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American singer Beyoncé has embarked on seven concert tours during her solo career, five of which have been worldwide, one which has been collaborative, and one just in Europe.[note 1] Her solo tour debut (whilst on hiatus with Destiny's Child) began in 2003, with the Dangerously in Love Tour. Based predominantly in the United Kingdom, the tour received an unfavorable review from Dave Simpson of The Guardian based on Beyoncé's costumes and a confusion of her core audience at the time.[1] In 2007, she embarked on her first major solo world tour – The Beyoncé Experience, following Destiny's Child's disbandment in 2005. The tour visited five continents and Beyoncé was lauded by music journalism for her simultaneous dancing and singing abilities.[2] Following the release of her 2008 third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé embarked on her next world concert venture, the I Am... World Tour. She collaborated with Thierry Mugler exclusively for the tour's costumes.[3] The I Am... World Tour also marked the first time Beyoncé had performed in South American countries.[4] Beyoncé saw her largest tour to date with 2013-2014's The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Grossing US $229,727,960, the 132 date venture was criticised for the name of the tour, as Beyoncé appeared to be letting herself be known as simply Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's wife, despite being proclaimed as a "modern-day feminist".[5] The tour itself however was lauded by music critics, who again praised Beyoncé's performance abilities and the more advanced production seen compared to her previous tours.[6][7] In 2016 Beyoncé saw her most successful tour to date, The Formation Tour grossing more than U$260.000.000 in just 49 shows.

Beside her solo live performances, Beyoncé has also embarked on two collaborative tours. In 2004, she embarked on  The Verizon Ladies First Tour  in which she co-headlined with  Alicia Keys  and  Missy Elliott . Beyoncé and Keys were widely regarded as the stars of the North American show, although generally, music critics praised the entire ensemble. [8 ]  Beyoncé is currently taking part in her ongoing second collaborative tour; the  On the Run Tour , in which she is co-headlining with her husband, Jay-Z, whom she married in 2008. The all  stadium  tour taking place predominantly in North America as well as two upcoming exclusive performances in  Paris ,  France , came after both Beyoncé and Jay-Z had finished their own solo tours (The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour and the  Magna Carter World Tour , 2013-2014). The tour was commended for its extensive theme and cinematic storyline, as well as both performers onstage abilities. Jesse Lawrence of  Forbes  noted that the On the Run Tour would most likely finish as the second most successful tour of all time by one measure when looking at the average gross per show, which currently lies at a predicted $5M.

Outside of extensive world tours, Beyoncé has also performed a variety of  residency shows  and smaller, promotional tours. 2009's  I Am... Yours  was carried out amongst the time the I Am... World Tour was ongoing.Other residency shows include  4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé , carried out in August 2011 to promote Beyoncé's fourth studio album  4 , and 2012's Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live , regarded as Beyoncé's "return to the stage" performance, after giving birth in January 2012.   In 2013, Beyoncé headlined the  Super Bowl XLVII halftime show , performing a medley of her solo and Destiny's Child recordings (with the latter reuniting on stage for a surprise performance).   Generating 110.8 million viewers, the performance is currently the third most watched halftime show of all time in the United States, behind only  Madonna  and  Bruno Mars .

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Review: Beyoncé is indomitable as the Renaissance Tour plays its first American show in Philly

The culture shifting superstar's sold out 2 1/2 hour spectacular at the Linc was her first solo show in South Philly in seven years.

Beyoncé's South Philly Renaissance began with a prelude.

Before darkness fell on Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday, an enormous video screen showed a TV test pattern, cleverly reworked to include colors of the Progress Pride Flag celebrating the LGBTQ community.

That screen became an image of a cloudy blue sky, and then — as the anticipation of the sellout crowd turned into ecstasy — it was filled in with a stadiumwide image of Beyoncé herself.

And then there she was, at 8:45 p.m. sharp.

In a short black Givenchy dress, uttering the words that her mostly female, significantly queer, impressively diverse, sequin-clad and bedazzled cowboy hat-wearing audience longed to hear: “I love you, Philadelphia.”

From there, the opening segment of the first U.S. show of the Renaissance Tour — named after the pulsating 2022 album that draws on the history of dance music and club culture, spotlighting Black gay creators — was surprisingly old school.

The 2½-hour spectacularly entertaining show started off with “Dangerously In Love,” a Destiny’s Child song that became the title cut of Beyoncé's first solo album in 2003. The six-song segment was a ballad-singing masterclass, backed by an eight-piece band. ( Check out the setlist here .)

It was intentionally presented as an intimate intro to an evening that would soon enough get bigger than life.

The 41-year-old singer sat atop a piano while Emily Bear played “1 + 1,” growled into the bluesy “I’m Goin’ Down” (a Rose Royce song later covered by Mary J. Blige), and exchanged vocal runs with guitarist Agape Jerry on “I Care,” veering towards hair metal.

None of those songs are from Renaissance , and none are among Beyoncé's biggest hits. (And though the Renaissance Tour include plenty of hits, it is by no means a “greatest hits” tour.)

But by beginning without immediately hitting the audience with outsized production numbers, it allowed her to present herself as an actual human being who just happens to be a culture-shifting global pop star .

It also allowed her to sing an abbreviated show-stopping “River Deep, Mountain High,” a tribute added to the Renaissance set list after Tina Turner’s death in May.

Then, it was “Alien Superstar” time. And that’s when the state-of-the-art Afrofuturist spectacle of Beyoncé's first solo tour in seven years really began.

She made her second entrance seated, a particularly stylish extraterrestrial cyborg. Rising from her throne in a sexy silver spacesuit, the band was replaced by 20 dancers in matching outfits , headed to the catwalk to take to the crowd.

The aesthetic mashed up Fritz Lang’s Metropolis with more modern sci-fi movies like The Fifth Element and The Terminator .

Thumping house music made bodies move, with a theme of uniqueness. We are all our own special, one-of-a-kind entities, with Beyoncé being just a little more unique than everybody else.

“I’m one of one, I’m number one, I’m the only one,” she sang, emphasizing a point incontrovertibly apparent.

But while trumpeting her unicorn status, the Queen also enraptured her Beyhive in the way that Renaissance had hopefully intended by birthing the kind of joyful, communal space that the COVID lockdown created a longing for.

Renaissance is about self-acceptance and the aspiration to be “comfortable in your own skin,” as Beyoncé sang during “Cozy,” which phrased it this way: “You’re a god, you’re a hero, you’ve survived everything you’ve been through.”

It was self-esteem boosting with a sprinkling of “rainbow gelato” and “limoncello glycerine.”

Sounds delicious, and for the most part, it was. Beyoncé’s one-of-one combination of talents were everywhere on display.

For the traditional-minded, she consciously placed herself in a long Black music lineage, not only with the Rose Royce and Tina Turner covers, but also a showcase of Philadelphia-born soul man Frankie Beverly’s “Before I Let Go.”

Other nods to vintage R&B and pop included a snippet of the Jackson 5′s “I Want You Back” in a version of “Love on Top” that turned into a mass singalong.

Backup singers Tiffany Ryan, Karyn Porter, Natalie Imani, and Tayler Green got to step out with Diana Ross’ 1976 disco hit “Love Hangover” during a changeover.

The most hip-hop focused segment of the show was subtitled “Opulence.” It was introduced with a spoken-word interlude featuring Philly ballroom legend Kevin JZ Prodigy .

During “My Power,” Beyoncé’s 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, joined the dancers, showing off her moves in camouflage chic.

Beyoncé’s skills as a rapper are often underestimated. On the Megan Thee Stallion collaboration “Savage (Remix),” she threw down with force, rapping while crouched atop an armored vehicle.

And her flow was intricate on “Heated,” during which fans cooled themselves with folding fans emblazoned with the song’s name, available for $40 at the merch stand. They came in handy; it was a warm night.

The special effects were dazzling. Though in the social media era, the wow factor of spectacular staging is dimmed.

Yes, it was pretty cool to see the actual Beyoncé suspended by wires and floating above the crowd on a platinum horse during the Donna Summer sampling “Summer Renaissance” encore.

But most fans had already seen it on TikTok, so shortly after liftoff, they made their way to exits in hopes of beating epic traffic.

The attention to detail in the staging was thoroughly impressive. Perhaps the truest line Beyoncé sang all night long was in “Cuff It”: “I’m a seasoned professional.”

Costumes were clever, most notably during a segment in which Beyoncé posed inside a scallop shell — a nod to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus — while the star and dancers were dressed as bees.

Her Queen’s outfit included a headdress, complete with antenna. It was a little unclear however, what that had to do with “America Has A Problem.”

Dancers dazzled, showing out with an extended showcase before the encore.

Beyoncé strutted with swagger and confidence, but didn’t dance as much as on previous tours. (The BeyHive speculation is that she might have suffered a leg injury earlier this year. If so, it didn’t hamper the overall effectiveness of the show.)

The highlight came halfway through with “Break My Soul,” the lead single from Renaissance that deals in a Beyoncé speciality: resilience.

The song is marvelously efficient and motivating on its own, with Robin S. and Big Freedia samples and thumping bass pushing us all towards a “new salvation.”

Then “The Queens Remix” version of the song melded it with Madonna’s “Vogue,” shouting out Black women music makers including Philadelphians Santigold, Tierra Whack, and Jill Scott.

With their names in lights, there was strength in numbers, and the Renaissance was in full effect. No souls would be broken. Beyoncé sounded indomitable.

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Here’s What the Beyhive Is Saying About Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour Kickoff

By Grant Rindner

The biggest blockbuster of summer 2023–Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour–is officially here. The international run supporting Bey’s acclaimed seventh studio album began on May 10 in Stockholm, and as her first solo tour in seven years (she toured with Jay-Z internationally in 2018), anticipation was at a fever pitch (especially considering the album is almost a year old and still has no music videos). Social media was littered with fan reporting on the setlists and videos, showcasing killer runs, wardrobe changes, and, uhh,  robotic arms – all contributing to the overall impression that once again, Beyoncé delivered. 

Yet another, unexpected narrative has emerged as well: Is this a farewell tour? 

Some have interpreted the career-spanning nature of the set list, presently measuring in at 36 songs and well over two hours, and full of deep-cut tracks fans have begged to see live for years, as indicative of her intent to give the Beyhive everything they’ve ever asked for before she leaves touring behind for good. Others have pointed out that this is simply her first time on a solo tour in years, and it would be natural to try to cover the breadth of her discography – not to mention unthinkable for a 41-year-old with an all-time great command of the stage to walk away entirely.

Nothing she actually said on stage confirmed or denied any of the theories, but one thing’s for sure: Beyoncé, ever the completist, has gone big to reassert herself in her return to the stage. The diva  listed herself as her own opener,   performing deep cuts like “Dangerously in Love” and “I Care,” and even some C-Sides, like the underrated Destiny’s Child banger “Nuclear,” before segeuing into the main show showcasing the new album. Neither did it escape fans’ notice that she incorporated these songs in lieu of mainstream, ubiquitous hits like “Single Ladies” or “If I Was a Boy.” The setlist was likewise notably devoid of any heartbreak tracks like “Me Myself and I,” and omitted  songs from  Lemonade *—*her previous album that dealt with themes of infidelity—entirely, save “Formation.” The show instead leaned heavily into Renaissance’s themes of  celebration and queer culture, with a pause for a full-on ballroom rave and a shoutout to  Beyoncé’s late uncle Johnny , to whom she previously dedicated the album, dubbing him her “godmother.” She also credited Johnny for exposing her to the house, dance, and club music that inspired the LP.

Of the evening’s many wardrobe changes and setups, the early favorite is Beyoncé leaning all the way into the Hive mentality with a full bee-getup that looked like a costume out of the X-Men rogues gallery, while reporting for “KNTY News” (you can sound that one out on your own). Sharp-eared fans also caught what appeared to  be a reference to Donald Glover’s not-so-thinly veiled series  Swarm  (the name itself a pretty undeniable reference to the “Bey-hive”) ,  which focused on one disturbed young fan of a Houston-born pop star who (wink wink) wasn’t Beyoncé. “Swarm on these hands,” she said, in what’s being interpreted as a moderate swipe at Glover’s program. 

And only at a Beyoncé show is the  other people's music that’s played over the speakers important enough to go viral. Fans  made a huge deal about Bey using a portion of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” to open  Renaissance’s  “Thique,” and  Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock” as a musical blend for a dance breakdown. There were no guests, but Beyoncé did do a Mary J. Blige cover.

The European leg of the tour runs through June 28, before the North American dates pick up with Toronto on July 8. She then plays the U.S. between July 12 in Philadelphia and September 27 in New Orleans. That’s a grueling run, even for Beyoncé and her horse,  Reneigh .

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Beyoncé Kicks Off Renaissance World Tour in Sweden — Her First Solo Concert Outing in 7 Years

Beyoncé performed 36 tracks for nearly three hours during the show, including various songs from her seventh studio album Renaissance

Beyoncé is back onstage.

The singer, 41, kicked off her The Renaissance World Tour at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on Wednesday, marking her first solo concert outing in seven years.

During the sold-out show, Beyoncé performed 36 tracks for nearly three hours, including various songs from her seventh studio album Renaissance , such as "Alien Superstar," "Cuff It," "Pure/Honey" and "Plastic Off the Sofa."

The concert's set list also featured numerous hits that showcased Beyoncé's decades-long career , including "Crazy in Love," "Partition" and "Love on Top."

Beyonce's husband JAY-Z and daughter Blue Ivy , 11, were also in attendance to show their support during the concert, which is produced by Parkwood Entertainment and promoted by Live Nation.

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During her set, Beyoncé wowed in a series of elaborate designer outfits that complimented each portion of the show.

The mom of three kicked off the evening in an Alexander McQueen fall 2023 look, per Vogue , before she transitioned into a silver bodysuit that featured a circular cutout across her torso.

Beyoncé then donned other glamorous looks through the night, including a pearl-embellished Balmain bodysuit, a dress that changed color thanks to a UV light, and another bodysuit that featured hands with red nail polish placed strategically around her body.

The singer — who is affectionately known as Queen Bey by her loyal legion of fans — even transformed into an actual bee at one point, sporting a yellow-and-black striped Mugler look with metal antennae.

Beyoncé couldn't help but tease fans during the show too, hinting that her Queen status is the reason why the long-awaited visuals for her Renaissance album, which came out last July, haven't been released yet.

Right before performing her 2016 hit "Formation," Beyoncé stood onstage with her backup dancers in tow, as a voice read aloud quotes that flashed on screen behind her.

"I know you hear me," the voice began. "You've asked for the visuals. You've called for the queen. But a queen moves at her own pace. Bitch."

Then adding that Beyoncé "decides when she wants to give you a f---ing taste" of the visual components, the voice concluded, "So get your fork and your spoon if you got one."

RELATED VIDEO: Beyoncé Gets Emotional as She Breaks Record for All-Time Grammy Wins: 'Thank You So Much'

The Renaissance World Tour marks Beyoncé's first solo tour since 2016's The Formation World Tour. She would later go on to headline Coachella in April 2018, before she and JAY-Z, 53, took part in their On the Run II Tour months later.

The European leg of Beyonce's latest tour will make stops in Belgium, England, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, before the North American leg of the tour kicks off on July 8 in Toronto, later ending in New Orleans on Sept. 27.

Beyoncé's BeyGOOD initiative, which she founded in 2013, will play a prominent role during each concert stop, according to a press release.

"BeyGOOD will continue its legacy of philanthropy, building out this focus on economic equity by supporting organizations that serve marginalized and underserved communities with access to scholarships, opportunities for internships that lead to job placement, and resources to support entrepreneurship," the release said. "In various cities throughout the tour, BeyGOOD will support entrepreneurs through Black Parade Route luncheons, celebrating small business owners, with grant opportunities being awarded and a foray of services with global partners to promote business sustainability. One thousand small businesses will be supported with a commitment totaling one million dollars."

"BeyGOOD will also support students through scholarship funds that will be given to colleges and universities in ten different cities along the tour. Each school will be given one hundred thousand dollars and will select the student recipients," the statement continued, adding that BeyGOOD's total scholarship commitment during The Renaissance World Tour "will be one million dollars."

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RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR

Beyoncé returns to the global stage for the renaissance world tour, her first solo tour in over six years..

• Date August 26 - 27 , 2023
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Following the wildly successful release of BEYONCÉ’s seventh studio album, RENAISSANCE, the global superstar has announced RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR, her first solo tour in over six years. The tour will make a Las Vegas stop at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 and Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023.

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The Renaissance Started in Sweden

The first shows of her tour make it clear: we are living in the beyoncéverse..

There is a certain hierarchy between Wednesday, night one of Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour, and Thursday, night two of Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour. I heard it first on the Delta flight from JFK to Stockholm as an almost entirely Black — and almost entirely Beyoncé-bound — boarding group took our seats. One man asked another what night he was seeing the show. “Thursday!” the guy answered. Night two, or, as far as his seatmate was concerned, night last . I swear I could hear the reply sizzle as it hit skin: “ Ohhhh , well it will still be fun!”

For two nights this week, Stockholm became the capital of Black Planet, the epicenter of all internet activity , when the Renaissance tour — Beyoncé’s first solo tour in seven years and two(-ish) albums — took over the city. After a viral TikTok tipped off fans that floor seats abroad were selling for one-tenth the cost of tickets in New York or Los Angeles (with enviably close seats that cost $2,000 in the U.S. going for less than $200 in Stockholm) those fans booked entire Eurotrips around Beyoncé. They got on the plane wearing compression socks for Beyoncé. A film programmer from Los Angeles told me her hotel had a sign in the elevator specifically for the Hive. She remembered it saying “Welcome to Beyoncé.” Every Black person she’d met so far in Stockholm has traveled here for the show — except for one couple from Seattle who just came because it’s spring.

Stockholm is a pleasant but quaint city to start a global tour in. Is that the polite way to say even locals seemed to find it random? During a walk around the city Tuesday afternoon, I could count other Black people I passed on one hand — and one was a poster promoting the Shondaland show Queen Charlotte . “There’s been some mixed reception,” Charles Ray Hamilton, a TV writer living in Los Angeles, told me. “Going through customs, they ask why you’re here. I said I’m here for the Beyoncé concert. The customs agent rolled her eyes and said, ‘Ugh, why did I even ask?’ She turned to the other agent and started speaking in Swedish.” Not to say that every Stockholmer was anti-Renaissance: In stores and at restaurants, every local seemed to know someone who wouldn’t miss it. When I walked around Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town, a few hours ahead of the show, I saw a man in official tour merch recognizable from fans’ posts. Two 20-somethings had white glitter cowboy hats hanging down their backs.

At the stadium close to sunset, half the crowd came to dance in on-theme sequins, glitter, and chrome, and the other half came to dance in whatever was comfortable. A pregnant woman from Denver, in a shimmery silver disc shift dress, asked me to take a video of her, her sister, and her best friend fanning their merch fans emblazoned with the number ten — a reference to the lyrics for “Heated” ( Ten ten ten across the board ). Three other fans were confused about what a merch T-shirt proclaiming “NO SKIPS” meant. “No skips? What does it mean? Should I know what it means?” one said. “I don’t care what it means. I just want it,” insisted another.

The fans I spoke to said they had no expectations for the show. Maybe this was because of the lack of visuals from an artist who has released not one visual album but three . That afternoon, I’d convinced myself that the lack of music videos was intentional. That it wasn’t the result of a stalled corporate partnership. Maybe it was just the result of Beyoncé’s well-documented perfectionism. (Perhaps there were too-white candles , as she’d said once while giving notes during a rehearsal.) I had taken shots of her Kool-Aid. I had given in to the spin: It was actually better that there weren’t any music videos. It was radical that there weren’t any. In a hotel lobby close to the stadium, I asked a news-producer-artist-nomad in his 30s what he expected from the show without videos to memorize and mimic . “There is no conception,” he said. “The Bible says eyes have not seen, ears have not heard.” We both cackled.

When the show started, it didn’t start with a bang — it started with a ballad. Clouds, peachy and lavender in their golden-hour glow, glided across a screen that spanned the stage. There was Beyoncé, in a custom Alexander McQueen catsuit, a mic stand, and a deep cut. “I love you I love you I love you,” she began, singing “Dangerously in Love 2.” It’s a track that always sounded slight on its album. Only when it was released from its mix in live shows could it become a big gutsy ballad. In Stockholm, to an audience bracing themselves for Lights! Fire! Glitter! Flash! the song’s pleading landed with an emotional wallop. Three more ballads followed: “Flaws and All,” “1+1” (with covers of Etta James’s “I’d Rather Go Blind” and Rose Royce’s “I’m Going Down” mixed in) and “I Care.” You will eat your greens at Beyoncé’s table. She sang the songs in a fit, in a fever, in vocal runs that circled and surrounded.

Then we got subterranean with glitter and grime. First came the Renaissance thesis statement , opener “I’m That Girl.” The album sprawls and spins: “Cozy” doesn’t lead into “Alien Superstar” as much as it drips . Onstage, she met the moment in bursts: the Renaissance songs are mostly played in dazzling triptychs with old material to bridge the gaps. “I’m That Girl,” “Cozy,” and “Alien Superstar” were cut off by “Lift Off,” a forgettable track from Watch the Throne on which she did backing vocals. “Cuff It,” “Energy,” and “Break My Soul” followed with the last turning into “Formation.” We decamped to some classic tentpoles and newer unperformed music until the album’s final three-song run became the show’s kicker. The ballad openers were starting to look like dealer’s choice. Those songs wouldn’t fit in the tour’s IV drip of desire and adrenaline.

Renaissance comes from the gut, from a thumping, humping, throbbing core that wants to love and fuck and twirl and thrill. In the three-hour show, Beyoncé plugged us in to her motherboard. She is cyborg Beyoncé, who needs a power source and is the power source. We watched her ride a chrome tank down a platform to the second stage. We watched as she was drilled and posed and coiffed by mechanical arms. Onscreen, we zoomed through fiber-optic cables and in and out of her cyborg scaffolding. For Renaissance ’s lovey-dovey songs, she emerged from a clamshell. For earlier anthemic hits, she was bouncing and grinding atop the pit.

She’s 41 now and beginning her seventh world tour, so the show finds savvy ways to let her rest. The chrome tank was a chair. The mechanical arms almost functioned as a tripod. She growled the call and response on “Heated” instead of dancing to it. For “Church Girl” and some songs from 4 , she was the stationary centerpiece amid a dozen dancers. But who cares? Her most memorable set pieces have been a walk and a chair . “When they invented walking they never dreamed it could ever look that good,” Seth Meyers tweeted during her 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show — a line I think about every time she simply strides across a stage.

Beyoncé has played with robot imagery before — in 2008 for I Am … Sasha Fierce . But that is perhaps the era fans are least enthusiastic to return to. The bifurcation of that album, divided between ballads and anthems, between Beyoncé the woman and Sasha Fierce the militaristic pop superhero, feels like old tech. Maybe Beyoncé herself feels the same way: Only two I Am songs makes the cut, and rejoice that it’s not “Single Ladies,” except for a few seconds during an interlude. “Diva” feels fresh again with the spicy horns from “Countdown” mixed beneath and the added delight of Lil Uzi Vert’s “I Just Wanna Rock” dance. (The high was deflated when she followed with “Run the World,” that didactic, unimaginative first draft of a 2011 feminist-empowerment anthem, but the crowd still roared its approval.) “Black Parade,” a random Lion King– era loosie whose pandemic-summer release never let it be the moment, gets a raucous celebration sandwiched between “Run the World” and the “Savage” remix verse , which made that chrome-mirror tank bounce — a fun nod to both Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion’s Houston roots. “Move” announces itself as the most underrated Renaissance track, playing all the way up to every seat in the rafters.

When Beyoncé played Coachella in 2018 and made the accompanying Homecoming concert documentary , she was navigating a history of a Black experience — HBCU homecomings — and of her own career. That set list was syllabus and index in one. But Renaissance is not a guided tour in the same way. It’s a multiverse. There is so much Beyoncé music now, so many permutations of her single vision. Sometimes, the show zoomed past it all too quickly: A few videos from her 2013 self-titled album flashed onscreen with the most screen time given to “Flawless.” Blink and you’d miss a medley that includes “Rocket” and “Dance for You.” Another interlude blended “End of Time” with her Jay-Z Carters collab “Heard About Us.” I heard two chords of “Freakum Dress” and maybe four more of “Blow,” although no set list I’ve seen shared online has tracked these hidden mixes. The “hiiiiiigher” runs in “Family Feud” were layered under the opening organ of “Lovehappy,” soundtracking an interlude.

Some Beyoncé movements that she included in this show have become her standards: One way or another, she will find a way to speed up the throbbing end of “Partition.” “Love on Top” and a cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” have been a package deal since the first On the Run tour. As early as the Beyoncé Experience tour, a ballet barre has risen from the ground as something sexy to dance off and around. The ballads from 2011’s 4 , which she has often called her favorite album — including during this show — were overrepresented to balance out Renaissance ’s dance-heavy scope. But I noted the near-total absence of Lemonade . She’d chosen “Formation” and a bit of “Freedom” from that album but nothing else. It makes sense: There is no guilt or wrath in this show — only direct orders. (“Eat it, eat it, eat it eat it eat it! ”) Her “Telephone” verse, on that Lady Gaga collab, would’ve slotted nicely here. Ditto “Countdown” and “End of Time.” That said, after years of lobbying — if you’re in line, stay in line — we got “Halo” and “Single Ladies” off the set list, so let me be quiet.

Renaissance was influenced by ballroom and reveres it. When Les Twins — the pair of French dancers who have been her frequent flanks over the years — tried out a death drop onstage, it felt like cosplay, especially when ballroom star Honey Balenciaga was right there to slay a costume-change dance break a few moments later. The staging was enormous and ambitious: the tank, the glitter horses, the mechanical arms swinging fans and frames. The first act pushed out a set piece including a huge glitter horse and her band arranged on glittering stage risers — only to roll it back in a moment later. Others were better deployed: Bey reported from a “KNTY4NEWS” broadcast desk in a deluxe queen-bee suit by Thierry Mugler with yellow and black body armor and an antenna-topped headpiece that was crown and command center all in one. This was just one of the extravagantly fashion costumes overseen by stylist Shiona Turini ( a former contributing editor for the Cut ) . She sent the star out in a David Koma dress that I can only describe as looking like the future, a shimmering, sexy, handsy Loewe catsuit, a pearl-adorned black bodysuit for “Church Girl.”

Like its star, the Renaissance tour shows its work. A final set list appears in the tour book annotated with Beyoncé’s handwriting. The scaffolding wasn’t peeking out, it’s on display, and a dozen lighting rigs fluttered up and down, bobbing like piano keys. The interludes teased the still-unreleased music videos, Brooklyn block parties, grainy vintage ballroom footage. The pre-“Formation” interlude addressed the lack of music videos with text onscreen: “You’ve called for the queen. But a queen moves at her own pace, bitch. She decides when she wants to give you a fucking taste. So get your fork and your spoon if you got one.”

Beyoncé will always do the most, but sometimes the show double-checks its boxes: The small act of swaggily wearing sunglasses as Beyoncé while singing “Church Girl” is more rousing than, say, UV lights changing the color of a cloak. After the show, I discussed it with a friend who was in the VIP pit on opening night. It’s hard, I told him, because Beychella was the greatest performance to ever happen anywhere — hyperbole, maybe, but who else has such a total command of their own catalogue. Renaissance is nothing more and nothing less than another excellent Beyoncé concert. The show zags against the major pop tours this year: Taylor Swift is on a (literal) tour through her neatly defined Eras. Madonna is launching her own retrospective Celebration tour. But Beyoncé already did all that with Beychella. In this show, the logic of her latest album, its lush mixing and interpolating, is applied to her whole catalogue. The closest it gets to recreating a video set are the five mic stands that rise for her performance of “Love on Top.” Otherwise, Beyoncé isn’t living in her past but sampling it, making old songs sound new.

At the end of the show, Beyoncé crossed the arena atop Reneigh — her fans’ name for her disco-ball horse — to perform the Donna Summer–sampling “Summer Renaissance.” As the pyrotechnics flashed and glitter shot up from the stage like a geyser, she crossed back alone, draped in a cape. She was Glinda the Groove Witch, dropping good vibes below.

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Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour stops in LA. What to know about the SoFi Stadium shows

The beyhive will get in formation and shimmer in silver over labor day weekend for three shows at sofi stadium., by jonathan lloyd • published september 1, 2023 • updated on september 1, 2023 at 4:48 pm.

Beyoncé's much-anticipated Renaissance Tour stops in Inglewood Friday for the first of three shows at SoFi Stadium.

The LA shows kick off Queen Bey's birthday month -- more on that below -- and follow stops in Las Vegas and San Francisco. The world tour visits Vancouver, Seattle, Dallas, Houston and New Orleans before wrapping Oct. 1 in Kansas City.

Here's what to know.

When are Beyoncé's concerts at SoFi Stadium?

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The concerts, part of Beyoncé's first solo tour in more than six years, are Friday, Saturday and Monday with a break Sunday for her 42nd birthday.

Shows begin at 8 p.m. each day.

Additional “no stage view - listening seat” tickets have been released for Beyoncé’s sold out show tonight in LA. #InDemand #RENAISSANCEWorldTour 🎟️ - https://t.co/Iw9YKSr0Pd pic.twitter.com/eFELGtxdZF — RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR (@RenaissanceWT) September 1, 2023

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Silver dress code.

A concert dress code? 'Code' is a little strong, but Beyoncé has requested that fans wear their 'most fabulous silver fashions' to her September shows in recognition of her birthday month.

"We'll surround ourselves in a shimmering human disco ball each night," she posted on her website . "Everybody mirroring each other's joy. Virgo season together in the House of Chrome."

Everybody on Mute Challenge

Remember, when Beyoncé performs 'Energy,' it's time to hush after she sings, 'Look around, everybody on mute.'

Beyoncé via https://t.co/tEWPvbkEQW “Washington D.C. - EERBODY ON MUTE WAR WINNER” #RENAISSANCEWorldTour pic.twitter.com/VLQdckUFcy — RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR (@RenaissanceWT) August 7, 2023

Getting to SoFi Stadium

Plan your trip to SoFi and leave early.

If you're planning to drive, check here for parking at the stadium. Off-site parking is also available nearby. For more details about parking in the city of Inglewood click  here , and for info regarding parking at the Kia Forum click  here .

Parking zones typically open between two to four hours prior to events. Check your event parking pass for the event-specific parking hours.

If you're looking to avoid traffic entirely, public transportation is also an option. Visit  LA Metro  to for bus and train schedules. Metro also directed fans to Rally chartered buses .

Tickets, bags and other rules

Keep your tickets in your mobile wallet . Only mobile tickets from the Ticketmaster app will be accepted, screenshots and PDF's won't be valid.

SoFi will not permit fans without tickets to gather outside the stadium.

Bags must be clear and cannot be bigger than 12x6x12 inches.

If you're planning on bringing a sign, it'll need to be no larger than 3-by-5 feet .

No professional cameras or cameras with extendable or attachable lenses. No professional audio or video gear. No banners or poles.

Click here for a complete list of prohibited items and an A-to-Z stadium guide.

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Everything We Learned from Night One of Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour

I t’s the moment everyone’s been waiting for: Beyoncé finally kicked off her Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm, Sweden , Wednesday night. This comes close to a year after the release of her seventh album, RENAISSANCE , a period during which she has rarely acknowledged the album with interviews or public performances of the new music, nor put out any music videos to accompany the songs. Nonetheless, the BeyHive was still buzzing with excitement on social media as they shared clips of the stage, the merchandise, the view from different VIP sections, and, most importantly, the artist performing the songs live for the first time.

Beyoncé is gearing up for a second night at the Friends Arena in Stockholm. As she gets ready to hit the stage, let’s take a look at what was revealed in the first show that might offer an indication of what could happen on the rest of the highly anticipated tour. A lot has already happened—from Bey herself addressing the lack of visuals to her celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, in keeping with the themes of the album.

Here’s everything we learned from night one of the Renaissance World Tour.

Beyoncé said not to rush a queen for music videos

omg not beyoncé addressing the visuals i’m crying 😭 #RenaissanceWorldTour pic.twitter.com/xQ9AkBCp3p — rasmus (@rasmusbravado) May 10, 2023

If we haven’t learned by now, Beyoncé releases things when she is good and ready . This is her first solo album since 2016’s Lemonade , so we can’t act surprised that she told her fans to be patient and stop asking about the music videos. Her last solo albums, Lemonade , Beyoncé , and The Gift (a concept album for The Lion King ), all had visual components that included music videos for each song. This built up the expectation that RENAISSANCE would get the same treatment.

Beyoncé is online and knows her fans have been hounding her, and she has finally responded. During a break on the first night, a disembodied voice addressed the crowd as the words it spoke were displayed on stage: “Aww, you mad? Well, there’s no remedy for that, bitches… I know you’ve asked for the visuals. You’ve called for the Queen. But a Queen moves at her own pace, bitch. Decides when she wants to give you a f-cking taste. So get your fork and your spoon if you got one.”

She is cutting out some of her biggest hits to make room for the new album and deep cuts

Attendees at the concert in Stockholm filmed every moment for the world to see on social media, and many of Beyoncé’s fans were quite surprised by some of the songs she decided to perform. She opened the show with “Dangerously In Love” from her debut album of the same name and ran through a string of popular songs, both mainstream hits and fan favorites. At the opening night show, she also performed songs like “Rather Die Young,” “Flaws and All,” and “Black Parade,” which have not gotten much attention from Beyoncé in recent memory.

Beyonce - Rather Die Young 🎤 SINGGGGGG!!!! #RenaissanceWorldTour pic.twitter.com/MEZwAVYNWk — ram (@oyyram) May 10, 2023

Some of Beyoncé’s most popular songs, many of which she has made a point to perform on past tours, are notably missing from the set list. “Run The World” fans, do not worry: she still performs the song. But those who are fans of “If I Were a Boy,” “Single Ladies,” and “Halo,” a notorious closer for Beyoncé—as evidenced by the Homecoming concert film and her Formation World Tour— may be disappointed.

Beyoncé did NOT perform her hit songs “Single Ladies”, ”If I Were a Boy” and “Halo” at the opening night of her #RENAISSANCEtour show in Sweden. pic.twitter.com/ejXi5b7fXf — Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) May 10, 2023

Beyoncé brought back the Les Twins, who have accompanied her on multiple tours and performances

The Les Twins, Laurent and Larry, were approached by Beyoncé years ago after a video of them dancing went viral and they appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show . They were invited to perform with Beyoncé at the Billboard Music Awards in 2011, and she took them on the road with her for the Mrs. Carter World Tour, her joint On The Run Tour with Jay-Z, and her Coachella performance in 2018 . Her fans were excited to see the Les Twins back on stage with her for this new tour.

It was gay as hell: An unabashed celebration of the LGBTQ+ community

In the lead-up to the album, Beyoncé dedicated the project to her Uncle Johnny, who battled HIV when she was young. He is referenced in the song “HEATED,” and in the outro of the song, Beyoncé takes on the role of MC at a ball (a queer dance party) where she starts “reading.” All of these influences took center stage at the Renaissance World Tour and will make a strong statement when it comes stateside in July, given the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being introduced across the country.

BEYONCÉ IS HEATED😭😭😭 #RENAISSANCEtour pic.twitter.com/ddL9s1ByUA — 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆🫧💚 (@beyoncegarden) May 10, 2023

One of the biggest displays of affection for her queer fans came even before the concert started. As concertgoers poured into the stadium, they were greeted with a fake TV error screen, but if you look closely, some of the colors are different. This error screen has the colors of the progress pride flag, which includes colors from the transgender pride flag, as well as brown and black to indicate the greater discrimination experienced by those members of the community. Twitter users joked, “Nashville is gonna be ready to arrest Beyoncé for this, lord Jesus,” referencing the state’s attempt to ban drag shows and broader attempts across the US to infringe on trans people’s rights.

Nashville is gonna be ready to arrest Beyoncé for this lord Jesus pic.twitter.com/jAz6ObNSEQ — 💫 (@heyjaeee) May 10, 2023

There is also a ball that happens in the show. Beyoncé makes space for her dancers to vogue and dance to her song, “PURE/HONEY.”

BEYONCÉ HOSTING A BALL IS SO WILD TO ME OMG pic.twitter.com/1JwnRMX8TR — pocket (@islandthembo) May 10, 2023

Some people might recognize Honey Balenciaga from The House of Balenciaga, which appeared in season two of HBO Max’s Legendary . She was seen voguing on stage with the rest of Beyoncé’s dancers.

@legendaryvoguex HONEY BALENCIAGA @Honey. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE THE IT GIRL #RENAISSANCE ♬ original sound - Legendary Vogue X

As we’ve seen with other tours from major artists like Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, and the 1975, their fervent fan base will keep everyone up to date on all the song changes, new outfits, and surprises that these artists pull out of their bag of tricks on the road. As we’ve seen with Swift’s notoriously sold-out Eras Tour, her fans made sure to give people who couldn’t get tickets a chance to see the tour play out online. Based on how night one played out, it seems like Beyoncé’s fans will be doing the same for those of us stuck at home.

Correction, May 11: The original version of this story misgendered Honey Balenciaga. She uses she/her pronouns.

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Beyoncé dazzles fans in 'renaissance' world tour opening concert.

"Renaissance" is the superstar's first solo tour since 2016 and shares the namesake of her 2022 dance-centric album.

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Tens of thousands of fans descended upon the Swedish capital of Stockholm to celebrate the opening show of Beyoncé's new world tour on Wednesday.

"Renaissance" is the superstar's first solo tour since 2016 and shares the namesake of her 2022 dance-centric album, the success of which landed Beyoncé at the top of the Grammy throne as the ceremony's most decorated artist in history.

Video above: The "Renaissance" world Tour is expected to bring in more than $2 billion dollars

Fans who had complained in recent months about the lack of music videos for "Renaissance" hits were in for a treat Wednesday as video projections and animations took center stage. The rapid succession of costume changes and decor shifts was baffling. The singer played on interactions between a digital and physical world where robotic devices make space for weird silver moon rovers or an inflatable horse. Even Queen Bey herself morphs into a cybernetic character. Seems confusing? It was.

Yet despite the impressive scale of the stage set, some moments still felt intimate. Beyoncé expressed heartfelt gratitude to fans for traveling from afar to witness her perform. She reached for songs spanning across her two-decade career, kicking off the show with "Dangerously in Love," the title track of her 2003 first solo album, moving through 2011 female empowerment anthem "Run the World (Girls)" and dishing up a good selection of hits from "Renaissance" itself.

Wednesday's show sold out the 46,000 tickets available; and if the audience's reaction was anything to go on, the rest of the tour will be a hit. Beyoncé will make stops at more than 40 cities including London, Paris, Barcelona and Toronto before wrapping up the tour on Sept. 27 in New Orleans.

Fatima Robinson Talks Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour, Crowns Her ‘The Michael Jackson of Our Time'

Beyoncé may be riding high off Cowboy Carter right now, but Renaissance is the gift that keeps on giving.

In a revelatory conversation with Ahmir Questlove Thompson on his Questlove Supreme podcast, renowned choreographer Fatima Robinson revealed how Beyoncé came up with stage design and concept for the Renaissance World Tour during the pandemic - and why the superstar shifted her approach to dance on her most recent trek.

"That was Beyoncé sitting in a pandemic with a lot of time on her hands and coming up with the most incredible, creative stage that I had ever gotten to work on," Robinson gushed of the Renaissance World Tour stage. The sold-out stadium tour featured two separate platforms connected by a moving ramp, a main stage complete with a sprawling flatscreen, a B stage that stretched into the crowd, and a slew of props including, a tank, pyrotechnics, a laser show, a giant clam shell, robot arms, a flying "disco horse" and various levitating platforms.

In Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé - the box office-topping documentary concert film chronicling the conception and execution of the tour - Queen Bey revealed that the tour was planned over four years, and three identical stages were developed for the show. The $580 million-grossing tour also featured 22 dancers, including her eldest daughter, Grammy winner Blue Ivy Carter .

"She has quite a few choreographers across her span of music," said Robinson. "We gave me the title ‘director of choreography' because I was the point person that all the choreographers worked under and with. It was such a big boulder to get up a hill, that show."

While Robinson has worked with Beyoncé in the past - most notably on 2006's Oscar-winning Dreamgirls and her "Be Alive" performance at the 2022 Oscars - she joined forces with several other choreographers for the Renaissance tour, including her two other team members, Chris Grant and four other choreographers who worked on numbers sporadically.

Her first solo concert tour since 2016's Formation World Tour , the Renaissance World Tour presented a notably different Beyoncé. While the three-hour show was still a feast for the eyes and ears, the performance included less intense choreography than her past tours - partially due to a knee injury she suffered before those 56 sold-out shows.

"We were having a lot of conversations around when is enough enough? " Robinson explained. "You have nothing to prove, Bey. You are our Michael Jackson of our time. We're like athletes, at a certain point, you have to just say "Okay, I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna also take care of myself and be mindful of what my body is telling me right now."

Robinson's revelations echo sentiments Beyoncé herself shared in Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé . Throughout the documentary, Queen Bey mused about looking to her idols to inform how she moves in her career. The Renaissance tour was a celebration of that, from a surprise appearance from Diana Ross to a multi-city tribute to the late Tina Turner .

"Look at how Prince was when he passed away, he had those hip replacements because of all those splits and stuff," noted Robinson. "Look where Michael [Jackson] is. We want you around performing for years to come, so let's not put that kind of pressure. Let's ease into it, let's stand there and be powerful and step into a different kind of power, and guess what? They gon' come with you!"

That approach to performing also resulted in a very Beyoncé take on the concept of an opening act. For each show, Beyoncé began with a set of ballads , introduced by a beautiful piano-led rendition of 2003's seminal "Dangerously In Love 2."

"I turned to her and I was like, ‘This is really fly, starting with ballads,'" recounted Robinson. "She laughed and she said, "I'm opening up for myself!"

In addition to the Renaissance World Tour, Robinson also worked on 2023's The Color Purple movie musical, which topped the domestic box office on opening day and earned one Oscar nomination.

Click here to watch the full clip of Fatima Robinson describing the creation of the Renaissance World Tour.

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Beyoncé: Renaissance World Tour review – a dizzying three-hour spectacular

Friends Arena, Stockholm Queen Bey’s first solo headline tour in seven years is a lavish leap forward for live entertainment, dripping with sci-fi disco decadence, sex and Black pride

E ven without Taylor Swift’s Ticketmaster-melting Eras Tour nipping at her heels, it wouldn’t do for a star as compulsively ambitious as Beyoncé to merely protect her status as the greatest pop show on Earth. Not when her first solo headline tour since 2016 could instead push 21st-century live entertainment another lavish leap forward.

Titled after the Texan’s disco glitter bomb post-pandemic party album of the same name , Renaissance is a monster blockbuster concert experience on a different plane. Fifty-seven stadium dates globally, starting in Stockholm, are projected to gross as much as £1.9bn ($2.4bn) by the time the tour ends in New Orleans late September. Dripping with sci-fi disco decadence, sex, body positivity and feminine Black pride, the near three-hour spectacular plays out in front, behind and, at times, inside a football-pitch-wide high-definition video screen designed to assault the senses at dizzying scale.

The BeyHive, as Beyoncé’s fans collectively style themselves, are buzzing pre-show as they flood into the venue from around the world for their first chance proper to see their queen live since 2018’s On the Run II co-headliner with Mr B, Jay-Z. Dressed head to toe in official tour merch, including a cap and hoodie both emblazoned with the word “THIQUE”, Mykwain Gainey has been to 20 Beyoncé shows over the past two decades and has spent nearly £2,000 to fly here from New York. “To see her transcend, and become what she has become, especially as a Black woman, is exciting,” he enthuses.

Brazilian Yhes Bezerra wears a spangly cowboy hat like the one sported by Beyoncé in the tour poster, except theirs is homemade; sticking on the thousands of tiny mirror panels took nine hours. They were determined to come to the opening night to avoid social media spoilers about what to expect. “I want everything to be a surprise,” Bezerra smiles.

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.

With many of the setlist’s whopping 36 songs abridged, the tempo is relentless. Blink and you’ll miss dancers popping out of the stage like champagne corks, or Beyoncé’s powerhouse band getting wheeled into occasional view on a tall stepped riser (shades of Beychella), such as during Chic-style feelgood funk workout Cuff It. “Y’all having a good time, Stockholm?” our host inquires, wiping an imperceptible bead of sweat from her brow. “Me too.”

Black Parade finds Beyoncé cruising the stage atop what looks like a kind of lunar rover. Somewhat comically, it exits up the gusset of a pair of massive splayed legs. Later she sings Plastic Off the Sofa stretched out in a clamshell. Come Crazy in Love, the show finally gets the enormous disco ball it seems to have long craved, dangled from the rafters for only a bit longer than the time it takes for the crew to get it up there and back down.

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.

The Renaissance World Tour continues until 27 September, see https://tour.beyonce.com/ for dates

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Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour: See all the epic photos and fashions

See all the dazzling photos from the "Cuff It" singer's tour.

Beyoncé is currently making her way through the North American leg of her Renaissance World Tour and captivating concertgoers with her dazzling performances and fashion moments.

The Grammy-winning singer most recently performed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tuesday night and will perform next at FedExField in Summerfield, Maryland, Aug. 5-6.

MORE: Beyonce's daughter Blue Ivy appears onstage during Paris show

Here are some of Beyoncé's most stunning looks from her shows so far:

Beyoncé first kicked off her world tour in Europe in May, wowing audiences with her vocals, theatrics and style choices in major cities including, Paris, London and Barcelona.

One standout look came during her first show in London, when she stepped out onstage in a red bespoke Off-White bodysuit, which was covered in 40,000 red hotfix crystals , according to the label.

She also wore a custom bee-inspired look from Mugler.

The singer's 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter has also appeared on the Renaissance World Tour stage. Blue Ivy made her tour debut during her mom's show in Paris . She also took the stage during Beyoncé's concert tour stop in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium.

See more of Beyoncé's showstopping looks below:

MORE: Beyonce announces 'Renaissance' world tour for 2023

Read on for everything you need to know about Beyoncé's world tour.

When did Beyoncé announce the world tour?

Seven months after the release of her seventh studio album, "Renaissance," the "Cuff It" singer took to Instagram to announce her Renaissance World Tour .

The tour is her first solo tour in more than six years.

When did the Renaissance tour start?

The Renaissance World Tour kicked off Wednesday, May 10, at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

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According to the Friends Arena website , the show was slated to run for three hours.

MORE: Beyonce teases new release 'Break My Soul,' dropping at midnight

When does the tour run until.

In addition to Stockholm, Paris, London and Barcelona, the European leg of her tour made stops in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Beyoncé's final European show was in Warsaw, Poland, on June 28.

The North American leg of the world kicked off in Toronto at Rogers Centre on July 8. Following her show at FedExField -- which is located just outside Washington, D.C. -- the singer will head to Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta; and Tampa, Florida.

Beyoncé's final scheduled performance of the tour will be held Oct. 1 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

When was the last time Beyoncé toured?

Beyoncé's last solo tour was the Formation World Tour in 2016, which followed the release of her sixth studio album, "Lemonade."

In 2018, she toured with her husband Jay-Z, for the On The Run Tour.

What is the Renaissance World Tour setlist?

During her tour, Beyoncé has performed songs off her latest album, including "Cuff It," "Heated" and "Virgo's Groove."

At her first tour stop in Stockholm on May 10, she sang a number of fan favorites, including "1+1," "Run the World (Girls)," "Get Me Bodied," and "America Has a Problem," among others.

Beyoncé's "Renaissance" album was released on July 29, 2022, after it was leaked two days prior. The album is the first part of a three-act project and features a total of 16 tracks with collaborations from artists such as Drake, Tems and Pharrell Williams.

MORE: Beyonce officially drops 'Renaissance' album, thanks fans for 'unwavering support'

In an Instagram post, the singer said that "Renaissance" was recorded over three years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world," she said. "It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. ... It was a beautiful journey of exploration."

How to get Beyonce 2023 tour tickets

While tickets to see the singer on tour sold out quickly in many cities around the world when sales began in February, fans can still purchase tickets on Ticketmaster.

This article was originally published on May 10, 2023.

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Here’s Why Fans Think Beyoncé Is Bringing ‘Cowboy Carter’ to Stagecoach

Could Queen Bey be making a surprise appearance at the country music festival?

By Kyle Denis

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With her landmark 2018 headlining performance , Beyoncé has already dominated Coachella and effectively reshaped the iconic festival in her image. Could Stagecoach be next? Fans think so!

Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’: The Samples & Interpolations on Her New Album

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A quick browse through the “lineup” tab on the official Stagecoach website reveals forthcoming sets from Cowboy Carter collaborators such as Brittney Spencer , Post Malone (performing a special set of country covers), Tanner Adell , Willie Jones and Willie Nelson . Even Brandi Cyrus, sister of Miley Cyrus , who’s featured of Cowboy Carter’s latest radio single “II Most Wanted,” is slated to hit the stage. But there’s one performer in particular that has piqued fans’ curiosity: Backwoods Barbie.

Every performer listed on the Stagecoach website received a feature that links all of their social media accounts. For Backwoods Barbie, only one Instagram account is linked. On that Instagram account ( @djbackwoodsbarbie ) currently lies 15 pictures — plenty of which directly reference Beyoncé and Cowboy Carter .

The Backwoods Barbie moniker is seemingly sourced from the title of Parton’s 42nd solo studio album of the same name, which reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 back in 2008 and marked both her first release on her own label and her first mainstream country record in a decade. Coincidentally, Beyoncé celebrated her 42nd birthday last fall (Sept. 4) during her record-breaking Renaissance World Tour.

The most recent Backwoods Barbie post features a map of the Stagecoach Festival Grounds with the caption, “Catch me on Saturday night at 7pm out in Diplo’s Honky Tonk!” Should Queen Bey make an appearance at Diplo’s set, it would make sense given that the two Grammy-winning artists have collaborated several times before, including 2012’s “End of Time” and 2016’s “Hold Up” and “All Night.”

With a Cowboy Carter promotional banner flying over the Coachella grounds during Weekend One and a massive promotional hauler on the ground during Weekend Two, the coincidences are certainly starting to pile up.

All of the Beyhive’s questions will be answered on Saturday (April 27), but for now, check out some more reactions to the Backwoods Barbie theory.

Can someone explain to me why I had a dream that Jay Z and I were investigative journalists chasing down random people on the street to ask if they were Backwoods Barbie? I need to stop going down Bey rabbit holes right before falling asleep pic.twitter.com/PCdCK4BUIz — Allie 𐚁 (@Fergyonce) April 24, 2024

who is backwoods barbie???????? bitch if its beyonce imma scream😂😂😂😂 — m$ do the da$h👻 (@bossmanrae_) April 24, 2024

Dj Backwoods Barbie on Ig is def giving very much Beyonce lol we see you gworl 😂😂😂 — Indica Badu 🔮 (@NostalgicxSouls) April 24, 2024

🐝 Hive we at Stagecoach this weekend or nah?!? #CowboyCarter #BackwoodsBarbie 🤠🐎 — BAE (@BeingAshErica) April 24, 2024

Now they’re saying Beyoncé is allegedly djing at stagecoach under the name DJ Backwoods Barbie and they found the ig and let’s just say…WE ONTO YOU LADY pic.twitter.com/zT8a1gr7ru — briyoncé🇵🇸 (@babygrlbri) April 24, 2024

If that lady from Houston is Dj Backwoods Barbie I’m going to be gagged — Cowboy Kenya (@Kenyayyy) April 24, 2024

I’m convinced Beyonce is performing at stagecoach under backwoods Barbie — Cowboy X 🤠 (@Xaviii_j) April 24, 2024

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Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Avoided a Collision on the Charts. (Again.)

Pop’s two reigning queens are often cast as rivals, but they have continually supported each other — and spaced out their album releases.

By Craig Marks

In February, Taylor Swift took the stage at the Grammy Awards to accept the prize for best pop vocal album. After dutifully thanking the Recording Academy and her fans, she got down to business: “My brand-new album comes out April 19,” she said, in a surprise announcement revealing “The Tortured Poets Department.” It was a heads up for her loyal followers, as well as anyone else in the business with a spring release on the radar: If you want your new album to debut at No. 1, don’t release it on April 19. Or April 26. Or May 3, for that matter.

A week later, following a teaser during a Super Bowl commercial, Beyoncé also dropped news of a new album : “Cowboy Carter” would arrive earlier than “Poets,” with breathing room, on March 29. Another pop powerhouse in the Grammy audience made her own announcement in early April: Billie Eilish will unveil her forthcoming third album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” a month after Swift’s release, on May 17.

Beyoncé and Swift, the 21st century’s pre-eminent pop stars, have often been cast as competitors if not rivals, a story line partly rooted in misogyny and amplified by dueling fan armies filled with stans, or superfans.

For their part, the two artists have regularly dispelled the notion over the years. They were first linked, through no fault of their own, at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when Kanye West interrupted a Swift acceptance speech to advocate for her fellow nominee Beyoncé; later that night, Beyoncé brought Swift onstage to finish her remarks. In 2021, Swift shared on Instagram that Beyoncé had sent her congratulatory flowers after Swift won the album of the year Grammy for “Folklore,” calling Beyoncé “the queen of grace & greatness.” And last year, following their blockbuster stadium tours, they appeared at each other’s concert film premieres, a pointed rebuke to message-board zealots looking to sow discord.

“Clearly, it’s very lucrative for the media and stan culture to pit two women against each other, even when the two artists in question refuse to participate in that discussion,” Swift told Time magazine. (Representatives for Swift and Beyoncé declined to comment.)

In fact, when it comes to album releases, whether by design or by chance, the two superstars have generally avoided one another altogether. The only other time they’ve released LPs in the same window was way back in November 2008, when Beyoncé’s “I Am … Sasha Fierce” supplanted Swift’s “Fearless” at No. 1. Absent Swift’s 2006 debut LP, every studio album from Beyoncé and Swift — 21 in all, including Swift’s rerecordings of her earlier catalog — has entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1. (Eilish’s previous albums both opened big at the top, as well.)

In the streaming era, where songs have superseded albums as music’s main currency, and chart placements are based on an opaque formula that blends streams with sales, a No. 1 album doesn’t have quite the same cultural or historical resonance it once did. Still, said Jonathan Daniel of Crush Management, which oversees the careers of Miley Cyrus, Green Day and Lorde, it remains “a great talking point,” perhaps most of all for the online superfans who take pride in hoisting their heroes to the top.

“Pop-stan Twitter is fierce,” Daniel said. Partisans treat the Spotify and Billboard charts like a zero-sum game. “It’s their version of sports.”

While top artists and their teams tend to avoid overlapping album releases in order to secure a No. 1 and the bragging rights that go along with it, that wasn’t always the case. “In the days when the only way to consume music was to go to your local record store or big-box retailer, labels would sometimes schedule a release so that it would come out on the same day as a similar but bigger release,” said Keith Caulfield, Billboard’s managing director of charts and data operations.

That way, someone who came to Best Buy to purchase, say, “the ‘Bodyguard’ soundtrack might also spot the new Anita Baker CD and say, ‘I’ll get that, too,’” he said. Before social media, where artists can post album updates to their followers with unrelenting frequency, casual fans might not even have known a new record existed unless they spotted it in the wild.

One of the most high-profile examples of convergent superstar releases came in September 2007, when the rappers Kanye West and 50 Cent colluded to issue their new albums on the same date. “We marketed it like a heavyweight boxing match,” said Dennis Dennehy, who led publicity for 50 Cent’s label, Interscope. “It was Ali vs. Frazier.”

West and 50 Cent, both signed to subsidiary labels of Universal Music Group, appeared together on the cover of Rolling Stone to hype the event and draw people to record stores. “It was like a get-out-the-vote campaign,” Dennehy said. The reward was increased first-week sales of both titles and a clarion call for hip-hop’s commercial clout; the risk, as 50 Cent found out, was finishing a distant second. Kelefa Sanneh, writing for The Times , called it “a low point” in 50 Cent’s career.

Nearly two decades later, competing film studios borrowed a page from that playbook and plotted the movie event known as “Barbenheimer” last summer. Both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” opened on July 21, and moviegoers flocked to theaters, some seeing both films in the same afternoon. “Barbie” grossed $162 million that weekend, “Oppenheimer” $82.4 million.

“Usually, movie release dates are this big game of chicken,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Comscore. “Like, who’s going to blink first and move off their date.” In this case, the studios purposefully went head-to-head in the heat of the summer movie season. The result? “It turned into an absolute phenomenon,” Dergarabedian said. “Both movies were winners.”

For the likes of Swift and Beyoncé, pinpointing an album release date is both art and science, a calculation based on such disparate factors as proposed tour schedules, the availability of vinyl pressing plants and optimal timing for Grammy consideration. And sometimes, even the best laid plans can go awry.

Daniel recounted that last year, Cyrus’s “Endless Summer Vacation” and Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” were originally slated to be released on the same date, but Del Rey’s album ended up pushing back two weeks. “And then Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ came out the week before,” he said, “and knocked us all out of the water .”

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Bts’ rm announces a new solo album, ‘right place, wrong person’.

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - MAY 21: RM of BTS attends a press conference for BTS's new digital single ... [+] 'Butter' at Olympic Hall on May 21, 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)

All seven members of BTS are currently enlisted in the South Korean military, but that is not stopping them from putting out new music. RM, the leader of the boy band, is joining with several of his colleagues in dropping previously unreleased work, even as his music career is on the back burner as he serves his country.

RM’s labels Hybe and Big Hit Music have announced his new album Right Place, Wrong Person . The set is slated to arrive on May 24.

A press release revealing the upcoming full-length states that “the album delves into the relatable sensation and moments of feeling like a stranger, out of place.” Big Hit Music went on to state in the announcement that, “ Right Place, Wrong Person embodies facets of RM as a solo artist, distinct from albums released under BTS.”

Right Place, Wrong Person will feature 11 new songs. They’re described as “alternative music,” though what exactly that means, and what the collection will sound like, isn’t entirely clear. For the moment, no single has been announced, though a complete promotional plan may be coming soon, as is typically the case with major South Korean musicians.

RM released his debut solo album Indigo in December 2022. That project hit the top 10 on charts all around the world when it was first made available. It opened at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., but that turned out to be just the beginning for the title.

Indigo would go on to jump into the top 10 on the Billboard 200 after the physical edition of the set arrived. Once fans could purchase a copy of the title on CD, it bounded to a new high point of No. 3, making it one of the most successful titles by a South Korean solo musician in U.S. history.

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In addition to his one solo album, RM has also delivered a pair of mixtapes on his own. He launched his solo career in 2015 with a self-titled project. He returned in 2018 with Mono , which brought him to the Billboard 200 for the first time on his own. That title peaked at No. 26 on the tally, which was, at the time, historic.

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