(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Beyonc Knowles was sick of thinking about her "next shoot... next video... next tour" before she took a break from her music career.

The American songstress released her fourth studio album entitled 4 last week, and the superstar is taking fans behind the scenes to celebrate her new album in the MTV special Beyonc: Year of 4.

The one-off special was filmed during the star's year off, and Beyonc has described the moment she realised she wanted to take a step back from her hugely successful career.

"My life was award shows and tour buses and hotels and it kind of goes by so fast ... I couldn't even hear it anymore," she said. "I'm just thinking about the next shoot ... the next video ... the next tour."

Beyonc, who wowed Glastonbury festival goers at the weekend with her finale performance, says she hasn't previously taken the time to assess both her personal and professional achievements. The 29-year-old star says she wasn't used to relaxing away from her hectic schedule.

"I never even realised I needed a year off," she explained. "And I never realised I don't know how to take a year off."

In March this year, it was announced that Beyonc's father and longtime manager Mathew Knowles would no longer manage her. She now manages herself and has hired her own team. The beauty insists it was daunting to break management ties from her father.

"It was very risky for me to set out on my own," she confessed. "Sometimes we don't reach for the stars, sometimes we are satisfied with what people tell us we're supposed to be satisfied with, and I'm just not going for it." (C) Cover Media