Dear Gossips,   

Monday was election day in Canada and was it divine timing? Because my stress from last night could only be assuaged by one person – she is one of one, the only one: BEYONCÉ, obviously. 

 

The Queen of All Culture returned to the stage last night, kicking off the COWBOY CARTER World Tour in Los Angeles and this is the standard for performance – it was theatre, it was fashion, it was dance, it was comedy, it was vocals, exceptional vocals, and of course, and it was symbolic. Because Beyoncé is always about intention. 

 

As we all know now, COWBOY CARTER was a study, an education in country music and its Black origins, showcasing how almost every genre of music is rooted in Black artistry (which is the overall purpose of this project that will eventually be three acts) – not unlike the way Ryan Coogler’s cinematic masterpiece, Sinners, is about how Delta blues is embedded in nearly every form of music. It would be wild if one could double-bill Sinners with Beyoncé’s show. 

 

With Beyoncé though, always, learning is fun. Because COWBOY CARTER is also a celebration, a proud staging of her place in this foundational legacy. And how the legacy will continue after her. Here we have probably the most viral part of the show: her daughters showing up in key moments. This is Blue Ivy in “Déjà Vu”: 

THAT STRUT. That is her mother’s strut! But also, no accident that this was the track where Beyoncé wanted to include Blue. Because here’s her first born doing her signature sway down a runway…to “Déjà Vu”! 

 

But Blue also shows up on “America Has a Problem”, a song that’s basically about how you can’t top her and what she represents. Having her heir come out adds to that defiant truth…while dancing her f-cking ass off, GO BLUE! 

@much

Blue Ivy is really THAT GIRL😮‍💨🔥 #CowboyCarterTour Via beylegion/x

♬ original sound - MuchMusic

It’s not just Blue, though. It’s Beyoncé, Blue, AND Rumi. On “Protector”, which is track that features Rumi’s voice, and a song about being a mother. And Beyoncé performed it alongside both her daughters. Blue has the experience, but this is new for Rumi. This was Rumi’s biggest spotlight – and the purity in her reaction, the joy all over her face, and then when all those big feelings took over she turned straight into her mother’s protective arms. My heart! Beyoncé’s heart! This is the only thing that could ever stop the Queen, temporarily.

 

You cannot stop her, though, when she’s on a roll. And Beyoncé can do it all. Live. She came the bars…

And the opera – in a dress that changed colour over and over again with every flawless note. 

 

All this is just a small taste of what she delivered over 36 songs and almost three hours, while at one point lighting a piano on fire. 

The Greatest of All Time is back. Feel the burn, of the fire or the whiskey, ha! 

Yours in gossip, 

Lainey