Beyonce Checks into Rehab for Role

Beyonce Knowles is about as squeaky-clean as any celebrity can be. She is fiercely protective of her privacy and isn't the type to experiment with drugs at a nightclub. Yet the singer, 27, went to a rehab facility recently. Relax, it was for a film.

Knowles plays soul singer Etta James in the movie, Cadillac Records. James, who is 70 years old now, experimented with substance abuse at an early age. As per MonstersandCritics.com, Knowles wanted to tap into that frame of mind when she began filming.

"I've never tried drugs in my life, so I didn't know about it all," she said. "I learned a lot about myself."

While the visit was supposed to help her with the movie, the experience had a profound effect on Knowles while she made her new album, I Am . . . Sasha Fierce.

She said, "It changed my art. It changed my way of looking at everything, my approach to the songs I chose and the way I sang."

The singer continued. "Before, I was still really insecure and scared and now I have the confidence. It was like I had gone through therapy to something."

Knowles is satisfied with how the trip left her and her mindset. "I felt like a whole new woman, ready to reveal me," she said. "The real me."