There were a few components to this show that made it not only different, but better than the first. First off, DJ Khaled was added for this portion. The man is a genius, and if you follow him on Snapchat you know he thinks you’re a genius too. Seeing his snaps during her tour stops is one thing, but seeing him live in a city like Atlanta is a totally different experience. DJ Khaled is the best hype man I’ve ever witnessed and should open every concert. Not just because of his energy or his catalog of music, but the surprises he brings on each one of the tour stops. He’s been saying since he left New Orleans, “ATL I got a lot of surprises for you. Formation Tour, Atlanta, get there early!” 15 minutes would pass and he’d hint again, “Atlanta…. Trust me… Get there early!”
The second component goes back to DJ Khaled. This show had openers and lots of them thanks to Khaled. He was not lying when he said “Get there early!” He took full responsibility for the duties that came with being the “opener.” He played lots of old school rap, R&B, 90’s classics, and a few ATL tunes as well. But the surprises he had in store lit up the dome from start to finish.
I thought he’d start off small and gradually go bigger when bringing out ATL artists, but he went straight for the jugular and brought out Jeezy as his first guest. The crowd went crazy.
When Jeezy belted out his most recognized ad-lib, “Yeaaaah” I saw people jump out of their seats, run to get friends, and some fans even screamed out of pure shock. Like I said, most times when a touring artist brings out local artists, they build a type of crescendo by starting small and ending with a huge household name. But Jeezy was his first surprise artist of the night. Khaled had the building at the edge of their seats in anticipation and he did not disappoint. Jeezy’s performance was followed by that of The Migos, The Dream, Young Thug, T.I., Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Usher, and 2 Chainz.
The Dream’s presence was welcomed but his performance was a little disappointing. I never thought in a million years he’d be outdone by Young Thug, but I witnessed it with my own eyes. His performance totally made up for The Dreams’. T.I. made the best of his time on stage and addressed social injustices and asked the crowd to hold their fists in the air if they opposed them. In an instant, I saw thousands of fists, raised congruent, in various shades and colors. It was a powerful moment.
After DJ Khaled energized the masses there was a 30 minute break. During this time we were shown visuals on two large screens on opposite sides of the stage and a massive four-story, rotating cubed projector screen. During this time they promoted different artists on Tidal and played music videos. It was pretty anticlimactic coming off the heels of an Usher, Ludacris, and 2 Chainz performance (although I did enjoy Chloe x Halle).
Once 9:30pm struck, the Dome went black and various images of her were projected on stage. The crowd exploded with screams and applause as they anxiously awaited the queen to take the stage. Minutes later, Beyoncé, the woman of the hour, took the stage and made her entrance to “Formation.”
Her outfit was a see-thru number that only the queen herself could pull off. With the crowd eating out of her hand, she kept the high energy going with “Kitty Kat” “Bow Down” and “Run The World.”
When she performed, “Mine” it looked like a cirque du soleil performance with background dancers in front and acrobats in the back. There was a strong Caribbean/African influence in their dance moves and it all came together nicely.
The hits continued with “Baby Boy” “Hold Up” and “Countdown.”
After that she took the time to thank her fans for supporting her and gave a short synopsis on her life as an artist and the obstacles she overcame. Her motivational speech about empowering yourself and achieving success was the perfect segue to her next track “Me, Myself, And I.”
“Redemption” was a special performance because she left a space in between each sentence so the crowd could repeat each line of lyrics. It was a nice moment she shared with the crowd.
Aside from the crowd singing along with her to “Redemption,” there were two other epic moments that will be remembered at this show: The Shawty Lo and Prince tributes.
After “Don’t Hurt Yourself” “Ring The Alarm” and “I’m A Diva” the latter of the three songs was getting mixed before our eyes. Within seconds you were hearing the lyrics to “I’m A Diva” but the track being played was “Dey Know” by Shawty Lo. The crowd erupted.
For the second tribute she left the stage and the projector cube turned purple. The very second it started changing to purple, you could see cell phone flashes appear throughout the audience. In a massive kumbaya moment, Prince’s “Purple Rain” began blaring through the speakers and everyone sang along. It wasn’t as hype as Shawty Lo’s tribute but it was another standout moment where everyone banded together to share the same purpose: honoring Prince.
The show was loaded with tons of visuals, epic wardrobe changes, and even a performance in a stage-wide pool of water.
She continued with tracks “Daddy” “Partition” “Flawless” “Drunk in Love” “Love On Top” and “Crazy in Love.”
On top of the visuals from her ‘Lemonade’ album, there were fireworks, pyro, sing along moments, and to kickoff “We Like To Party” the crowd was showered by confetti cannons.
Beyoncé closed her show by thanking the crowd multiple times, asking everyone to show love to her team, dancers, and live band, and concluded with a solo performance (no band or dancers) of “Halo.”
She sang, she danced, she used killer visuals, she had a four-story projector which gave a view to everyone in the Georgia Dome regardless of their seating, she hit a home-run adding DJ Khaled to her tour, she did a dedication to Prince, remixed one of her hit songs to honor Shawty Lo, and last but not least, she slayed.
To see Beyoncé live is to experience greatness with a sprinkle of sensory overload. The Formation World Tour has three stops left before it concludes so you still have a chance for the #FTW experience.
Trust me when I say you’ll get your moneys worth. She is well on her way to Tina Turner type notoriety if not there already.
-Jon J.