I Am... (Beyoncé tour): Difference between revisions

I Am… Tour

Tour by Beyoncé
Official logo for Knowles' 2009/2010 tour
Associated album	I Am… Sasha Fierce
Start date	March 26, 2009
End date	February 18, 2010
Legs	6
No. of shows	47 in Europe 32 in North America 7 in Australia 12 in Asia 1 in Africa 9 in South America 108 Total[1]
Box office	108 million
Beyoncé concert chronology
The Beyoncé Experience (2007) I Am… Tour (2009-2010)

I Am… Tour was the third worldwide concert tour by American singer–songwriter Beyoncé Knowles , in support of her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce. The tour visited the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.^[2][3][4][5]

In 2009, the tour was nominated for "Eventful Fans' Choice Award" at the 6th Annual Billboard Touring Awards.^[6] The tour grossed $108 million based on 97 concerts reported to Billboard.^[7]

In October 2008, Billboard magazine reported that Knowles would go on tour in the spring of 2009 to support her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce.^[8] The tour dates for the European leg were released in December 2008. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Knowles stated: "I've been working on this tour for eight months [...] I've been rehearsing and trying to make sure I put my set list together. Right now I'm anxious and I can't sleep -- I'll be wanting to be at rehearsal. That's the only thing I can think about. But I can't wait."^[9] The tour kicked off in late-March 2009 with five rehearsal shows in North America. The tour officially commenced in late April 2009, at Arena Zagreb in Croatia. Nearly eight months after dropping I Am ... Sasha Fierce, Knowles brought the tour in support of the album to North America. Presale tickets for members of Knowles' fan club were available on April 20, 2009 and general public sales began on April 25, 2009. The six week "I Am...Tour" kicked off on June 21 with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York and wind down with a four-night residency at Encore in the Wynn Las Vegas July 30 2009, to August 2, 2009.^[10]

In an interview with The Associated Press, Knowles said one of the hardest parts of the tour was squeezing "a decade's worth of hits into a two-hour show" and performing the songs in designer Thierry Mugler's elaborate costumes. She elaborated: "I'm never gonna go onstage or do a video and not work until my feet are blistered, and until I'm basically, I can't walk any more. I always give, and I do that because I know how lucky I am, to do my job."^[10] She also promised that the tour will be more "emotional" than her 2007 outing because of the nature of the I Am... portion of the double album. She explained: "That portion was a lot more real and raw and more sensitive. The best part about this tour is I'm working with Thierry Mugler, who is an icon and a legend, and I've been a fan." She also expressed frustration that snippets of the show had popped up online, ruining some of the surprise of the concert experience and possibly convincing some fans not to attend. She went on saying: "It's great because people can get a little sneak peek and say, 'Oh, I wanna come to the show,' or, 'I don't wanna go to that show,' [laughs] and I'm fans of people so I go on there and check it out too. But you put so much of your heart and time into the wardrobe [...] it's kind of unfortunate that people can see the show months before you get into their city, but that's life."^[10]

In late May 2009, Knowles' label announced through a press release that the singer decided to set aside 2,000 seats for each date on her forthcoming North American tour at a discounted price of $20. After already selling 1,000 tickets per show for the special low price, the last 1,000 discounted seats for each show were made available to the public on May 29 2009, 2009 through Ticketmaster (with the exception of the artist's four-night residency at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas).^[11] Due to the phenomenal demand, Sony Music announced additional dates in England, Asia and South America.^[10] In May 2009, Knowles official website was peppered with requests by disappointed supporters — from Boston; Anchorage, Alaska; Tampa, Florida; St. Louis and Montreal — who begged her to come to their towns.^[10]

After several years of retirement from the fashion industry, French designer Thierry Mugler will serve as the main costume designer for the tour. Knowles was attracted with his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala 2008, "Superheroes, Fashion and Fantasy", where several of his haute couture pieces were on display. He has conducted a 72-piece wardrobe for Knowles and her dancers and band for the tour. It was announced that Mugler's input will extend to a creative advisor role, as he will contribute to designing the whole show, from lighting to choreography.^[12]

Mugler wanted to capture the "duality between being a woman and a warrior" and "understand these two sides with [his] own perception of both aspects" while creating the costumes for Knowles and using the words "Feminine. Free. Warrior. Fierce" as inspiration.^[13] He felt "Sasha Fierce is another aspect of Beyoncé's personality, she is Fierce on stage and Beyoncé in real life", stating, "Beyoncé is a very sophisticated 'stage animal', which means that she is truly instinctive. Beyoncé expresses herself through the two aspects of her personality. On stage, there is Sasha Fierce and there is Beyoncé in her truest self."

Several of the costumes both in the stage show and the video interludes include a few vintage couture pieces by Mugler as well as new ones made specifically for the young diva.

As creative advisor, Mugler stated "It was my responsibility to make Beyoncé's vision come true. There will be a lot of dramatization and metamorphosis on stage. Some very strong effects have been inspired directly by Beyoncé, and only she could make (them) happen on stage. I also was the AD (assistant director) for the Diva video shot especially for the show. I also gave input for various visual and creative aspects of the show." and wanted to send the message that, "The sense of mise-en-scène or using everything we get, like technology, lights, sets and costumes in order to sublimate the emotions and energy that we share and want to share with others."

Knowles and her organization, "The Survivor Foundation", became the spokesperson for General Mills' Hamburger Helper campaign entitled, "Show Your Helping Hand". The campaign's mission is to provide more than 3.5 million meals to local food banks in North America. Knowles encouraged spectators to bring non-perishable foods to her North American concerts to be donated to the campaign. According to the campaign's official website, nearly three millions meals and over $50,000 have been donated.^[14]

In 2006, she sat down with MTV News to talk about her more aggressive stage persona, Sasha Fierce. She said: "I absolutely get scared every time I get on the stage," she said. "I get nervous. I'm actually really scared when I'm not nervous because then I don't transform into that person that people are used to seeing." She added that in real life, she was nothing like that girl people see in her videos and performances: "I'm really more quiet, reserved. I speak when spoken to and polite," she explained. "When I'm onstage, I'm aggressive, I'm strong, I'm fearless. So I'm not who I really am in real life."^[15]

As the grand opening of Donetsk's new sporting arena, the Donbass Arena drew near, it was announced by local organizers that Knowles' will perform as apart of her tour. The ceremony involved a dance production dedicated to Ukraine's miners. Local artists Natal'ya Mogilevskaya, Svetlana Loboda and Aliona Vinnitskaya performed Queen's "We Will Rock You". Afterwards, a speech by Victor Yushchenko, president of Ukraine was given. Knowles performed audience of nearly 45,000 ^[16][16]

Knowles broke her record of concert attendees by selling out the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, with over 52,757 tickets sold and the show grossed more than $4,264,700.^[17]

While Knowles was on tour, she was asked to perform a Las Vegas residency-type show. Knowles and her team produced the shows in seven days. Entitled "I Am… Yours", Knowles performed a MTV Unplugged styled show, at the Encore Theater in Las Vegas. Knowles wanted these shows to be drastically different from her tour, stating it was not to be "the typical Beyoncé experience". The August 2, 2009 show was recorded and later released as a DVD, audio CD and television special in late November 2009.^[3][18][19]

"There will be a lot of dramatization and metamorphosis on stage. Some very strong effects have been inspired directly by Beyoncé, and only she could make (them) happen on stage" said lead costume provider and a creative advisor Thierry Mugler.^[13] The main stage is a simple stage, with a pop up set of stairs, a big LED background screen and glass risers for Knowles' band "Suga Mama" and her backup singers "The Mamas". There is also a smaller stage (The B-Stage) in the middle of the crowd where Knowles later performs.

The show starts with Knowles' silhouette appearing in the middle of the main stage singing the first verse of "Déjà Vu", the main stage is flooded in light revealing Knowles. She sings "Crazy in Love". She continues to perform "Naughty Girl", "Freakum Dress" and "Get Me Bodied".

Knowles later emerges atop a flight of stairs singing "Smash Into You". Later, she performs "Ave Maria", adding an excerpt from Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" and Franz Schubert's Ave Maria". She continues on to sing "Broken-Hearted Girl". At the conclusion of the song, outtakes from Knowles' "If I Were a Boy" music video are shown before she appears to perform the aforementioned song. She includes an excerpt from Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" and Tupac Shakur's "California Love".

A video interlude directed by Melina Matsoukas is shown as excerpts from Knowles "Sweet Dreams" play in the background. This is a short introduction before Knowles performs "Diva", Beyoncé appears at the atop a flight of stairs with her backup dancers behind her. This is followed by another video interlude showing Knowles singing and dancing at the age of 5. Beyoncé then sings "Radio", "Me, Myself and I", Ego" and "Hello".

The show continues with a short medley performed by her backup singers, The Mamas, followed by another video interlude featuring a coin toss between Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce. Knowles then appears from under the stage. She is wrapped in a harness and taken up and over the audience where she performs "Baby Boy". She is then lowered to the B-Stage where she finishes the "Baby Boy" number with an excerpt from Dawn Penn's "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" then continues with "Irreplaceable", "Check On It" and a medley of Destiny's Child hits. She then performs "Upgrade U" and "Video Phone". This is followed by a rendition of "Say My Name" where she interacts with one member of the audience, asking that person what his or her name is and then asks that person what her name is. As the song ends she runs through the audience to the main stage. Her backup dancers dance to excerpts of Destiny's Child's songs, as well as, "Beautiful Liar".

In the penultimate section of the show, Knowles appears in the middle of the stage as she sings "At Last", "Listen" and at some venues "Scared of Lonely". This is followed by a Youtube video interlude featuring imitations of the choreography for "Single Ladies" performed by fans. Beyoncé then sings "Single Ladies" with an interlude that contains excerpts from the Isley Brothers' "Shout". For the finale, she performs "Halo". She then goes to the top of her stairs and repeatedly says 'I am', awaiting the crowd to say it back, she then says 'I am... yours' and exits the stage.

In September 2009, it was announced by The Associated Press that Knowles would be bringing her show to Malaysia's largest city, Kuala Lumpur, on October 25 2009, but it would be without some of her usual tricks. After encountering what became familiar opposition from religious groups in the world's most-populous Muslim country, the singer agreed to tone down some parts of her act. A spokesperson for the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party stated: "We are against Western sexy performances; we don't think our people need that." However, a rep soon came from the concert's Malaysian organizer, stating that "all parties have reached an amicable understanding" about the performance. He went on saying that Knowles should be regarded as a "role model" and an "embodiment of success" because of her philanthropic work, including campaigns against poverty and domestic violence. Two years ago, Knowles was on the verge of doing a show in Malaysia but backed out due to similar protests regarding the singer's performance. Other artists, including Rihanna, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, had toned down their shows for Malaysian dates in recent years.

The Marctensia rep further told The Associated Press: "We are confident that Beyoncé's concert will once and for all silence international critics and put Malaysia back on track and move up the ranks in presenting A-list international pop concerts in this region and further boost tourism."^[20] However, it was ultimately announced in October 2009 that the concert has been postponed in the wake of accusations by Islamic conservatives that the show would be "immoral". Malaysian promoter Marctensia said in a statement: "The show has been postponed to a future date to be announced shortly. The postponement is solely (the) decision of the artist and has nothing to with other external reasons." Another representative declined to comment on whether the show was postponed due to the heavy criticism it was receiving from religious leaders in the country.^[21]

• During her performances in Edmonton and Saskatoon, Knowles performed "Flaws and All" as the final number. She performed "Halo" before "If I Were A Boy". Also, in Saskatoon, instead of singing the abbreviated version of "Déjà Vu", Knowles performed the song in its entirety.
• During her performance in Winnipeg she sang Happy Birthday to two of her band members (Kim Thompson and Tia Fuller) instead of "Flaws and All". At the same concert Knowles performed "Satellites" after "Smash Into You".
• In Spain, Argentina, Chile and Peru, Knowles performed parts of "Irreplaceable" in Spanish. While in Spain, when performing "Hello", she said "Bueno" and "Hola" during the chorus sometimes in lieu of "Hello". She forgot the lyrics of the Spanish version during her concert in Argentina.
• At her concert in Rotterdam on May 2, Knowles walked off the stage right before "Naughty Girl" because her hair needed to be fixed. Later she came back on stage and continued performing. At the same concert the lights went wrong during her performance of "Diva". Knowles shouted "Lights!" while dancing. After a few seconds she then said "Somebody's gettin' fired!" along the beat of the song.
• At the concert on Mother's Day in Denmark, May 10, Knowles sang the final part of "Halo" for her mother as well as dedicating a rendition of "Wind Beneath My Wings" to her. At the same concert Knowles did not fly during "Baby Boy" due to the venues restrictions.
• At the concert in Gothenburg on May 11, Knowles sang Happy Birthday to one of her background vocalists (Tiffany Riddick) during the finale after "Halo".
• During her concert in Zurich on May 16, Knowles performed "Flaws and All" after "Video Phone" to a boy named Tim.
• At the concerts in Paris, Birmingham, Chicago, Manchester and Melbourne children joined Knowles on stage whilst she performed "Halo".
• At certain concerts, Knowles performed select verses from Schubert's "Ave Maria" in Latin.
• At certain shows, Knowles sang Happy Birthday to her fans, after "Halo".
• During her performances in the Essence Music Festival, in the Summer Sonic Festival, in the Abu-Dhabi Grand Prix, in the F1 Rocks Singapore festival, in the opening ceremony of the Donbass Arena in Ukraine, in the Asian and South American leg of the tour, in Toronto and Port Ghalib, Knowles used a different stage set. The pop-up stairs were replaced with a simple plexiglass one and there was no flying part during "Baby Boy"). Songs were also cut from the setlist and there was no B-Stage in New Orleans, Toronto and Donetsk.

• During her performance in London (June 9, 2009), Knowles performed "One More Try" by George Michael. At the same performance, Michael joined Knowles on stage to perform a duet of "If I Were a Boy".
• During her performances in New York City, Jay Z performed with Knowles during "Crazy in Love" and "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)".
• During the performance in Philadelphia, Knowles performed "I Can't Help It", as a dedication to Michael Jackson.
• From the show in Atlanta on 1 July, just before the end of the show Knowles performs an emotional rendition of her song "Halo" to Michael Jackson.
• Knowles surprised the crowd by bringing Cubby (the guy who danced to her hit "Single Ladies" on YouTube) on stage to dance on 1 July in Atlanta.
• During her performance in Sydney (September 18, 2009), Knowles dedicated "Halo" to Chelsea James.
• During her performance in Seoul (October 20, 2009), Knowles performed "Honesty".
• During her concert in London(November 15, 2009), Knowles was joined onstage by Jay-Z for "Crazy in Love" and Kanye West for "Ego".
• During her performances in London, Dublin and Florianópolis, Knowles performed "Sweet Dreams" on the B-Stage.
• On the Asian and the second leg of her UK tour Knowles first sang "Forever Young", by Alphaville, and then later switched on to her tribute for Michael Jackson.
• During her performance in São Paulo (February 6, 2010), Knowles performed "Listen" a cappella on the B-stage. Also, she said "I want you guys to know that this is probably my biggest performance ever in history".
• During her performance in Port of Spain, Trinidad (February 18, 2010), Knowles performed "Check On It" to the riddim of the 2010 carnival smash "Palance" by JW & Blaze.
• Michelle Obama attended the Washington, DC show along with Sasha and Malia. Secret Service blocked off F St NW. During the performance of At Last the crowd erupted in applause when scenes of the inauguration were put on the screen.

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

^ a This concert was a part of the Essence Music Festival^[56]
^ b These concerts were a part of the Summer Sonic Festival^[57]
^ c This concert took part in the opening event for the Donbass Arena^[16]
^ d This concert was a part of the F1 Rocks Singapore Festival.^[58]
^ e This concert was a part of the Yasalam After-Race Concerts^[59]
^ f This concert was a part of a competition presented by Trident Gum^[60]

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

The opening leg of Knowles' third tour received generally positive reviews from critics.

Mike Ross of the Edmonton Sun gave her performance at Rexall Place 4.5 out of 5 stars stating, "Beyoncé can sing traditional R&B if she wants. She proved it late last night - wailing on the Etta James classic "At Last", which she performed for the inauguration of U.S president Barack Obama".^[80] Stephanie Classen of The Star Phoenix remarked, "Beyoncé doesn't really need the bells and whistles of a big stadium show, but it sure makes for an unforgettable concert. And as she says in the song Ego, "I walk like this 'cuz I can back it up."^[22]

Additional praise was received from Randall King of the Winnipeg Free Press. He gave a 4 out 5 to Knowles performance at the MTS Centre, saying, "In Sasha-mode for songs such as "Radio", "Sweet Dreams", and "Single Ladies" (the latter performed, alas, after press time), Knowles is raw energy convincingly expressing a live hard/work hard ethos with every shimmy and nimble vocal trill".^[81] Alice Jones of The Independent writes, "Watching Beyoncé sing and strut her stuff can feel at best overawing, at worst, alienating. She takes her role as entertainer so seriously she's almost too good."^[82] The New York Times writes, "there is a breathtaking elegance in her acute desire to entertain".^[83] Renee Michelle Harris of the South Florida Times writes, Knowles "owns the stage with her trademark swagger and intensity... showcasing her powerful vocals without missing a note, often while engaged in vigorous, perfectly executed dance moves...no one, not Britney, not Ciara and not Rihanna can offer what she does—a complete package of voice, moves and presence."^[84] This was echoed by Lorraine Schwartz of The Examiner, who wrote, "In less than a year, I've seen Madonna, Britney and Beyoncé... [Beyoncé] was by far the best of all three."^[85] Francois Marchand of the Edmonton Journal was not impressed with the performance, stating, "If Beyoncé's first outing on her I Am tour was no major disappointment, it was still a somewhat muddled affair, one that didn't clear up where the line between Beyoncé and her "alter ego" Sasha Fierce is drawn."^[86]

• The Las Vegas show on August 2, 2009 was recorded and released as I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas.

• Parts of the show in Vancouver on March 31, 2009 were recorded and have been used for commercial use, as well as photos from the show used in the official tour book and other promotional items.

• "Crazy In Love" was recorded professionally in Madrid, Spain and broadcast on Spanish news.

• Two songs from the show in New Orleans, "If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," were recorded and shown on TV One as a part of the Essence Music Festival. A CD and DVD, released on June 15, 2010, features her performance of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."

• Five songs from the show in Donetsk, Ukraine, "Crazy In Love", "Freakum Dress", "Get Me Bodied", "Smash Into You" and "Broken-Hearted Girl," were recorded professionally and shown on TRK Ukraina as part of their footage of the Donbass Arena opening.

• "Crazy In Love" was professionally recorded at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic for the Czech news-website tn.cz and is available for streaming.

• "Crazy In Love" and "Single Ladies" were professionally recorded at the Summer Sonic Festival in Osaka, Japan and used to promote Knowles' Japanese tour.

• "Crazy In Love" and "Naughty Girl" were professionally recorded at the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix F1 Rocks event in Singapore for Channel HD 5 Live coverage.

• "Crazy In Love", "Naughty Girl," and "Freakum Dress" were recorded and streamed live on the internet from the show in Beijing, China.

• "Crazy In Love" was recorded professionally and shown on Frecuencia Latina from the show in Lima, Peru at the Explanada del Estadio Monumental.

• A live CD/DVD of the concert was released as I Am... World Tour in November 2010.^[87]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to I Am... Tour.

• Official website