Beyonce gives birth: The mass hysteria

Mom and dad reportedly spend more than $1 million on hospital security as the blogosphere hyperbolically welcomes "the chosen one" into the world

Beyonce and Jay-Z welcomed their little bundle of hip-hop royalty into the world Saturday, instigating pure mania among fans.
(Image credit: WWD/Conde Nast/Corbis)

"Babyonce is here." Blue Ivy Carter, the first baby (a girl) welcomed into the world by music royalty Beyonce and Jay-Z, was born Saturday in New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital, capping off one of the most buzzed-about celebrity pregnancies in recent memory. First, the R&B diva set a Twitter record for most tweets-per-second following her splashy pregnancy announcement during MTV's Video Music Awards. Next, critics suggested the singer was faking the pregnancy, the paparazzi predictably stalked the couple, and fans hyperbolically compared the kid to the Messiah. And Blue Ivy's eventual entrance into the world was an A-list affair, with unprecedented security measures reportedly taken at the hospital to accommodate the superstar birth. Here, a guide to the hoopla:

What kind of security measures were there?

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Kevin Fallon is a reporter for The Daily Beast. Previously, he was the entertainment editor at TheWeek.com and a writer and producer for TheAtlantic.com's entertainment vertical. He is only mildly embarrassed by the fact that he still watches Glee.