Groundbreaking Moments From Beyonce's Renaissance Tour
In July 2022, Beyoncé Knowles Carter released her first solo studio album since the critically acclaimed "Lemonade." The singer's battalion of fans — the BeyHive — took center stage. Queen Bee stans worldwide ensured the "Cuff It" challenge reigned supreme, recording an impressive 115.7 million views on TikTok as of this writing.
The "Alien Superstar" sensation's crowning as one of the greatest artists of her generation came during the 2023 Grammys, where "Renaissance" won the Best Dance/Electronic Album. Beyoncé entered into history books as the most-awarded musician of all time. She kept her acceptance speech simple, paying homage to her family and the LGBTQ movement. "I'd like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre," Beyoncé said in closing, amidst applause from the crowd. Prior to her triumph, the three-act project whose sequels are yet to see the light of day topped the charts and had a tour on the horizon.
On May 10, 2023, Beyoncé began the "Renaissance" World Tour in Stockholm, Sweden. The trip around the globe sees the 32-time Grammy Award-winning artist perform on over fifty stages in Europe, Canada, and the United States, coming to a halt in New Orleans. Once again, Beyoncé's performance aesthetics have reached an all-new stratosphere, making up for the visuals her followers have been unceasingly demanding. Here are the most jaw-dropping moments.
She transformed her costume with ultraviolet light
Beyoncé Knowles' "Renaissance" Tour setlist includes "Church Girl," sampled from The Clark Sisters' "Center of Thy Will," which saw the singer amaze concertgoers during her opening night with a never-before-seen on-stage outfit change. Dressed in a loose white bell-sleeved cover-up paired with the same colored headgear, Beyoncé stretched out her arms. Two robots aimed a head-to-toe ultraviolet light sweep that left a trail of stained glass patterns on her once plain attire.
The colorful transformation is the brainchild of Anrealage, founded by Japan's Kunihiko Morinaga. Explaining the fashion advancement during the brand's unveiling of the 2015 "Shadow" collection, Morinaga detailed, "Our concept is the real and the unreal. Things we can see and things we can't.Things that exist and things that don't ... For this exhibit, we used threads and prints beyond the range of human perception. With them, we created an installation of clothes containing information and patterns that humans cannot normally see but that become visible under special lighting."
Anrealage's Fall 2023 Collection came to life exactly the same during Paris Fashion Week. And of course, there's a catch! This creative wonder lasts for three minutes, which gives its wearer (in this case, Beyoncé) ample time to take it off before its color wears out.
Beyoncé channeled her inner queen bee
Although she's a leader of The Hive, it's not often that Beyoncé Knowles plays to that reference. Back in 2011, a visibly expectant Beyoncé donned a bumble bee costume while attending a Kanye West party in New York. Years later, a Philadelphia-based vendor baked a three-tier black and yellow cake amongst others for Beyonce's 36th birthday, including honey-themed treats on the side.
During the "Renaissance" Tour debut, Beyoncé once again played her role as the queen of The Hive by slipping into a Mugler black and yellow bee ensemble to perform "America Has a Problem." Her glossy leotard was complemented by a pair of equally gleaming thigh-high boots, a set of elbow-length gloves, and an antennae-like headpiece. Beyoncé masqueraded as the presenter of "Knty News," and soon after engaged the dancing duo Les Twins.
The "Renaissance" Tour seems to have an endless stream of oncoming BeyHive references since Beyoncé's dancers brought pseudo-insect feelers back during the third show in Cardiff, Wales. In place of antennae, she herself wore bee-eye-shaped dark shades.
Her dancers created a Crazy In Love deja vu
In 2003, Beyoncé Knowles dropped "Crazy in Love," the first single from her debut solo studio album, "Dangerously in Love." Beyoncé was stepping out on her own since parting ways with Destiny's Child. At first, she was uncertain about the public's perception of the Grammy Award-winning song. "It's the horn hook," she shared in a conversation with MTV. " It has this go-go feel to it, this old-school feel. I wasn't sure if people were going to get it."
Luckily, the song was a hit, and so was its music video. Directed by her long-term collaborator Jake Nava, it features Beyoncé strutting down a street in low-rise denim shorts, a white tank top, and red pointed slingback heels. Just like she had the culture on its knees during the first release, the iconic wardrobe was rehashed at the "Renaissance" Tour.
Beyoncé's dancers cat-walked to the stage wearing different versions of the same costume. Each sported a white fur coat and black boots that added oomph to an already ravishing set. She, on the other hand, looked effortlessly stunning in a jewel-necked meshed pearl bodysuit.
She dazzled in a Loewe unitard with an optical illusion
Although Beyoncé Knowles had a number of costume changes at the very beginning of the "Renaissance" Tour, a custom-made collaboration with Loewe was hard to miss. The head-to-toe bodysuit, part of Loewe's 2022 fall collection, featured hand-shaped silhouettes with a red stiletto manicure that mimicked the songstress' gloved hands. The resulting phantasm made for a perfect eye trick.
Speaking to Vogue in January 2020, Loewe's creative director Jonathan Anderson expounded on the Spanish luxury brand's impact beyond the runway, saying, "I think we do a lot of things, and then they become part of the mainstream ... It's about visual merchandising, it's about stores, it's about advertising, and those things take up at least 70 percent of my job. The shows are a smaller proportion."
Loewe also designed an ultra-modern crystallized top and baggy pants number for Beyoncé. She sealed the outfit with low-heeled red bottoms (or "bloody shoes" as rapper Cardi B calls them), and unleashed her sassy side during the performance of "Diva."
Beyoncé rode on a heavy tank
In the late hours of Juneteenth 2020, Beyoncé Knowles released the single "Black Parade" and shined a spotlight on black-owned enterprises through her website. "I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle. Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power," she wrote in part, via Instagram. When she sang "Black Parade" on the "Renaissance" Tour, she put on an activism hat and maneuvered the stage in an armored vehicle replica.
It wasn't the first time Beyoncé was using a show to send a message. During the star's 2016 Super Bowl halftime performance, her costume was thought to be in honor of Michael Jackson, a fact that was later confirmed by stylist Marni Senofonte in a chat with Essence. "When Michael Jackson performed at SuperBowl on January 31, 1993, he wore a jacket and harness. Beyoncé wanted to pay homage to Michael. She has always said he is her biggest music influence and Michael's halftime performance marked a change in global interest for the halftime show," Senofonte shared. Beyonce's dancers' dressing was an ode to the Black Panther party, and as they got in formation to make an "X," it was pointed out that the tribute was to Malcolm X.
Her performance was robot-assisted
Beyoncé Knowles brought stage presence to a whole new meaning when she was aided by a pair of robots at the "Renaissance" Tour. Each placed on either side of the "Run the World" hitmaker, the automated machines with framed extensions created rectangular templates fit enough to make her "Cozy" act memorable. Her choice of costume, a futuristic one-piece with a distinct circular plate around her midriff and different colored sleeves, spectacularly blended with her dancers'.
Beyoncé and her team made use of a growing advancement in the music industry. The implementation of artificial intelligence appears to lie in the future of music-making and entertainment. In 2019, a robot named Alter 3 guided an entire orchestra and occasionally sang during the set. An innovation steered by Japanese symphonist Keiichiro Shibuya, the visionary composer said of the development in a conversation with Reuters, "This work is a metaphor of the relations between humans and technology. Sometimes the android will get crazy, human orchestras have to follow. But sometimes humans can cooperate very comfortably."
Beyoncé, as it stands, is no stranger to technologies that rattle normalcy. In 2012, she exhibited an out-of-the-ordinary concave screen display for the United Nations World Humanitarian Day performance of "I Was Here."
The LGBTQ community got its flowers
Beyoncé Knowles has made it no secret that the queer culture played a large part in the making of the "Renaissance" album. Its lead single, "Break My Soul" features rapper and LGBTQ powerhouse Big Freedia, a renowned New Orleans bounce music star who famously featured on the 2016 smash hit "Formation." A display of pride flags stood out in acknowledgment of the tribe before the start of every "Renaissance" Tour show, including Belgium.
In her 2023 Grammy address, Beyoncé gave a nod to her uncle Johnny, whose story she highlighted in detail at the GLAAD Media Awards in 2019. "The most fabulous gay man I've ever known," she called him. "He lived his truth. He was brave and unapologetic during a time this country wasn't as accepting. Witnessing his battle with HIV was one of the most painful experiences I've ever lived." Beyoncé further used the platform to encourage members of the LGBTQ community to lead untethered lives. Years before that, she honored the movement through a set of rainbow-themed looks shared via Instagram, accompanying her post with the hashtag "Love Wins."
Beyoncé ended her first opening night on a high horse
Sitting on a high horse may have a symbolic meaning, but it is just that when you're Beyoncé Knowles. At the very end of her opening show in Stockholm, Beyoncé recreated her album cover art by towering over the crowd in a way only she could.The stage momentarily went pitch dark, and as the lights came on, one pattern after another, Beyoncé had a radiant glow. Wearing a beaming royal mantle, she sat on a blinding silver horse. Up she went, flowing freely mid-air as she sang "Summer Renaissance."
The picturesque ending reflected Beyoncé's ability to keep shattering glass ceilings, quite literally. This virtue was emphasized during the making of her album, "4," in which she expressed that she's wired to always aim higher. "Sometimes we don't reach for the stars," Beyoncé remarked in the doc, "Beyonce: Year of Four." "Sometimes we are satisfied with what people tell us we're supposed to be satisfied with. And, I'm just not going for it."
She performed with Blue Ivy
Blue Ivy Carter undoubtedly sent the BeyHive into a frenzy when she made a public performance debut during the Paris concert of the "Renaissance" Tour. The last time The Hive caught sight of Blue on stage, Beyoncé Knowles was singing her heart out to an invite-only audience at Dubai's Atlantis The Royal in January 2023. Queen Bey's eldest child with Jay-Z showed a few moves while performing "Brown Skin Girl" next to her mother, but it wasn't until Paris that she fully bloomed.
Wearing a glittery silver polo turtleneck and loose-fitting pants, which she paired with dark silver-framed eyewear, Blue's visibly toned-down choreography meshed with other dancers. A thrilled mom, Beyoncé couldn't help but gush about her eldest child on social media. "My beautiful first born. I'm so proud and thankful to be your mama. You bring us so much joy, my sweet angel," Beyoncé wrote on Instagram in late May.
Blue was clearly in her element at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a few days later, when she joined the dancing crew a second time in a fiery red ensemble. Needless to say, Tina Knowles Lawson wore a proud grandma badge as she praised her granddaughter on Instagram. "11 year old Blue doing the choreo of adults looking cool as hell and killing it!! In the front of 60 k people!!!!" she posted.
Beyoncé paid tribute to Tina Turner
On May 24, 2023, news broke that "What's Love Got to Do with It" hitmaker Tina Turner had died. Beyoncé Knowles, who idolized Turner, immediately took to her website to honor the music legend. Days later, during her first London performance on the "Renaissance" Tour, Queen Bey paused the show to recognize the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll's impact on her career. "I just wanna take a second and honor Tina Turner," Beyoncé told her adoring audience. "If you're a fan of mine, you're a fan of Tina Turner. I wouldn't be on this stage without Tina Turner. So I want you guys to just scream so she can feel your love."
Her choice of words echoed a 2005 Kennedy Center Honors homage to Turner. In the presence of the "We Don't Need Another Hero" song sensation, Beyoncé revealed that she was in awe when she first got a glimpse of Turner's act. The pair serendipitously shared a stage at the 2008 Grammys, during which they performed "Proud Mary." "When I was a kid, and I saw her tapes, I wanted to be like her. This is literally a dream for me, because she's the ultimate. To actually be on stage with her, it's crazy!" Beyoncé expressed at the time.
Beyoncé's second London show included a rendition of Ike & Tina Turner's top-charting 1966 song "River Deep – Mountain High."
She was dressed by Black designers to celebrate Juneteenth
Ahead of the 2023 Juneteenth holiday, Beyoncé Knowles took to social media to reveal that she was intentional in putting together clothing collaborations for her Amsterdam concert. Sharing pictures of herself in a red, long-length, single-slit, custom Maximilian Davis Ferragamo dress via Instagram, the "Don't Hurt Yourself" singer wrote, "In honor of Juneteenth, everything I wore for RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR tonight was created exclusively by Black designers." Some of the creators she worked with include LaQuan Smith, London-based designer Feben, Balmain's creative director, Olivier Rousteing, and Sierra Leone-born Off-White fashion icon Ibrahim Kamara.
Beyoncé also made her "Renaissance" Tour design debut with a sparkly hot pink criss-crossed neckline number, which she paired with a similar colored set of gloves. The singer unveiled the set to complement an Ivy Park swimwear line, partly writing on Instagram, "I wanted to do a modern twist using the signature IVY PARK neon and bring disco to the beach in this swim collection. I'm so happy to share this with you and even more proud to launch it for the first time on the RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR."
Beyoncé did a gender reveal
One lucky expectant fan had an unforgettable gender reveal at the" Renaissance" Tour. No sooner had Beyoncé Knowles wrapped up singing "Black Parade" in Cologne, Germany, then she said, "So, I wanna do this right, because, since the beginning of the show I've seen this sign that says 'Do my gender reveal.' I just wanna do it right."
After confirming that she was expected to read the baby's sex out loud from a card tucked in an envelope, Beyoncé proceeded to have it passed over. Standing on her now world-famous "Renaissance" Tour heavy tank with one leg supported by a seat, Beyoncé announced that the soon-to-be newborn was a girl. Her tone was one which The Hive is synonymous with, since it simply referenced the 2011 hit song "Run the World," also known as "Girls," off of her fourth studio album, "4."
"Congratulations....Congratulations beautiful! God bless you!" Beyoncé delightedly told the mother-to-be, before asking the audience to join in.