Beyoncé appears first in a video cut scene, laid out luxuriously across the giant screen semi-naked in dimensions big enough to be visible from space. And yet, once she emerges in the flesh – all sequins, shoulder pads and that megawatt smile, drinking in the crowd’s screams – she begins disarmingly with a slew of her rawest soul songs. By the second, Flaws and All, she already appears to be fighting back tears, whether of release or gratitude or both. It’s an opening that seems designed to strip away artifice, if only to provide some sharp contrast for the heavily technologically augmented spectacle about to follow.
Harking back to early house and techno and the ecstatic utopia of the dancefloor, a segment dedicated to the Renaissance album ensues with Beyoncé done up something akin to the Maschinenmensch in Metropolis. She grinds with a dozen backing dancers to the jittery reggaeton of her boss bitch mission statement I’m That Girl, then dances with some actual robots (a pair of mechanical arms) during Cosy.
Were all that not semi-hallucinogenic enough, Alien Superstar interpolates narcissistic anthem I’m Too Sexy by 90s dance-pop twosome Right Said Fred. The opening night of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour had fans buzzing, not just for the superstar’s incredible performance, but also for the appearance of her oldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. The 11-year-old was spotted by a fan in the audience, looking all grown up and exuding serious style.
Sporting an oversized T-shirt, baggy pants, and gold hoop earrings, Blue Ivy stood next to her dad, Jay Z, who watched proudly as Beyoncé rocked the stage in Stockholm, Sweden.
Bass-quaking, envelope-pushing Black power anthem Formation is a powerful political statement in any setting. Performed in a kind of virtual cathedral, horny southern rap and gospel cocktail Church Girl (sample lyric: “drop it like a thottie, drop it like a thottie”) might just be intended to provoke. But by Beyoncé’s own standards, it’s hard not to read Renaissance as a show much lighter on overt socio-political messaging than it is sheer, unfettered, mildly chaotic indulgence. And who could blame her?
In a final, unsubtle, retro-futuristic fanfare, Bey summons Bianca Jagger’s iconic Studio 54 moment by gliding through the air on a glitter-encrusted white horse while Summer Renaissance – which samples Donna Summer’s I Feel Love – blares. The disco history references may or may not be landing with the mostly young BeyHive, but that’s not really the point. By rewiring dance music past in a sensory overload of truly stunning ambition and stamina, Beyoncé is writing some history of her own.
Source: People
In other news – Adidas to sell Kanye West’s Yeezy shoes and donate some proceeds to charity
Kanye West‘s partnership with adidas is no more, but the footwear brand is reportedly planning to resell all remaining Yeezy sneakers in stock for charity.
Following adidas’ split with Ye — largely because of anti-semitic remarks he made last October, as well as visiting Alex Jones’ InfoWars — there was a lot of concern about what would happen to the now-defunct brand’s inventory. Learn more
