As of Wednesday night, Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z are officially on the run again. OTR II, their joint tour and the follow up to their 2014 stadium tour, kicked off its UK leg in Cardiff. Performing is what Beyoncé does best, so this is exciting for her fandom. And per usual, the Beyhive has already been sent into overdrive trying to make sense of what we’ve seen so far. I’m right there with them. Here is everything we know.
In terms of production, Bey and Jay decided to go big or go home. According to a statement from LiveNation, their stage — which includes two catwalks that advance into the audience, a floating platform that covers half the length of a stadium, and a really big performance wall with screens — is one of the largest ever for a concert. They also enlisted the help of 17 dancers and 26 other people that make up a vertical orchestra. I love that the Carter’s know to invest in big productions so that more people in the huge stadium get to engage with them on a more intimate level.
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Speaking of engagement, apparently OTR II also marks the introduction of something called Club Carter. It’s an interactive club in the middle of the stadium, I’m assuming it’s located in the pit between the two catwalks that can hold 700 people on its own. It comes with merch, VIP entry, access to a cash bar before the show, and apparently “room to dance.” This is a fascinating concept that could take on a life of its own, especially as OTR is apparently it’s own “brand” that the Carters started in 2014 with their first tour.
Now for the juicy bits. OTR II is “a celebration of love, family and culture.” And like their first joint tour, the power couple gave fans an intimate look at their private life. There are clips of the entire family, Bey pregnant with the twins, Jay being smothered with kisses from Blue, and Sir and Rumi's adorable baby wrists. In one scene in particular, it seems that the Carters renewed their wedding vows, likely on their 10th anniversary, with all three of their children in attendance. Tina Knowles posted a screenshot of the frame that included the twins with the caption, “My babies.” This would become useful, as the OTR II screens also showed another picture of Bey and Jay holding two babies with the words “Love never changes.” and “Love is universal.” in huge letters. A rep for Beyoncé told BuzzFeed that those were not the twins.
Other details that we know about OTR II so far are that Beyoncé still has an affinity for Gucci, the set list includes songs like “Run the World,” “Resentment,” and “Upgrade U,” and Jay-Z is still rocking his natural kinks and coils. Whew. All this from a single show!
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