Putting Beyoncé on a pedestal is easy. In the eyes of her millions of fans, she has carried the music industry since her Destiny’s Child debut in 1997. For over 20 years, the mother of three has redefined what it means to be a pop star, not only by being at the top of her game, but by literally changing it. She is her own competition.
When Beyoncé drops a surprise album, it becomes the most exciting music marketing technique of the 2010s. When she uses a marching band at Coachella in 2018, collegiate music becomes a permanent fixture in the pop charts. When she celebrates all things disco and chrome in her Renaissance era, the high street is filled with silver all summer. Time and time again, the world’s favorite multi-hyphenate transcends pop star status and can only be described, in her own words, as an “Alien Superstar.”
Below are seven reasons why she will always be That Girl.
She was her own opening act
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When the Renaissance tour was announced back in January, everyone wondered who would be her opening act. Rumors suggested friends of Beyoncé, like Tems or Chloe X Halle. But the reality was even better. On May 10th, on opening night at Friends Arena in Stockholm, the crowd (and those watching on a dodgy Instagram live stream) waited eagerly. Beyoncé appeared in a metallic black and silver custom Alexander McQueen suit, accompanied by the haunting piano melody of Dangerously in Love, the title track from her solo debut in 2003. Confusion turned into euphoria as it became clear that Beyoncé would be her own opening act.
That Grammys performance
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