She’s the most decorated artist in Grammy history with an unprecedented 32 wins from a record 88 nominations.
This Saturday and Sunday, Beyoncé brings her “Renaissance World Tour” to FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
We’re getting hyped by chatting with area folks who have tickets for this weekend.
WTOP’s Acacia James said she is excited to go with her mom, who’s seen Queen Bey live once before.
“When she told me that she got me these tickets, I cried,” James said. “I am beyond excited. This is my first time seeing her in concert and I’m just over the moon, to be honest. My favorite Destiny’s Child song is either ‘Soldier’ or ‘Say My Name,’ which is such a classic, just the music, the beat behind it and even how they did the video. … What’s my favorite solo Beyoncé song? … I love ‘Alien Superstar,’ the way that song makes me feel.”
James remembers exactly where she was when Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2013.
“The lights went out after her performance and it was just so funny like, ‘Girl, you turned the lights out,’ she shut it down!” James said. “I remember I was on a flight back home during the Super Bowl and a lot of the people … I was looking at their screens and not a lot of people were watching the game, but when Beyoncé started to perform, every single TV on the back of those chairs on that flight had Beyoncé on the screen.”
WTOP’s Dana Sukontarak has tickets to the Saturday show and can’t wait to rock out.
“There’s no other artist right now in the world that can deliver a show like Beyoncé,” Sukontarak said.
“I saw her when she came to FedEx Field with Jay-Z for the ‘On the Run Tour II’ back in 2018. It was a phenomenal show. … My favorite Destiny’s Child song? I’ll go with ‘Bug a Boo,’ classic. … My favorite solo Beyoncé song is ‘Disappear,’ deep cut. … Tied is ‘Me, Myself and I’ from ‘Dangerously in Love’ and ‘Heated’ from ‘Renaissance.'”
Anne Arundel Community College professor Sharon O’Malley, wife of WTOP’s Shawn Anderson, recently saw Beyoncé perform two weeks ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a trip with her journalism students.
“I have to say, I’m not a huge Beyoncé fan, I don’t follow her, I was in Minneapolis with a group of students who wanted to go,” O’Malley said.
“Her stage presence is like nothing I’ve ever seen. … She walks and dances with confidence, her voice really is incomparable. … Her singing is fantastic, but the show itself is so entertaining. It’s full of sparkles, lights, video, costume changes, dances, stunts. … I’m so glad I went. I had a great time and so did my students.”
One student, D.C. native Tomi Brunton, was blown away by the show.
“This was my first time seeing Beyoncé live,” Brunton said. “The show in Minneapolis was spectacular. It feels like a miracle that we were able to go. … I’ve seen a lot of awesome artists, but Beyoncé’s stage presence was on a whole ‘nother level. She was like a queen. … My favorite Beyoncé song is probably ‘Love on Top’ from her album ‘4.’”
O’Malley had only one complaint — she said it took Beyoncé too long to take the stage.
“She was a full hour and a half late,” O’Malley said.
“It was supposed to start at 7 [p.m.] and it didn’t start until 8:45 [p.m.]. I’m guessing that she wanted the sun to go down, because her props are all sparkles and lights and spotlights … but the audience, even the die-hard fans, were disappointed and pretty annoyed that we were sitting there waiting with no word and no warm-up act.”
Either way, set your expectations to sundown to see a world-class artist.
“She really is the epitome of hard work,” James said. “You can just tell.”
