Beyoncé kicked off her Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm last night, introducing a dazzling array of outfits, choreography, and of course, her most beloved songs, past and present. But the opening night of the tour also resulted in one particular video that has gone viral: her reaction to the crowd singing “Love on Top.”
As BuzzFeed pointed out, Beyoncé pointed her mic out to the stage during the number, inviting the audience to sing. She didn’t look impressed by the results, to say the least.
The video has been viewed over one million times since it was posted yesterday evening. In it, she does tell the crowd to give themselves a round of applause, so she seemingly appreciates their attempt at her vocals.
Beyoncé’s next tour date will be in Brussels, Belgium on May 14. Her first U.S. show will be on July 12 when she plays Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. The world tour runs until September 27.
Beyoncé shared a teaser video from her show yesterday on Instagram, writing, “Welcome to the RENAISSANCE.”
Over 3 million people liked the post in its first 20 hours up, including Lizzo, who commented, “See u soon mom.”
Beyoncé has yet to give an interview on tour, although she did appear on Vogue France’s cover with Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing. He discussed the Renaissance couture collection they created together.
Regarding working with Queen Bee, “I really wanted us to create this collection together,” Rousteing told the outlet. “She said to me, ‘before we work together, I want you to express the vision that you have of me, of these songs. Take inspiration from the songs, from my voice.’ It’s a beautiful thing, the act of sketching, guided only by rhythm, music and lyrics… by sound. During the first few months, she gave me carte blanche, and I had total freedom of expression because she wanted to know what I understood about her, what was in my imagination. I had 40 potential looks. She was moved to see the emotion that her songs had provoked in me, and how I had transcribed them into the clothes.”
“We chose 20 of them and then narrowed it down to 16 looks, corresponding to the 16 tracks on the album,” he continued. “It was really her songs that created the couture. From November onwards, the full process fell into place. We had zoom meetings every three weeks. She would suggest colors, or why not wings on this outfit, and she paid particular attention to the accessories. She corrected me on lengths, and on volumes…flamboyance. She added hats and accessories, what kind of earrings, and shoes. She had so many ideas when it came to embroidery. Which embroidery for which song…and then we finalized it all together, a few weeks ago in Los Angeles. When I arrived at her recording studio, there was this huge empty room where all the outfits were displayed on Stockman mannequins and we both found ourselves standing before the collection, transported in a couture universe in this big, dark space. She said, ‘This is a museum, couture pieces…this will stay forever.’”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.