A phenomenal experience!
It all started with the tickets arrival, bringing extreme excitement. i could only count down the days to watching the live performance from Jay-z and Beyonce. I had all their songs on repeat!
The concert was scheduled to start at 7pm, but the show was postponed as not many seats were filled. By the time people arrived and took their seats, the show started approximately as 8:30pm. My daughter and I arrived pretty early, around 5pm thinking the London Stadium was going to be overly crowded as well as expecting long queues. However, this was not the case. I was surprised by how organised the stadium actually was, despite some queing everything seemed to be running smoothly and efficiently, helping to create an exciting atmosphere for the show.
The concert started off with Beyonce and Jay-Z singing, ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (which is my personal favourite) and through a mixture of both their songs. I really enjoyed this opening performance as it was a mix of past and present time, almost like the concert was their ‘love story.’ Both artists stood on a sort of ‘open’ elevator that came down towards the stage. While Beyonce and Jay-z was holding hands, the crows were screaming at the top of their lungs, people cheering and most importantly everyone was on their feet ready for this ultimate journey.
However, I recognised that Beyonce did not sing most of her songs from the ‘Lemonade’ album which was primarily about her cheating husband. She focused the concert on ‘Endless Love’ though visuals of their marriage and children together. Not only the songs were exceptionally sang but the messages to the fans radiates positivity. Perhaps this is suggestive of the idea that having ‘Endless Love’ involves forgiveness like Beyonce whom forgave her husband Jay-Z, who had an affair with the ‘Becky’. Also, Beyonce performance was social commentary, commenting on gender equalities between man and women. through her ‘formation’ song. This empowers women and encourages women to speak up and take action. Her support was recognised by the audience as nearly every female was on their feet clapping their hands while nodding their head.
It is absolutely fair to say Beyonce’s performance was amazing, Beyonce is amazing! Lights, sounds, dancers further emphasised her talent. Her notes were flawless, her voice sounded even better in real life as the audience and myself really can hear the emotion behind the songs, she looked stunning and her dancing seemed to be contagious, making the audience dance with her. She really does seem like a down-to earth women. While Beyonce’s performance was simply perfect, I was disappointment with Jay-Z to an extent. When ‘In Paris’ and ‘Run This Town’ was sang, the crowd was enjoying, singing along, bobbing their heads. However, I do think he could’ve ‘hyped’ the crowd much more. The audience was literally on their feet, ready to participate in any sort of way jumping up and down and singing along but I don’t think Jay-Z acknowledged this. He just rapped his part then Queen B came on. One of the things that was really interesting, was when Beyonce did sing one of her songs from the ‘Lemonade’ album eg “Sorry”, Jay -Z performed next almost like a retreat to Beyonce, Jay-Z sang ‘Family Feud’ and a few others which was dedicated to Beyonce’s heartbreak. The lyrics that were striking to me especially when Jay-Z finished his performance with the lyrics, “Love me or Leave me.” This suggests that many confrontations occurred with the cheating scandal and Jay-Z gave an option to Beyonce. Despite Jay-z being in the wrong, Beyonce forgave him with their concerts motto of ‘endless love.’
While the concert began with a nostalgic effect, the concert finished with the famous ‘Forever Young.’ This was a beautiful performance; as the lights were dim, with the spotlight focused on the two artists. Majority of the audience used their phones, (including me) to create a dazzling imagery of the ‘stars’ effect. This is the most memorable concert I have been to and advise everyone to attend!!
Beyonce & Jay-Z Concert in June 16,2018 London Stadium
