By: Maicyn Udani
 

In Las Vegas, thousands of bees gathered at the hive for one reason: their queen Bey. She announced her first tour in seven years, performing her seventh studio album. 

 

The moment that those giant screens spelled out her name, you could sense the crowd’s anticipation growing in excitement for the RENAISSANCE through the simultaneous cheers across the stadium. 

 

“Las Vegas, I love you,” were Beyoncé's last words right before emerging in front of eager eyes on the big stage. Expecting her to start with more of her intense, high energetic songs and a big dance number, she surprisingly opened with Dangerously In Love 2, one of her oldies but also a fan favorite. The evident love in her eyes for the crowd shined through a beautiful way to start the night to come. 

 

For the opening set, she wore a beautiful body suit lined with crystals along her collar, chest and legs, shiny enough to blind the very top sections of Allegiant Stadium. Overtop she wore a fabulous feathered cape.  Following Dangerously In Love 2 was Flaws and All, 1 + 1, and I Care. This first set was definitely for her long time, loyal fans. 

 

In her next set, she came out with I’M THAT GIRL, COZY, and ALIEN SUPERSTAR. This set had a futuristic theme consisting of silver/metallic outfits and even robotic mechanics on stage. Beyoncé’s artistry really improved over the years in terms of her visual creativity. In between each set she provided bright visuals on the stage’s big screens including all kinds of graphic art, influential messages, and fashion. After this second set, the Les Twins were brought on stage during the next intermission. 

 

Next up was CUFF IT and ENERGY and unfortunately, Vegas Night 1 took the L on the mute challenge. BREAK MY SOUL was next where Bey shouted out other iconic Black female artists such as Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin, her very own sister Solange Knowles, and so many more. 

 

By this time I took a separate moment to appreciate the dancers in this production. Not only were their moves clean and crazily energetic but they also looked like they were having so much fun. What I enjoyed was the fact that there were times of uniformity but then also times where they got to freestyle and laugh with each other. It truly felt like a huge dance party, another aspect that really brought out Beyoncé and The Renaissance’s intention of celebrating freedom. 

 

Taking a break from her new music, Bey’s next performance  took the audience back in time. She sang Formation, Diva, and the iconic Run the World (Girls). Beyoncé is one of the most well known ambassadors for women empowerment and has never failed to embody that. Next was MY POWER where Blue Ivy Carter performed with her mom and the rest of the dancers. You could see the love and pride she held for her daughter in that moment. BLACK PARADE, Savage Remix, and Partition followed. 

 

The next set started with CHURCH GIRL, leading into a little snippet of Get Me Bodied, Before I Let Go, Rather Die Young and of course, Love On Top where she made the audience lose their voices after about five rounds of the chorus to finish the song for her. She then finished the set with Crazy In Love and a solo from each of her talented band members, one of which was very pregnant!

 

PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA, VIRGO’S GROOVE, Naughty Girl, HEATED, THIQUE, and ALL UP IN YOUR MIND followed in the set afterward. 

 

And finally her last set showed the iconic AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM and PURE/HONEY with Beyoncé’s as a news anchor bee. She finished with SUMMER RENAISSANCE with a glamorous silver outfit on the Renaissance silver horse where she floated around the stadium; quite disco ball like. 

 

If there’s one thing about Beyoncé, that woman knows how to put on a show. Being able to dance full out while maintaining her strong vocals with that many dress changes shows her professionalism in the entertainment industry. Beyoncé definitely put her foot down and established her name in this business for over 20 years now, and she’s still going just as strong. Though she is the main star, credit has to be given to her production team as well. The way they pulled off every performance with the dancers, band, and backdrops/mechanics was impressive. It flowed so seemingly effortlessly that it created an environment for the audience not to just feel like they were watching a show, but to feel like they were a part of it. 

 

After all, Beyoncé and the RENAISSANCE provide an empowering message through an artistic eye with intention to celebrate Black and queer individuals. Combining house music, disco, dances like voguing, all inspired by Black and queer culture, the show expressed individuality and freedom. 

 

If you plan on attending The Renaissance World Tour, be ready to have immense fun, there will never be a moment of boredom. Buckle up for a ride of emotions ranging from love, confidence, excitement, and you might even want to get the tissues out because there might be some tears. That, and don’t wear high heels unless you want sore feet from dancing all night.