Beyoncé Wants Us to Wake Up | Renaissance World Tour Review
Only thing left to say is wow!
The day finally came. The day I had been waiting for months to experience. The day I was transported to the mothership and came face to face with the mother of all mothers, Beyoncé. As you know I did not see most things from the tour, and I have to say I am very glad that I did that. I was able to take everything in and experience what Beyoncé was trying to tell me. I do feel like I took something away from this experience that I wasn’t expecting. Maybe it’s because of all the Alien talk in the news or maybe it’s because I just watched the Matrix for the first time. But I truly believe that visuals for this tour were created more than just to be fun. More than just to dance. I think Beyoncé was trying to tell us something with her visuals and I want to unpack that. I’ve needed a few days to really process everything that happened, and I still feel like I didn’t get everything. Secure your seatbelts and join me in this analysis of the Renaissance World Tour.
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Disclaimer: I did not get many pictures as I was getting my life. So, I will include the few that I did take and any other pictures I can find online.
Outfits
Right off the bat she steps out in this black and white gown moment. I immediately thought of the black and white Barbie swimsuit outfit. I personally loved it and thought that it was tailored perfectly for her body. I felt like the outfit really set the mood for the first part of concert. I feel like this is Beyoncé’s Kylie Minogue show girl era and I am soooo here for it. The outfit she wore for the second night was also gorgeous.
I loved this outfit. Felt like a call back to Crazy in Love and Beychella with the boots.
I loved this custom Ivy Park moment. The moment she came out with this I knew Blue was coming out. It literally says “IV!” I did know that Blue has been coming out because even though I haven’t had social media even the news sites I read are talking about the tour so I accidentally saw it one time.
The Bee outfit was and is my favorite look from the entire tour. I thought about it, and I honestly am not sure if she has ever really leaned into the Bees of it all1. The way that suit accentuated her body literally makes me want to cry. She just looks so good!! The antenna helmet that she had on just really brought it home. Then she was buzzing around like a bee. As much as I felt like this section was serious it was equally unserious. I will get more into why this section was my favorite later in the letter.
Set List
I only had three notes about the set list and the entire concert immediately coming out the concert.
She needed to do the full version of Formation. I was so ready to scream “WHEN HE FUCK ME GOOD, I TAKE HIS ASS TO RED LOBSTER!” Like I really needed that in my life. Idk why she didn’t do that part.
Where was Thique???
Where was All Up In Your Mind????
But after watching a video of her performing Thique and All Up In Your Mind I am not that upset anymore. The shows where she performed it felt so awkward and I’m not sure why. Maybe she feels weird about songs that are suggestive because her kids are in the audience? She didn’t really cuss as much as she could have, and she even did the clean version of “Cuff It.” She did perform “Partition” however, so honestly, I am not really sure. Beyoncé is going to do what Beyoncé wants to do.
I Imagine that when the tour began that most people were upset about her starting with a bunch of ballads, but I was not upset. I could not have predicted that, but I am glad she started it that way because she eased us into the concert. If she would have started with “I’m That Girl” I may have had a heart attack. Also, for someone who only saw her on OTRII I have never heard her sing “Dangerously in Love”, “Flaws and All”, or “1+1” so I was gagged. Some of these songs she hasn’t even acknowledged in years, and she decides to open to tour with them? Sickening. For real fans of Beyoncé, it was a treat because we got to see her just sing downnnnnnnnn. Mama’s mic was AWN!! It’s always on but she needed y’all to understand that she is not fucking playing with y’all when it comes to the vocals. Y’all can say she isn’t dancing if you want to, but I know what I saw, and Mama WAS dancing.
For her to even acknowledge “Sweet Dreams”, “Rather Die Young”, and all these other songs that I would have thought that she didn’t even remember about was a mind fuck. I think the most sickening and gag-worthy song that she pulled out was “Lift Off,” which is on Watch the Throne. I literally could not believe what my ears were hearing. That, paired with the visuals of the chrome alien version of her riding a Rocket ship, was just too much. For the entirety of this concert, it felt like my mouth was singing along to the songs before my brain knew what was going on. I love the song Lift Off, and when she started singing it me my roommate and I were just open-mouthed gagging like this concert was a love letter to the OG Beyhive members.
If you think about it, the last performances before this tour were mostly upbeat songs. With Homecoming and OTRII. We haven’t heard Beyoncé just stand there and sing in a long time. When she started singing Flaws and All I truly almost fell out. I was like in 2023??? Wow. The overall set list was amazing. I loved the interludes and the voice-overs from everyone. The “this is what I want to see” before “Formation” was incredible. We better be getting a live album on streaming, mama!
I liked the new dancers. I also loved the new drum pattern that she did for “I Care.” I loved the covers she did "Ragdoll,” which was a tribute to Tina Turner, “I’m going down” by Mary J. Blige, made famous by Tamara Mowery on Sister Sister2.
My favorite songs she performed were:
My Power/Black Parade - Two of my favorite Beyoncé songs of all time. Blue coming out was just the cherry on top. Not to mention all the songs from The Gift. One day y’all will realize that that album is fucking incredible.
America Has a Problem - I mean, duh.
Heated - she asked the crowd if we practiced, and I felt so validated because I was practicing all day and the days leading up to the show.
Besides the songs, the interludes between each section were also my favorite part.
The Blue Ivy Carter the icon that you are!
It should be no surprise to anyone that my favorite part of the entire concert was when Blue Ivy graced us with her presence for “My Power” and “Black Parade.” I was literally in shock from the moment she transcended above the stage, so I did not get any videos or pictures of Blue. That is okay because mine would not have been as good as the closer people in the audience. I do not know how Blue stays focused during the show when she is right in front of the club Renaissance people for “Black Parade.” Not to mention, she is in a stadium of 70,000 people and didn’t miss any steps! She is such a professional. Mama has been showing the girls how it’s done since she popped out of the womb. I’m glad she is letting the girls know who has been really running shit this entire time. I saw a video of her performing when Beyoncé forgot to give Blue the fist bump, and it tickled me because I just know Blue is tired of picking up her mother’s slack.
Blue came out in this custom outfit that said “IV,” and the joy in my body could not be contained. I just know the white people in front of me were tired of me by this point because I was screaming up a storm. When Blue Ivy stepped on stage, there was no one else in the world but me and her. For someone who has been obsessed with that little girl since Beyoncé announced she was pregnant at the 2011 VMAs, to see her on that stage dancing and leading the choreography with her mother in the back was honestly insane.
Children are how we can keep track of time, and the fact that Blue is not only old enough to join her mother on stage, not once but for the majority of the tour, just blows my mind. The fact that I was 11 when Blue Ivy was born and now, she is 11 is also a little too much for me. I would have loved to know what the conversation looked like when Blue told Beyoncé that she wanted to be in the show. I wonder if Beyoncé was/is worried that Blue wants to be a pop star because of how Beyoncé was brought up. Or I wonder if Beyoncé is excited because now, she has the opportunity to raise a child differently than how she was raised (by Matthew, whose methods were questionable.) I do think that it’s funny that we have seen Blue dancing and feeling herself on stage, but we still don’t know what she sounds like or anything about her personality. I think Beyoncé has done a great job at making sure her kids are protected from some bullshit.3 That may be one of the reasons the security to get into Met Life was being extra ridiculous. If that means that Blue is protected, then so be it.
I just cannot wait until Blue gives the girls her tea because, as much as I loved her section of the set, I just can tell she is ready to do more. In all the videos I saw, you can tell she is holding back, and idk if that is because she is scared that her mom is going to get on to her like she did in India. Or if she is too busy trying to make sure that she hits her marks. You can tell she is Beyonce’s child because the marks were hit mama!!! You can also tell that the other dancers around her are very protective of her and want to make sure she is good each time she comes out. Look at their faces the next time you see a video of Blue.
I just adore that little girl and cannot wait for what she decides to do next. Can’t wait for Rumi and Sir to be incorporated somehow in the future! Manifesting Act II is Act II: The Children. ajdjanjkajak but seriously imagine Beyoncé being your mom and then Jay-Z being your dad. It almost isn’t fair. Also, these 11-year-olds are too tall. I was not that tall when I was 11, just saying!!!
Beyonce’s Energy
I just felt like Beyoncé seemed so free. She seemed so at peace and just focused on having fun. With her other tours, you can tell that it was all about precision and being the best and not making any mistakes. But with this tour, you can just tell she wants to really connect with the audience and just have fun. It was so refreshing to feel as though the real Beyoncé - not Sasha Fierce - was present for this concert. The entire concert gave me 2004/2006 vibes. Very much the Beyoncé experience. I mean she literally flew above the crowd like in the Beyoncé Experience4. She was even interacting with fans and saying happy birthday to anyone with a birthday sign. I was particularly surprised about that. It wasn’t giving “Beyoncé the God”, it was giving that’s my good sis Beyoncé! I don’t know if it’s because I am older, but I feel even more connected to Beyoncé as a human and not a performer than I did before. I truly feel like I may have truly seen her for the first time that night.
She continues to reinvent herself with each era, and this era is all about freedom, and you can tell she is free and at peace. I can hear it in her voice and see it in her face. I don’t believe that Beyoncé feels the need to prove herself anymore, and that is beautiful. There is Beyoncé the entity and Beyoncé the person, and this concert felt like Beyoncé the person. Which she usually doesn’t let us see too much of.
The visuals and the connection to The Matrix (1999)
[Heavy spoilers of The Matrix ahead]
Before you read this part, watch these two interludes from the tour.
Transition to Act 2 the Renaissance and the America Has a Problem Interlude.
In the first video, you see the stage emulate an eclipse. Signifying going from light to dark. Then you see a naked human Beyoncé become this chrome being. Possibly signifying going from real to artificial. Then you hear Beyoncé say, “reality holds no power in my voyage through space and time… Welcome to my house of chrome, where I am reborn. Where you at?” Then you hear a voice repeating “is this all there is?” many times. Then you are seemingly transported to Beyonce’s chrome world where the chrome version of herself has her legs open and the spaceship is in between her legs. During which she repeats “be free.” Then you see the alien Beyoncé tap the glass almost as if to signify that she is aware that she is being watched or observed and she is taunting the viewer/observers. Then you hear a voice say, “everyone welcome to mother’s mind, a movement like no other.”
This entire sequence had me gagging. I was not expecting anything when it came to the tour visuals because, as we know, Beyoncé has not released the visuals for the album. However, I am satisfied with what I saw on the tour. You can keep the visuals, girl! But in all seriousness, the first interlude felt to me as if Beyoncé was challenging you to change your perception of reality and come with her into hers. A world where she has all the access in the world and still feels like she is being watched. If Beyoncé is being watched, you can bet your ass that we are being watched and controlled too. She is longing for something more. A better world, possibly.
The second interlude is really where I feel like the thesis of this section derives from. She showed a quote from Jim Morrison: “Whoever controls the media controls the mind.” Then shows visuals of bees and hives. Then she displays “hive mind” with different visuals of things that are problematic within America and the world. Such as clips from the “Formation” video, atomic bombs, etc. The “I am not a robot” captcha thing kept popping up throughout this entire section. As well as the black and white spirals usually associated with hypnosis, possibly signifying that she is controlling the media you are seeing in that moment, which means she is controlling you. All while “Ghost” from Self-Titled is playing. That entire song is about the ridiculousness of our society and how we all work ourselves to the bone for what reason? Then she turns the tables and makes the screen the audience, and now they are the ones being watched and observed. Possibly to signify how fragile our perception of reality is. Or possibly to show how easily we are distracted and influenced.
Then a voice says, “America has a poaching problem, it’s time for Honey Ham to serve the truth.5” I truly believe that this is the most important interlude of the entire show and that this is the thesis of the entire show. Beyoncé thinks that we all have a hive mind, and we need to wake up to what is really going on. That entire sequence to me felt very meta. Beyoncé has acknowledged that we call her our “Queen,” but in that moment, it felt like she was finally commenting on how weird she thinks it all is. The audience/Beyhive has allowed her to feel controlled by her, but we don’t even really know her. I feel like Beyoncé thinks all this stan shit is very weird and thinks that we should not worship her the way we do. Maybe people love Beyoncé in a way that don’t even love themselves. People will spend hundreds of dollars on a woman that they don’t even know and that doesn’t know them, but won’t spend any money on themselves.
In “Break My Soul,” she said, “looking for something that lives inside me. Beyoncé is trying to tell us that the things we are searching for in our lives are within us already. The change we need to see in the world will have to come from us. I am human, so I am guilty of putting certain celebrities and singers (Beyoncé, Mariah, Ariana, etc.) in a different classification than normal humans. This concert was a great reminder that those people are just human and have just as many flaws and reasons we shouldn’t idolize them as the way we do. We see her as our Queen, and we are willing to do anything for her (go to NJ, brave the crowds, be okay with the ticket prices, the merch, the security, etc.), but in reality, we are just as much brainwashed as the people who are brainwashed by the media.
That entire sequence immediately made me think of The Matrix. If you have seen the Matrix, you will recall that in the movie, humans are no longer above ground and have been driven underground by A.I. that has begun farming humans for our energy. With the visuals before and during “America Has a Problem”, it dawned on me that Beyoncé may be trying to make a commentary about the technological advancements that are happening right now.
A.I is one of the biggest threats to our society as we know it along with climate change. This may come across a little like a conspiracy theory, but I truly believe that if we allow A.I. to get incorporated into our society at the rate that it seems to be going, it will lead to the downfall of the human race. Think about it, if you program a computer to know everything in the world and to be able to recognize and solve problems. Eventually, they are going to realize that the problem with the world (climate change) is that humans have single-handedly ruined the planet for their own economic gain! Then the only option to them would be to kill all the humans! It sounds crazy, but I truly think it is that simple. Especially because a lot of our problems as humans are completely made up by us (the Economy, Racism, Money, etc.) and can be solved if a few of us in power decide to change it.
I also felt like, during America Has a Problem, Beyoncé was peeling back the curtain to almost say in a way that this very concert is a distraction from what is going on. The Beyhive spends so much money, time, and effort to see and stan Beyoncé. Meanwhile, the Government is actively plotting against us. In the alien hearing in Congress the other day, the biggest thing I took away from it was that the government has been using taxpayer dollars to reverse engineer Alien technology.6 Alien technology that includes limitless energy. The Government has had a way to have limitless energy, but instead of incorporating it into society and not making us rely on fossil fuels, they kept it secret and decided to ruin the planet instead. They have had this technology since the 50s. I saw a TikTok that said that the Government is keeping this from the American people is possibly the greatest crime in human history, and I have to agree.
I mean, the entire title of “America Has a Problem” is a message. I know the actual song is about Beyoncé7, but the visuals were a commentary on A.I. Not only did I feel like the tour was a commentary on A.I., but I also feel like it was a commentary on celebrities and the idea of celebrity as a whole. There was also a visual of Beyoncé in a tank, seemingly being made or pumped with something for some unknown reason. The tank symbolizes that she is being created. But you have to ask yourself who is creating her and why? Beyoncé is the “Alien Superstar”, but the media created her as much as she created herself. Maybe it’s not so much Alien as outer space, but Alien as Alienated from society by the pedestal we put her on.
Once you put someone in Superstar status, what rights do they have? What does society feel like that Superstar owes us? How can a Superstar ever have any real experiences if everyone around them feels like the Superstar is above them? Some of the visuals of her in the spaceship made me feel the isolation that Beyoncé and I’m sure many other celebrities, feel. Yes, there are the perks like money, designer clothes, and access. However, being a celebrity must be such an isolating or “Alien” experience. So many people have said that Beyoncé is superhuman8 in her time as a singer, and I love that she is leaning into it now.
When she was at the On Air table with the Bee suit, she was literally personifying this “Queen Bee” character and trying to send us a message. There were images of stocks and the stock market on the screen. Something that is also not real and manmade. She knows she has the power to influence us, and if she says to do something, we are most likely going to do it. So, I felt like she was using her power to tell us that the world we are living in is a lie and that if we don’t do something about it soon, we are all going to be hopelessly brainwashed. I mean, so many people in America can’t even read an entire article, much less a book. Reading is something that Black People literally used to die to be able to learn, and now most people don’t even like to read. Even when so much information can be learned about the world and the news through reading. Even more so than videos, because places like TikTok allow anyone to sound like an expert without actually doing the research. How do we expect any change to happen when we are constantly being influenced by things in the online world? We are so tuned into the things that aren’t real and tangible (A.I., The Internet, social media) that we don’t even pay attention to the world around us. I encourage everyone to start reading more and getting their news from actual news sources and not social media. Just for the betterment of your intellect and mind, honestly.
Think about it. How many times do we walk right past homeless people on the street and on the subway? How many times are we going to experience the hottest heat on record? How do we expect anything to change when people don’t have any direction or feel like they have any tangible actions to enact change? Or they are ignoring the very things that need to change around them because they think it doesn’t affect them. Even though most people are closer to being homeless than they are to being well off financially. I know that voting is not the end-all be-all for change. Nor should it be. The systems we have in place for change are outdated and are put there to keep the American people stagnant. That is the problem that I think Beyoncé wants us to realize. So many people’s priorities are messed up. They care more about what a Kardashian or Beyoncé is doing than they do the neighborhood that they live in. We, as American people, have become so out of touch with the world and ourselves that if we don’t realize that and change, we will never be free or see the justice that we so desperately want to come to fruition. Americans need to get their priorities straight. Beyoncé has wealth and power, and she is using it for good with her Bey Good foundation and other helpful ways9.
That compounded with just how queer the entire show was. The dancers, the interludes, the songs, were all queer influenced. I know it is not lost on Beyoncé that in some of the states she is performing in and passing through, there are government officials who are trying to ban drag, the word gay, and gender affirming care. Beyoncé is very well read and even if she wasn’t I am sure her dancers, crew, and just her circle have all talked about the fucked-up shit going on in the country and around the world. I mean that dancer O’Shea Sibley literally was stabbed to death for voguing to a Beyoncé song in Brooklyn this weekend. Beyoncé even posted Rest in Power10 on her website right after it happened. Beyoncé has always been an ally11 and I think it is so great that she chose to highlight the queer experience at a time when people are actively attacking and killing queer people but specifically Black queer people.
For those of you who were there, if you recall the visual of Beyoncé in the tank of water seemingly being made by someone or something else. Presumably some type of Alien being. Then later in the show, the circle in the middle became her womb almost as if to signify that she was birthing herself. Or to show the cycle of birth.
The visual of her birthing herself gave me that she was only being used to birth, possibly another Alien Superstar, which could be about Blue Ivy. I thought to myself, why would she put these visuals in here? Then I remembered how much Beyoncé does not like being a celebrity and doing all of the typical celebrity things. She doesn’t give interviews (that often), she doesn’t really buy into the trap that is fame. I wonder if Beyoncé was scared to death when Blue said that she wanted to dance in the show. I would not be surprised if Beyonce’s life flashed before her eyes, and she realized that she does not want Blue to have to go through all of the things that she had grown up with, being in the public eye. That being said, Beyoncé knows better than anyone that if you feel you are called to perform, ultimately no one can stand in your way. I love that Blue has a mother who has grown through the ups and downs of performing and the entertainment industry, and has Beyoncé there as a protector and a guide. I do not see Beyoncé making Blue run around the neighborhood in heels any time soon, and I love that. I hope Beyoncé can heal any wounds that she has from being so famous from such a young age.
I feel that Beyoncé is reminding us of the world we live in and how most of it is fake and I feel like she wanted to break through all the noise and let us know that we need to open our eyes and do something about the bullshit happening in our world or we are going to watch the world change for the worse right before our eyes. I mean in “Virgo’s Groove” she literally says “psychic hit me told me we got shit to do. We don’t have time like we used to.” I fully believe that Beyoncé believes in psychics and aliens and probably watched the hearing about the aliens the other day. If I met Beyoncé, I would love to have a conversation with her about aliens and her theories on them. She probably has insider info about the aliens or has probably talked to aliens herself. I mean, her voice is otherworldly, but maybe it really is from another world.
The reason I believe this is that Beyoncé is trying to get us to take away from the show is because of how often her visuals tell a story. With OTRII it was the love story of her and Jay Z. With Formation it was the story of Jay Z’s infidelity but also Beyoncé reminding herself that she is that bitch. With the Lemonade film, Beyoncé took poems and stories of black women’s pain and triumph and applied them to her own. I find it hard to believe that there isn’t a through line with the visuals from the Renaissance tour.
I don’t think Beyoncé gets enough credit for how smart she is. Beyoncé is very smart and is very well-read. For someone who didn’t go to college or have a traditional schooling route, it is very impressive the references that she continues to put in her work. Which really was why I felt so seen at this concert as a Black woman who likes to read Sci-Fi dystopian novels and also who is obsessed with aliens. For someone who isn’t Black, it is hard to really understand what that type of representation means to me and other Black people. I felt like I had permission to be as “out there” as I want to be.
But seriously, we as Americans and just humans period need to get our priorities straight and start speaking up and acting up to change the injustices that are all around us. If more people got involved in their communities and helped people, we would be so much better off. In America, everything is about the self. “How can I do something to benefit myself?” “How is this going to help and hurt me?” However, I think Beyoncé is trying to encourage us to think bigger and realize that we are all connected, and if they would hurt her, they will definitely hurt you. No one person is above the other, and the people in power are acting like they are. But what are we going to do about it? The answer lies in your perception of reality and whether you really want to take the red pill or not.
If you can’t tell I took shrooms for the first time right before this concert lmfao. Thanks to the very nice person who was sitting next to me at the show. So that is probably why I had this seemingly outlandish reaction to the tour. However, I still believe and feel everything that I said days later. Coming out of the concert, I felt so at peace and less anxious, and ready to take on life in a different way than I felt going into it. The shrooms combined with the power of Beyoncé’s voice and mind were bound to give me that experience. Personally, I wish I were rich so I could go at least one more time. I know will be thinking about that show for the rest of my life. Immediately, it became my favorite and the best concert I have ever seen. I hope that if you have yet to see her, this will give you a different perspective going into it. Or if you have seen her on this tour, maybe this gave you a different perspective. Either way, I encourage everyone reading this to think about their place in society and how they can make a difference in the terrible world we live in because we all have the power to.
She went as a Bee for Halloween, but I think that’s it
Lol jk
We all remember how people talked about Blue when she was first born. Even when Beyoncé was pregnant people said she didn’t have the baby
And like Spongebob
I think that’s what the voice said. Its hard to hear the exact word in the video but I wouldn’t be surprised if the voice didn’t say poaching.
I did watch the entire thing start to finish. I may write an entire letter about it later idk.
Or maybe its all about mind control when you really think about it
I mean Oprah literally said that about her tour the other day
She was literally out there serving food in Houston during Quarantine
Used when black queer people are unjustly killed
Uncle Johnny literally made her dress!! But really though she even accepted the GlAAD award for her allyship a couple of years ago