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Fans who were left heartbroken after Beyoncé pulled out of Coachella last year after falling pregnant with twins finally got to witness the superstar singer headline the California-based music festival on Saturday night (it was live-streamed for those who couldn’t make it to Indio). And in true Queen B manner, she did not disappoint, making history as she transformed Coachella into #Beychella.
Beyoncé, who is the first black female to ever headline Coachella, pulled out all the stops for her nearly two-hour-long performance: powerhouse vocals and choreography, a tribute to Nina Simone, messages of female empowerment, a sweet sisterly moment with Solange, a surprise Destiny’s Child reunion (the first girl group to perform at Coachella), and a lineup of jaw-dropping outfits that won’t soon be forgotten, of course. She even performed the longest Coachella dancing sequence on stage.
The multi-award winning singer kicked off her set with a performance of Crazy in Love where she channeled the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti by way of a diamond-encrusted Balmain bodysuit and matching headpiece and cape, which bore the head of the Egyptian Queen embroidered onto the back. Beyoncé’s admiration of Nefertiti is well-documented— She wore a Nefertiti-esque hairstyle in her 2016 video for Sorry and most recently unveiled a batch of merchandise, all bearing her image as the iconic Egyptian Queen. Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing custom-made two Balmain onstage wardrobes for her performances on Saturday and next weekend. Rousteing also dressed former Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, as well as her army of 200-plus back-up dancers.
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“[Jay Z] saw the Egyptian goddess cape and when B put it on, his eyes went wide and he was so excited, he said, ‘Oh, wow!’ That gave me a lot of satisfaction,” Rousteing told American Vogue. Beyoncé then slipped into a yellow hoodie emblazoned with the text “BAE” across the front worn with Daisy Dukes and tinsel boots by Christian Louboutin. Next, she strode across the stage wearing a sleek, black bodysuit complete with garter stockings, thigh-highs, and a latex jacket— desert heat be damned. For her Déjà Vu performance with her husband Jay Z, the singer reached for a mesh minidress that featured a closed fist, panther, bee, and the bust of Queen Nefertiti. Other outfits included a bedazzled, one-sleeve camouflage bodysuit to close out her performance.
We can’t see what she has in store for us next weekend.
Related Read: The Best Fashion Instagrams From Coachella’s First Weekend
