Beyoncé Knowles-Carter returned to the jumping streets of Atlanta August 11, 12 and 14 for the first time in five years, delivering a heavenly performance. Fitted in a silver-sequin bodysuit, her honey blonde hair flowed freely underneath her Houston-inspired hat as she graced the stage with diamond-embellished stilettos; Georgia welcomed the legendary singer with three sold-out shows for her album world tour—“RENAISSANCE.” The celebrated singer’s high-capacity shows caused heavy traffic in the surrounding area of Atlanta as fans of all ages flooded the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Beyoncé-inspired attire.
“My mom surprised me with tickets! She called me into her room a few weeks ago saying she had to tell me something. I was scared because she usually doesn’t normally approach me like that. Then she asked me, ‘What’s the biggest concert you can think of?’ First I said, Usher! But then she said to think bigger, which was Beyoncé tickets! It was worth the hype, it was a very fast-paced show,” senior Nailah Goldsby said.
Starting her world tour May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, the legendary singer sold out stages across the globe while instantaneously breaking several venue records by becoming the highest-grossing performer in several European stadiums and arenas. Sharing this eventful moment in Beyoncé’s career, fans of the singer stylized themselves to fit the “RENAISSANCE” theme with soft-glam makeup, bedazzled silver and diamonds on skin-tight clothing, subtle disco and, obviously, Texas Bama cowboy hats and vests.
Beyoncé not only delivered an innovative performance, she incorporated audience participation with the “on mute” challenge. Using the lyrics from her song “Energy,” Beyoncé freezes during the lyrics “Look around, everybody on mute,” challenging her fans to remain silent for six seconds—not an easy feat when performing in an arena filled to the brim with lively fans. While numerous cities could not stifle their screams, ultimately failing the challenge, videos show the attendees of the August 11 Atlanta show falling into complete silence after Beyoncé finishes her line. After Atlanta’s six seconds of charged stillness, the crowd erupted as Beyoncé crowned the Big Peach City as the winner of the challenge.
“I wore a white cowboy hat, a silver jacket with black under it and silver jewelry. It’s been two days and I already miss her. She really knows how to perform and it was amazing; I went to the Saturday night show, and I saw a video from night 1 [August 11] where Beyoncé said that they won the mute challenge, but I don’t think night 2 [August 12] did as well. I have video of someone in my section screaming—I was on mute, but not everyone was on mute,” magnet junior Zorian Lang said.
Although Beyoncé released a setlist for her tour, several cities did not experience multiple songs on the list, such as the singer’s cult-classic song, “Drunk in Love” and her newer fan-favorite, “ALL UP IN YOUR MIND.” Shocking fans across the globe, concertgoers in Atlanta received the ultimate gift: a performance of these yet beloved songs. While Houston remains the true home of Queen Bey, Beyoncé continues to place Atlanta high on her list by blessing the city with jaw-dropping concerts.
