Before she headlined Coachella, Beyoncé was already, unarguably, the greatest performer of her generation. She has raised the bar of pop music so high that her musical contemporaries can only crane their necks and gawk, open-mouthed, at her towering talent. Beyoncé is, at this point, only her own competition: but somehow, last weekend, 22 years into her career, she surpassed herself.
Featuring over 100 people in bright yellow sweatshirts and berets on ascending bleachers, Beyoncé’s set, broadcast live on US television, was part military parade, part Black Panther protest and part high school pep rally. Her dancers shape-shifted: one moment warriors, then cheerleaders, then Charlie’s Angels. It was a clever move that enabled the jumps in tone across her back catalogue – political calls to arms, vengeful break-up records and joyful, empowered songs of both love and independence – to seem like one coherent narrative arc, complete with guest appearances from the full breadth of her career: Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child and even her sister Solange.
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