Beyonce at Sheffield Arena - SLIDESHOW
IT was all about the bling. Beyonce's show at Sheffield Arena might have been full of sequins and sparkle but her fabulous dancing and tremendous voice even outshone her dazzling outfits. Quite a feat with nine costume changes in two hours.
The R&B superstar was here as part of her I Am... tour and it's safe to say that no-one went home disappointed, even if they had paid nearly 50.
She exploded onto the blacked-out stage as a dramatic silhouette, showing every one of those world famous curves.
As the lights went up, the crowd went wild as she was revealed in all her glory - in a glitzy mini-dress with a bow attached to the back.
The reason for the outfit was clear when the opening track of Crazy In Love blasted out and she performed "that" bum wiggle to the whoops and cheers of thousands of girls who've attempted the move on dance floors.
She didn't even pause for breath for the first three songs, while the dramatic backdrop moved and changed around her as quickly as the talented dancers sharing the stage.
The production was like a blockbuster film, one stunt following another in a jaw-dropping two-hour journey.
One minute she was wearing all white in front of a backdrop of crashing turquoise waves - as if some Goddess of the sea was serenading us with Smash Into You. The next she was a headbanging rock chick in denim and shades singing If I Were A Boy, which morphed into a verse of Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know.
We were even treated to a bit of baby Beyonce - a video clip of her performing as a five-year-old girl was aired as the introduction to Radio. Apparently it was at around that age she was given her first radio and fell in love with music.
By far the biggest spectacle had to be her flight across the arena like some twinkling angel, landing on a mini-circular stage in the middle of the arena.
More hits and fabulous dancing followed there, including the stomping Say My Name and a surprise rendition of Dawn Penn's You Don't Love Me.
In the predominately female crowd (the arena had even converted some of the mens' loos into female toilets to cope with demand) female empowerment was a strong theme, with Me, Myself and I and To The Left among the tracks celebrating sisterhood.
After an encore of Halo, she shared the secret of her album and tour - declaring: "I Am...Yours", before being lowered from view by a descending platform.
It may have been a little cheesy, perhaps a bit contrived, but the crowd loved every second.
It was a glittering, sparkly, gem of a show which will shine on in the memory for a long, long time.
- WARMING up the crowd before Beyonce took to the stage was the feisty Shontelle Layne - tagged by one critic as a feminist answer to Rhianna.
Bursting with energy and backed up with a powerful voice and some catchy songs, she certainly got the thousands gathered in the mood to party as she bounced around the stage.
In comparison with what followed it was less about the big production and more about the music - as she went through a set of thought-provoking songs accompanied by her live band.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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