Beyoncé Knowles gave at a private concert on New Year's Eve for a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, according to reports, performing five songs at a club on the Caribbean island of St Barts.
The event featuring the R&B star seems to have been hosted by Motassim Bilal Gaddafi, known as Hannibal. The rumoured fee for Beyoncé's hour-long warble: $2m. Usher also took the stage, with Jon Bon Jovi, Lindsay Lohan, Russell Simmons and models Miranda Kerr and Victoria Silvstedt in the crowd.
Tickets didn't come cheap. According to Portuguese columnist Vivi Mascaro, the 300 attendees paid $12,000 (£7,500) per table – with more for the endless magnums of champagne. It's not clear whether proceeds from this went to Beyoncé and the other performers – or whether the Gaddafis paid out of pocket. Still, if this YouTube video shot on a mobile phone is anything to go by, the audience got a thrilling show (and Beyoncé could use a pair of trousers).
Hannibal Gaddafi does not exactly have a sterling reputation. His father aside, Hannibal has been involved in several reported assaults, including alleged attacks on Italian police officers, Swiss hotel workers, and his own wife, Aline Skaf, though no charges were made.
• This article was amended on 8 January 2010. A reference was removed to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi hosting a similar concert in 2008. This was denied at the time and several publications retracted reports they had published.
