk stars including Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend Bar Rafaeli, Veronica Varekova and Marisa Miller, according to People magazine.

The menu offered plenty of uncooked food, including sushi and fresh vegetables. So far there have been no reports of illness.

The infected employee was not involved in any of the Puck-catered Oscar events, including the Governor’s Ball after the Academy Awards.

A spokesman for Beyonce told celebrity news website TMZ.com they were "looking into it".

The party was held in a tented area in the courtyard of the Pacific Design Centre in West Hollywood.

Sports Illustrated said: "We are alerting our guests and staff as quickly as possible to ensure they receive the relevant health warnings."

Beyonce ’underpaying dancers’ 31 Jan - 07
Beyonce Knowles has been accused of ’underpaying’ the dancers on her upcoming videos because she is shelling out for the promos herself and not her record label, TMZ.com has reported.

Sources tell the site that the singer is planning to record a bunch of videos at once and is dealing directly with the hipshakers.

By cutting out agents and managers, Beyonce is apparently getting one heck of a deal.

The star is not breaking any union rules and while some dancers have decided against doing it, there are plenty who are happy to take the mainstream gig.

The average wage for appearing in a high-profile music video is about 3,000 US dollars.

And while the production company will pay some agency fees, those appearing with Beyonce will not get that much.

The diva has yet to comment on the story, which some industry types say destroys the normal balance of the dance biz.


Beyonce shows off more than she intends - Jan 22 2007
It seems Beyonce showed off more than she intended to at the premiere of her new movie Dreamgirls last night. see photos

Close-ups reveal what appears to be a layer of mesh on her head.

But Beyonce, 25, is said to be wearing this year’s celebrity must-have, a lace front wig.

The Bootylicious singer is not the first person in the limelight to discover the perils of using hair accessories.