Rumors of a marriage between hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and singer-actress Beyonce drew swarms of media to the street outside his penthouse on Friday, even as speculation swirled about the possibility of a hoax.

Throngs of photographers, TV crews and onlookers crowded around the garage entrance to the apartment building in Manhattan’s Tribeca district where the wedding ceremony was thought to be taking place.

A parade of sport utility vehicles with tinted windows was seen coming and going from the garage late in the afternoon, one of them carrying two people dressed in chef’s uniforms carrying large, square, white boxes on their laps.

And men dressed in tuxedos were spotted on the roof of the building, where a white tent was erected.

As night fell on the scene, word spread through the crowd that several celebrity guests had been spotted arriving by car, including Beyonce’s former Destiny’s Child cohort Kelly Rowland and actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

People magazine touched off the celebrity wedding watch this week when it reported the couple, who have been dating for several years, had taken out a wedding license in Scarsdale Village, New York, that is valid for 60 days.

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton fanned the flames when he reported the wedding would take place on Friday, then followed up by posting the address of Jay-Z’s apartment house as the location for the nuptials.

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards will take place at 8 p.m. tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and be broadcast live on Channel 2. Performers will include Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Foo Fighters, Mary J. Blige, Fergie, John Legend, Feist, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, John Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Herbie Hancock and Rihanna. For the complete list of nominees, visit grammy.com.

Former Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland has labelled her former bandmate Beyonce Knowles a “slob”.

The 26-year-old told music website urbanplanet.co.uk that touring with the hugely successful three-piece became nightmarish because of the slovenly habits of Beyonce and Michelle Williams.

Though Rowland refused to rule out the chance of a Destiny’s Child reunion, her comments suggest she is delighted to be touring solo, ahead of the release of her new album Ms Kelly.

“They’re both slobs,” she explained. “We would get on a tour bus and they’d flick off their shoes. And I’d be like, ‘No! That’s the corner for shoes!’

“I’m a neat freak. I make them crazy,” she added.

Rowland, who sold over 100 million records with Destiny’s Child, admitted to feeling frustration at continual comparisons with her glamorous bandmate, saying: “People should respect me in my own solo right.”

The singer also rubbished recent rumours that she’s been dating Radio 1 DJ Reggie Yates.

Rowland has been linked with Yates while promoting her new single Work but laughed off the claims, saying the former Top of the Pops presenter isn’t her type.

“He’s not tall, dark and handsome! He’s tall, bright, and… I guess cute? Reggie’s more like a friend. We were just hanging out at a party and exchanged information,” she said.

“I’ve been linked to three British men here,” she continued. “And it’s ok because you know it happens, I’m gonna be linked with someone else by the end of the year. Who cares?”

Rowland also admitted that while she loves the Destiny’s Child smash Say My Name, the songs Bootylicious and Bug A Boo became further reasons to look forward to a solo career.