Arguably the most influential woman of our time graced the
LG Arena in Birmingham this weekend during the England stretch of her world
tour. The tour was aptly named the Mrs Carter World Tour in reference to her
husband of 5 years and it didn't fail to live up to expectations.
Beyonce has never been one to let fans down and this show
was definitely no exception; from the adverts to the merchandise everything was
out of this world. The up and coming singer Luke James warmed up the crowd with
a variety of covers that did many original artists, such as Michael Jackson,
justice. He then went on to perform his own catchy song IOU (whilst revealing
abs of steal beneath his shirt) which had everybody in the crowd joining in by
the last chorus. Shortly after His appearance the stage was set and the lights
went down.
'Who run the world?'
In the dark the piercing screams of excitement and joy
echoed around the arena. First to enter the stage were the all female band and
then the dancers joined, my personal favourite being the Les Twins.
Soon after, as every member of the audience starred at the stage with
anticipation, the woman that had gathered everyone here burst up through the
stage. She stood there in all her glory full of the energy she always seems to
possess and that was it; for the next few hours it was just us and Beyonce.
Beyonce opened with the world famous (but then again the
majority of her songs are) Run the world (Girls), the show then went on to
feature all of her major hits. The show had been arranged in such a way that it
all flowed and throughout the whole experience you never felt like she had left
the stage. Every aspect of the night played a part in the overall performance
with everything from the lighting to the bands outfits being perfectly
orchestrated to create a spectacle in front of your eyes.
With on stage
explosions, flame throwers, and showers of fire the special effects crew had
gone all out. At one point we even experienced Beyonce flying above the crowd
to land in the golden circle in the middle of the standing area (Oh what I
would have given to be one of the lucky people in that area – every member was
within touching and singing distance with the lady herself). In true Beyonce
style the show ended with a bang (literally) she entered on to a black stage
with a single white spot light highlighting every aspect of her beauty. She
then went on to perform ‘I will always love you’ in tribute to the late Whitney
Houston which then mixed into her own record ‘Halo’.
'When I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets'
Whilst she dashed away to make quick outfit changes a large
screen behind the stage would drop down and on it would be projected clips
previously filmed by Beyonce and they set the scene for the next set of songs.
My favourite video was one in which she recited the words to her hit ‘I was
here’ and the screen featured shots of her private life which until her recent
documentary ‘Life is but a dream’ was a rarity. Beyonce is known for keeping
her private life, well, private! It seems common sense really but the more
people you get involved in your life the more negativity you invite into it,
especially when you live said life in the public eye.
One of the main reason millions of women find Beyonce so
inspiring is because she embodies every aspect of a strong, independent woman.
She has always encouraged woman to stand tall and strong even before her solo
career with Destiny’s Child smashing the charts with ‘Survivor’ and ‘Independent
women part 1’. Today she supports such
charities as Chime for Change that promotes equal rights for woman. Michelle, Kelly and Beyonce are women
who tell you ‘you don’t need a man’ and my gosh do you believe them when you’re
belting out the lyrics in a nightclub (or your bedroom.)
But on the other hand Beyonce has always preached about
treating your man right. It’s about achieving the perfect balance between
independence and respect for your partner. I have always loved Beyonce from
Destiny’s Child until the current wife and mother we see today and I have
always taken inspiration from her.
Beyonce is a gorgeous woman and she embraces every aspect of
it. Another of my favourite clips during the concert was one in which she was
setting the scene for ‘Naughty Girl’ and 'Baby Boy'. The clip featured a quote in which she
talks about the power you have as a woman, she encourages you to embrace your
sexuality and use it in your favour.
'I buy my own diamonds and I buy my own rings'
There is a fine line between using seduction
for power and selling yourself or being objectified and she appears to hit it
just right as she would never encourage any woman to lose their self respect.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I think woman
should be objectified because I don’t; but I think women have a lot more power
than they think. The ability to be strong independent and achieve everything you
want in life if no easy task and unfortunately we can’t all do it as gracefully
as Beyonce herself, but we can sure as hell try! She encourages you to love
yourself but also teaches you to embrace the love of a man (or woman – recently
stating ‘If you like it you should be able to put a ring on it’). Beyonce is an
inspiration for young and old generations a like and there is no arguing she will
always be hailed as one of the greatest singers the world has ever seen. The
experience was amazing and I will definitely be on the front row the next time
she jumps across the pond.
