Beyonce: What I'm Thankful For

Nov. 25, 2009— -- Pop culture sensation Beyonce Knowles gets up close and personal in an ABC special airing Thanksgiving night, sharing what she's thankful for this season.

"I'm thankful for my life, I'm thankful for my health and my family and for music and for having the best job in the world," she said.

In a performance made during her I Am... Tour, this summer at the Encore Theater at Wynn, Las Vegas, Knowles shares the inspiration behind many of her hits.

"People don't know that these songs meant more than just the songs that are catchy," she said. "It's my life."

Beyonce said the hit "Dangerously in Love," off her debut solo album, was when she fell for her husband, hip hop mogul Jay-Z.

"A lot of the people in the audience would know 'Crazy in Love,' but would not particularly know this is when I met my first love ... my husband," Beyonce said. "There's an actual story behind all of my songs and why I wrote the songs and I wanted to show that."

ABC's special television event begins on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 26, at 9 p.m. ET with "Beyonce: I Am... Yours."

For her Las Vegas performance, the R&B singer-songwriter put together an entirely new show.

"I've always wanted to perform in Las Vegas, I've always wanted to do my own show there, because a lot of the icons that I look up to had amazing shows in Las Vegas," she said. "I thought if I'm going to have my own Las Vegas show, it has to be right and it has to have heart and soul and it has to be something memorable."

Click here to see photos of 'Beyonce: The Making of a Diva.'

"My whole objective here is for people to see what they don't get to see. Just give me my band, give me a stage, some cool smoke and lights and you see the sweat, you see the pain, you see the love, you see the soul and it's about music," she said.

The seven-time Grammy award-winning singer juggled the music, new choreography, lighting and direction. Beyonce said she pushes herself to perfection.

"When I work, I don't eat. I don't use the restroom...," she said. "And I think my team is just as crazy as I am because they are right there with me pushing it and pushing themselves."Credit: Ed Burke

Beyonce has grown from a talented 9-year-old to the lead singer in the girl group Destiny's Child into a pop icon, at the helm of a thriving business empire. She's been ranked as one of the world's most powerful celebrities by Forbes, reportedly earning an estimated $87 million in 2009.

"There would definitely not be a Beyonce without Destiny's Child. I love my girls," she said.

From "Star Search" to Forbes Celebrity 100, Beyonce has continued to come out on top.

"I don't like to gamble, but if there is one thing I'm willing to bet on is myself," she said.

ABC's special television event begins on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 26, at 9 p.m. ET with "Beyonce: I Am... Yours." "Paul McCartney: Good Evening New York City" airs at 10 p.m. ET.