Arts Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” exceeds the hype in Atlanta

BY ITORO N. UMONTUEN

Fifteen minutes into the first night of the “Renaissance World Tour” stop at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter quickly found out the city of Atlanta was ready for her! Yes, the BeyHive here in Atlanta (plus members throughout the southeastern U.S. and around the world) have prepared for this night for about six months. Yes, she has performed in twenty-six cities prior to Atlanta and sure, snippets of each concert can be pieced together on social media.

But, as the lights dimmed and the opening animations played on the screen and the clouds slowly revealed a portrait of Beyoncé, the crowd was agape with awe when the 32time GRAMMY winner said, “Atlanta, Georgia… I love you!”

Phones were out and everyone stood while Beyoncé performed “Dangerously in Love,” while wearing a number by Guarav Gupta. Bey was styled by the great Shiona Turini. While we’re here, her makeup artist was Rokael Lizama. Her hair was styled by Neal Farinah, and her jewelry is from Tiffany & Co. Lastly, Bey stepped on stage wearing shoes by Christian Louboutin.

“Dangerously in Love” was followed by “Flaws and All.” As Beyoncé sat on a silver grand piano, it was the opening salvo for what would be a 150 minute visual masterpiece. It must be noted, we won because the crowd was able to mute themselves while Bey performed “ENERGY.” That will be something the next two shows must live up to.

Throughout the show, Beyoncé performed songs from “Renaissance,” as expected. During the show, Bey weaved in her classics such as “Formation,” “Before I Let Go,” and various vamps which included her past hits like “Freakum Dress” from her 2006 album, “B’Day.”

Additionally, the crowd was able to sing the runs that Bey would normally perform during “Love on Top.” That was a moment.

Bey took fans on her voyage to find a source to charge her inner being… assembly line frequency as she tapped her MPC, she also tweaked her show to include shoutouts to Grace Jones, a tribute to the late, great Tina Turner, Madonna, “Jilly from Philly” aka Jill Scott, and many others.

Anytime a concert’s tour stops in Atlanta, there are subtle differences compared to any other tour stop. Yes, Bey performed in Nashville, Charlotte, and will later perform in Tampa, Miami and New Orleans. But an Atlanta tour stop has extra energy because our city embraces a star unlike anyone else. An Atlan- ta tour stop also means a visit to undoubtedly the most unapologetically Black city in America.

Plus, an Atlanta tour stop is star-studded. Usher and Jay Z were the most notable guests, which also included Kandi Burruss, Ms. Tina Lawson, Holly Robinson Pete, Kenya Moore, Teyana Taylor, Summer Walker, 2 Chainz and 21 Savage. Saturday night, Quavo, Porsha Guobadia, Chloe and Halle Bailey, Devale and Khadeen Ellis, plus T.S. Madison were among the celebrities in Club Renaissance.

An Atlanta tour stop will also mean concert-goers, as we like to say, “put that **** on!” Some fans spent thousands on their outfits while others chose to display their creativity in an attempt to pay the appropriate amount of homage to their favorite singer. In this case, the capacity crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium wore everything from the cowboy hats, silver pants, shorts, even chaps!

A highlight of the show was seeing Amari Marshall take the stage as she danced with Blue Ivy Carter. Marshall took time away from the tour as she mourned the loss of her big brother, Andre, during the European leg of “Renaissance.” Amari is a choreographer that has previously worked with Ciara and Madonna, and she has taken Blue Ivy under her wing.

Another notable highlight of the show that got everyone up was the vogue ballroom interlude which featured Honey Balenciaga, as she took the stage for her solo. The crowd was on their feet cheering because like I said earlier, Atlanta is a top three tour stop for anyone and everyone hoped Honey Balenciaga would be accounted for!

According to Billboard, Beyoncé’s European leg of her tour sold more than one million tickets and grossed $151.4 million. Additionally, according to Forbes, “Renaissance” could gross between $275 million and $2.4 billion from tickets alone by the time it ends on October 1st in Kansas City. Those estimates are based on a median ticket price of $700 per ticket. That does not include ticket sales on the secondary markets.

Yes, $2.4 billion!

The fact is this: fans value the live event experience! The last time Beyoncé performed in Atlanta was in 2018 when the “On The Run” tour stopped at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Her last solo tour was in 2016 when she famously asked the ladies to “get in formation.”

After three sold out concerts with more than 155,000 people packing The Benz across three nights, Bey rightfully described herself: “I’m one of one. I’m number one. I’m the only one.”

BY DONNELL SUGGS

Kia sedans, coupes and SUVs of all colors, makes and models lined up inside the gates of the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center Saturday morning. Some would get help fighting the recent rash of thefts of Kias digitally, while others received hardware that might help.

Both Kia USA and the City of Atlanta participated in a theft software upgrade event outside of the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center Saturday morning. The event allowed local Kia owners to either get a free software update for models between the years 2011-2021 or receive a free wheel lock.

The wheel locks were distributed by Atlanta Police Department officers and investigators. A number of Atlanta Police Academy recruits were seen taking boxes of the wheel locks off of a truck and onto a table for distribution. Up to 1,000 wheel locks were on hand for Kia owners that were eligible for the software upgrade.

Volunteers from Kia Manufacturing

Georgia in West Point and Calavan Kia, a dealership in Lithia Springs, also helped expedite the lines and check VINs for eligibility for the software updates.

Multiple Kia models have been stolen in Atlanta at an accelerated rate. The 2011–2021 Forte, 2021–2022 K5, 2011–2020 Optima, 2011–2021 Rio, 2011–2021 Sedona, 2021–2022 Seltos, 2010–2022 Soul and 2011–2022 Sorento have been targeted the most, according to a million-dollar settlement in California.

The move to make security software updates available can be seen as a way to get out in front of any potential settlements in Georgia. Hundreds of Kia owners experienced their cars being stolen this year.

“There are two levels,” said James Bell, head of communications for Kia America, about being involved in the event Saturday. “The Atlanta Police Department has been proactive about helping with crime issues involving Kias and we have a big production plant in West Point, so we love Georgia.”

The event took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and took between 10-15 minutes to be downloaded into the systems. Stickers were placed on the front windshields of cars as they left the Civic Center. The hope is that thieves will think twice about stealing the cars that have the most up-todate technology.

Safety tips listed on a flier distributed by Kia volunteers asked owners to not leave keys or key fobs in cars, leave cars running while unattended, and to leave cars locked “every time you walk away from it.” of this bid document. In order to obtain complete information about this solicitation, please click the link below where this document and supporting documents can be downloaded, https://www.bidnetdirect.com/georgia/fultoncounty.

Bell stated that there will be more events like this taking place around the country. “If this event goes well, and by the looks of things it is, we might be back in Georgia to do this again,” he said.

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