Last night (January 21) at the opening of a luxury hotel in dubai, Beyoncé performed her first headlining show in over four years.
Earlier this week, Beyoncé invited influencers and journalists to join her in Dubai for the opening of Atlantis The Royal Hotel. A “performance of a lifetime” was promised, although there was no official confirmation of Beyoncé’s participation.
However, last night she took to the stage for her first headlining show since December 2018. Beyoncé opened the private concert with ‘At Last’, ‘XO’ and ‘Flaws And All’ before playing songs from her back catalogue.
A few songs by Beyonce “The Lion King: The Gift” soundtrack debuted live, including “Otherside,” “Spirit” and “Bigger,” and on “Brown Skin Girl,” Blue Ivy Carter joined her mother on stage.
At the show’s finale, Beyoncé sang “Drunk In Love” as a raised platform appeared from the fountain and fireworks exploded around it.
Cameras and cell phones were reportedly banned at the concert, but it appears that several people broke that rule. Check out the footage from the fan photos and the full setlist Below:
Official recording of Beyoncé’s performance in Dubai shared by @parkwood pic.twitter.com/tJZMgPWsji
—Beyoncé Press. | Fan account (@beyoncepress) January 21, 2023
The last time Beyoncé did a Beautiful Liar dance break was in 2007😭 pic.twitter.com/H1so2NDNEr
— BEY-Z🐝⬢⬡ · fan account (@beyzhive) January 21, 2023
Beyoncé performed:
‘Finally’
“XO”
“Flaws and All”
“Ava Marie”
Hello
“Brown Skinned Girl” (with Blue Ivy Carter)
‘Be Alive’
‘Other side’
“bigger”
“ghost”
“Freedom”
‘I care’
‘Beautiful Liar’
‘Madly in love’
‘Countdown’
‘Naughty girl’
‘Drunk on Love’
The show may be Beyoncé’s first time on stage since the release of Renaissance in 2022, but none of the album’s 16 songs were performed.
Beyoncé was also criticized by fans for her decision to perform in Dubai, which has a history of human rights abuses. Homosexuality also remains a crime punishable by death in the United Arab Emirates.
“There is nothing iconic Beyonce getting paid an ungodly amount of money to promote a country that violates human rights so blatantly,” one fan wrote on Reddit.
However, some fans noted that Beyoncé was reportedly working on the show with IAM Entertainment, a live performance-focused organization founded and run by Middle Eastern women.
Last year, Beyoncé seemingly confirmed her 2023 world tour in support of new album ‘Renaissance’ via auction. It was also reported that her crew, dancers and band will have to undergo a background check before hitting the road.
However, the dates of the concerts have not been confirmed at this time.
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