Yahoo News Beyoncé Performs With Daughter Blue Ivy In Dazzling Dubai Comeback Gig
Beyoncé returned to the stage for her first headline show in over four years on Saturday night, performing at a private hotel launch event in Dubai.
The music icon was rumoured to have been paid £19.4million ($24m) for the exclusive concert at the grand reveal of Atlantis The Royal – billed as the world’s most ultra-luxury resort.
The singer was joined by her 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy on stage at one point, with the pair duetting on Brown Skin Girl from the 2019 album, The Lion King: The Gift.
Blue Ivy has performed with her mum in pre-recorded situations, but this marked her debut performance on a public stage.
Beyoncé and daughter Blue Ivy Carter perform on stage headlining the Grand Reveal of Dubai’s newest luxury hotel, Atlantis The Royal.
Opening her 90-minute set with her cover of Etta James’s At Last, Beyoncé wowed the 1,500-strong crowd with fan favourites such as Crazy In Love, Naughty Girl, Halo and XO – culminating with a rendition of Drunk In Love as fireworks lit up the sky.
Taking to the stage in a yellow sequinned gown with a sculptural feathered cape, the 41-year-old was flanked by a full band, a Middle Eastern orchestra and dancers clad in red sequinned outfits and full skirts.
The singer chose not to debut any tracks from latest album Renaissance, which is nominated for two Grammys.
“There’s a Utopia of people from all over the world on this stage and we are so honoured to be here to celebrate this night with you,” Beyoncé said.
“My parents are here tonight to celebrate – my mother and my father. My beautiful children are here to see me perform and my beautiful husband.”
She later changed into a red and gold bejewelled body suit with a voluminous train and completed a third costume change with a red corseted minidress with matching stockings and gloves.
There was a strict “no phones” policy, with attendees asked to place their mobiles inside specially provided bags, but that didn’t stop some VIP guests from still managing to record parts of the show.
The exclusive concert was attended by celebrities including Kendall Jenner, Liam Payne, Ronan Keating, Rochelle and Marvin Humes and British Vogue editor Edward Enninful.
“We’ve given her creative control. This is her art – we want her to express her art in her way,” managing director Tim Kelly told the PA news agency ahead of the performance.
“I can’t express to you enough the level of professionalism and discipline with the rehearsals.
“From the moment she arrived last week she was on the stage, rehearsing and performing, and she’s developing and curating a performance.
“She’s not taking a show out of the box because she doesn’t have a show in the box. You’re going to get the full-throttle Beyonce.”
Beyoncé attends the Atlantis The Royal Grand Reveal Weekend, a new ultra-luxury resort on January 21, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mason Poole/Parkwood Media/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal)
Asked if it was difficult to secure the global pop star for the launch, Mr Kelly said: “It took a long time, but it also came together rather quickly.
“It’s a circumstance of where she chooses what she wants to do. We’re honoured, we’re proud and for her to be here to do this in Dubai on this night, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“We have always expressed that this is an iconic building, and then to have the most iconic performer on the planet available today, someone who hasn’t been seen in public performing in over four years, it’s really a night of icons.”
