For almost a year, Beyoncé’s fans have been starved of visuals for her seventh album, Renaissance.
It’s an unusual move for a star whose visual art has always been intertwined with her music.
From the simple-popping, star-making video for ‘Crazy In Love’, to the multi-layered exploration of infidelity and black femininity in the visual album, Lemonade, she has always used fashion and images to enhance her songs.
So all eyes are on her new world tour. How will she depict Renaissance’s adventurous exploration of marginalized black and queer club music on the stage?
The stakes are as high as the anticipation. This is Beyoncé’s first solo tour in seven years, and her first concert since her historic, politically-charged headline set at the 2018 Coachella festival.
So as the lights dim and giant, stadium-width video screens are filled with sky-blue imagery, there’s an equal sense of excitement and expectation from an audience that includes Dua Lipa, Frank Ocean, Kris Jenner, and Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z.
What she unveils is a global explosion of eye-melting luxury… A trip inside a disco ball that encompasses 34 songs, a flying horse, multiple dance showdowns, and choreographed robots, all tethered to the pulsing heartbeat of Renaissance’s club grooves.
She opens the show with four piano ballads from the start of her career.
Instead, the set starts with ‘Dangerously In Love’, a Destiny’s Child song that was reworked as the title track of her first solo album.
She also pauses to pay tribute to Tina Turner, an artist she has repeatedly called her greatest influence, after the singer’s death last week.
She says, introducing a slow, gospel version of Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High:
“I want you to allow me to sing one of my favorite songs”.
Beyoncé
She adds, casting her eyes toward the sky:
“We love you, Tina”.
Beyoncé
Blue Ivy appearance
The atmosphere intensifies with a stretch of harder-edged hits, including Formation and Black Parade.
Here, Beyoncé performs atop a giant silver tank, while her 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, leads the dance troupe to the front of the stage.
It’s only her second-ever stage appearance but she’s cool as a cucumber, marching in step with the professionals as 60,000 people look on.
When the crowd bursts into applause, Beyoncé acknowledges the response with a beaming, motherly smile – a rare glance behind her flawless perfectionism.
As the concert segues into soul and R&B, Beyoncé shows off some impressive, jazzy vocal runs during Plastic On The Sofa.
Then she lets the audience take the reins on a joyful ‘Love On Top’ – leading them in an acapella rendition of the last four choruses, key changes and all, before declaring:
“I’ll have to stop you there or you’d be going all night”.
Beyoncé
But the star claims her favorite song of the set is the sweaty, indulgent club anthem Heated, which culminates in a frantic rap directed at her detractors.
She tells, apparently unaware that everyone can see the autocue that’s been feeding her the lyrics throughout the show;
“Sometimes I mess up the words, so y’all got to help me”.
Beyoncé
That’s not a criticism, though. There’s a lot to remember in this jaw-dropping show, where almost every song quotes another element of Beyoncé’s catalog. The irresistible electro-funk of Virgo’s Groove, for example, incorporates elements of seven other songs – including ‘Naughty Girl’ and Destiny Child’s classic Say My Name.
Elsewhere, Beyoncé tips her hat to Madonna’s Vogue, Kendrick Lamar’s Alright, and the Jacksons’ Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground).
It’s a supreme love letter to dance music that never feels forced or unwieldy.
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