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The Edmonton Journal

When it comes to Beyonce,

Edmontonians should perhaps consider themselves very lucky.

Lucky that the “bootylicious” superstar even decided to grace an Edmonton stage again after her last turn at Rexall Place in 2007 only drew a crowd of 7,800 people, but even luckier that Beyonce would

launch her brand new tour supporting her latest album, I Am … Sasha Fierce, in the City of Champions.

Whether it was a momentous occasion or just an opportunity to work out the kinks in front of a “modest” audience — because, once again, only 8,000 fans turned out — will be left for those who attended to decide.

If Beyonce’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 Beyonce and her “alter ego” Sasha Fierce is drawn.

If Beyonce is the soft-spoken side and Sasha is the brazenly hyper-confident persona, the whole concept never really spread its wings properly Thursday night at Rexall.

Opening with some momentous numbers — Beautiful Nightmare and Crazy In Love, which were peppered with touches of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams, DJ Kool’s Let Me Clear My Throat and The J.B.’s Pass The Peas — you would have thought Sasha was already in the house.

Add a rump-shaking Freakum Dress and, three songs in, Beyonce — ahem, Sasha Fierce — was already in full-blown party mode, shaking her golden sequined, bow-clad tush and flailing her hair about wildly.

If only it had stayed that way.

The quieter, more introspective segment that followed was a collection of moments ranging from mildly corny (Ave Maria and an awkward onstage wedding gown transformation) to supremely boring (Satellite).

Apparently, we were still in “Beyonce” mode. If it took a few moments for Beyonce — uh, Sasha — to regain her mojo, she did manage to pull it off with the help of her 13 musicians and backup singers, a slew of dancers and harder-hitting material like Halo, Irreplaceable, Survivor and At Last.

It wasn’t always perfect, and it did feel like the show dragged on for a tad too long before it finally got to the smashtacular Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Figured…all her shows seem to be the same. She needs to re-invent her style or something…looks like Beyonce Experience pt. 2.

Beyonce puts a ring on Rexall
By MIKE ROSS, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA

Why on Earth would Beyonce choose Edmonton to be the first date of her new world tour?

Two words: Paid rehearsal. If something went wrong at Rexall Place last night, who cares? It’s Edmonton. Work out the kinks in the hinterland before upcoming dates in places like Vienna, Prague, Paris and London. Makes sense, doesn’t it? It may also explain the “no media” rule in force at the show last night. You wouldn’t want some kind of bootylicious wardrobe malfunction on the front page of the Edmonton Sun, would you? Or maybe you would.

Well, anyway, media ban or not, we can still buy a ticket – lots were available – and review the show. One word here: Spectacular.

I don’t know what she was worried about, if indeed she was. There were no kinks, not a single bad note or missed cue was evident. Drawing just 8,000 fans, far less than is expected at Britney Spears in two weeks, the show had all the high-production bells and whistles you’d expect from the African-American queen of all media. As with her tour in 2007, there was also the extra-large all-girl band, the phalanx of backup dancers drilled in the latest artful choreography, songs spanning a remarkable career – solo and with Destiny’s Child – in a wide range of musical styles, not to mention a remarkable vocal range, and of course the riveting presence of the star herself.

The tour is called I Am … to support her latest double album I Am … Sasha Fierce. So in addition to seeing Beyonce’s alter-ego (that would be Sasha Fierce), which as far as I can tell is just the uptempo side of this ridiculously gifted artist, we can fill in the blanks in that loaded ellipsis at will. I Am … the new Tina Turner. I Am … one hell of a singer. I Am … blessed with a great butt. And so on. Sure, it’s a bit of a self-centred title for a tour, but in what was basically a celebration of all things Beyonce, who else would you want in the spotlight the entire time? Her image – in one revealing costume after another – filled the video screens. Her voice filled the arena. The extra-large all-girl band filled the spaces between, buying time for costume changes.

There was little that was subtle about this show, but some of the Canadian musical homages were appreciated – like a snippet from Sarah McLachlan in her a version of Ave Maria, or a blast from Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know in If I Were a Boy, the latter seeing Beyonce decked out in some armour-plated get-up like Aunty Entity in Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome. Like I said, she’s the new Tina Turner.

You might also quibble with some of the robotic wrinkles that weighed down the second half of the concert, though the flying through the air routine was entertaining in a Cirque du Soleil sort of way.

Beyonce 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.

There weren’t a lot of traditional R&B moments like that last night. Based on the new material, she seems more interested in reinventing the wheel and doesn’t seem clear on which way she’s going to go. With talent like this, it could be anywhere. It just doesn’t have to be everywhere.

The audience, which was forced to wait in the concourse for a full half hour while the band finished its soundcheck, got shafted on the opening act. It was just a mere four songs from 2006 Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila. She even seemed to forget the words to her own latest minor hit, from her second, album: Damned, as in “damned if I do, damned if I don’t.” There’s a message in there somewhere.

Last night, Beyonce released her 2 new music videos to iTunes. She released Diva and Halo music videos. You can click on the links below to purchase. I did add the videos on Youtube after the break, but most likely they will be taken down.
Diva/Halo
Read the rest of this entry »

GREAT NEWS!! You no longer have to wait to hear the album. Beyonce has put the whole album up on her myspace for all of her fans to listen to it.

‘I am happy that my fans will get to listen to my new album first at MySpace.’ Beyonce says in a statement. ‘I have put my heart and soul into I Am… Sasha Fierce and cannon wait to hear the feedback from the fans.’

Click Here To Visit Her Myspace

»I have just add 16 HQ pictures to the gallery from the set of “If I Were A Boy” music video. These were posted here first. So check them out! Beyonce is lookin SO fierce in that uniform!

»Also, i would like to appologize to MerBeyJay (BEYONCEWORLD FORUMS) for not giving you credit on the SINGLE LADIES Post. I didn’t know it was from you.

»Keep a look out, new layout & features coming soon!

Ok everyone, I was searching the web and found a picture of Beyonce on the set of her new video Single Ladies. It was a great find and I felt like I just won a jackpot on bingo when I stumbled upon the vid. Also here is what the photographer had to say:

QUOTE
K so I just left there with Cheleny. She has a really good pic of Bee. I was too busy talking to bee, that I jus got a pic from the bottom of her dress down and the TREE was in my way. So I wont even upload it…Basically she was in the apt. The wholetime I was there so no action besides Angie, Kim, Ms. Tina, Ty and others. I go a chance to look on that play back screen and I saw a party scene…It was of Beyonce slow dancing all sexyy lmaooooo with this 1 guy with a cup in her hand then she looks over her shoulder and I guess she sees her Boyfriend so she gets all nervous and hands the guy her cup…she straightens up her hair a little bit then walks over to her boyfriend… She goes to put her arm around him but he is like nahhh and he pushes her arms back and walks away. (I’m guessing this scene was for single ladies idk) That’s all I saw on the screen…&& Cheleny said she was gonna upload the pic tomorrow but maybe you’ll get it tonite..K goodnite yall.

EDIT:: ALL CREDIT GOES TO MerBeyJay on the BEYONCEWORLD FORUMS. No disrespect, i actually got the pic and article early this morning at CYBERTLCWORLD.

Of the many films that were showcased at this year’s Comic Con in San Diego, one of the few films that were entertaining just on talent, comedy, and coolness was ‘RocknRolla’, which brings Guy Ritchie back to the directing chair again. Just like his earlier hits with ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, and ‘Snatch’, his latest film is also a caper that stars Gerald Butler, Thandie Newton, Ludacris, Tom Wilkinson, and Idris Elba. For Elba, the film gave him a chance to not only come home to London and shoot, but he also was able to talk in native tongue, which we don’t see in his other films. Read the rest of this entry »

A star heading to this year’s Bermuda Music Festival is being paid $500,000 – and getting up to another $500,000 in expenses. The performer – most likely Beyonce, who is known for her luxurious diva lifestyle – commands almost half the $2.2 million being spent on ten acts for the October gig.

The second highest fee, probably for Alicia Keys, is $425,000 – but it seems the R&B singer will be enjoying a less extravagant stay on the Island with an expenses claim of up to $75,000.

Premier and Tourism Minster Ewart Brown put the figures into the public domain last Friday, although he did not reveal which act cost which amount of money.

Dr. Brown was providing written responses to Parliamentary questions from Opposition Leader and Shadow Tourism Minister Kim Swan. Read the rest of this entry »