Beyoncé Online

WACO Theater will host the Third Annual Wearable Art Gala on Saturday, June 1, 2019. Co-Artistic Directors Tina Knowles Lawson and Richard Lawson founded the event, which is presented by SheaMoisture, to celebrate art and raise funds for the non-profit gallery and performance complex WACO Theater Center.

The theme for the 2019 Gala is A Journey to the Pride Lands, based on the upcoming Walt Disney feature, THE LION KING, opening nationwide July 19th. Gala guests are encouraged to create their own wearable art attire inspired by the ideals of African tradition that are at the heart of the upcoming film which stars Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar. The film is directed by Jon Favreau and utilizes pioneering filmmaking techniques to bring the treasured characters to life in a whole new way.

WACO Theater center proudly welcomes back beauty and personal care brand SheaMoisture as the Presenting Sponsor for the 2019 Wearable Art Gala. The brand has been a consistent supporter of WACO programs since 2016, working closely with the Center to passionately foster art and education initiatives for underserved youth. Read more...

Nominations for the 2019 BET Awards were announced last week. Beyonce is nominated in four categories! The show, which is in its 19th year, airs live from downtown Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater on Sunday, June 23.

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Beyoncé
Ella Mai
H.E.R.
Solange
Sza
Teyana Taylor

Best Group
Chloe X Halle
City Girls
Lil Baby & Gunna
Migos
The Carters
Read more...

Netflix’s critically-acclaimed concert special Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé reached 1.1 million U.S. viewers on its April 17 premiere date, according to data newly provided by Nielsen via its SVOD Content Ratings system.

Introduced in October 2017, SVOD Content Ratings measures the viewership of subscription video on demand (SVOD) services via audio recognition software installed in 44,000 U.S. homes that contain Nielsen's TV set meters. While the highly-secretive Netflix has stated in the past that Nielsen's ratings are “not even close” to being accurate, it is the most reliable measure yet of SVOD viewership data.

According to the numbers compiled by Nielsen, the audience for Homecoming was 63% African American on the day of its premiere and 55% over its first seven days, more than any other Netflix original film or series analyzed to date (the closest was Bird Box with 24%). Hispanics, meanwhile, made up 15% of viewers, while Asians comprised 5%. Read more...

Beyoncé recently penned a note in honor of former first lady Michelle Obama as one of TIME’s most influential people.

"Loving Michelle Obama wasn’t much of a choice. It was something that came naturally, because of how she carried herself. Because she resembled us and was moving in spaces where, as black Americans, we weren’t exactly meant to be, she seemed so powerful.

When I first met her, I was embraced by a warm, regal, confident woman who possessed a reassuring calm, on the eve of President Obama’s historic first Inauguration.

The way she looked, walked and spoke, in that warm but authoritative tone, we saw our mothers and sisters. She was strong and ambitious and spoke her mind without sacrificing honesty or empathy. That takes a lot of courage and discipline. Read more...

Reaching more female customers has been a top priority for Adidas since 2015, when it announced the company strategy that’s still guiding it today. Then, as now, sales to women were a disproportionately small slice of the total business—as they generally are at big sneaker brands, which historically haven’t designed for or marketed to women anywhere near as much as they have men. For brands that can win them over, women represent a lot of potential dollars.

That’s essentially why Adidas has teamed up with singer and global superstar Beyoncé, CEO Kasper Rorsted acknowledged on a company earnings call today. While the company’s women’s business has been growing strongly, it remains a “particularly strong opportunity for us because it is an underrepresented part of our business… we’re still by no means where we need to be,” he said. “There’s no doubt that Beyonce will help us in this area.” The first limited products from that collaboration will release toward the end of this year, he added.

The singer has a reach few in the world can match. On Instagram alone she has 127 million followers; just for the sake of comparison, mega-star Rihanna has about 70 million. After she and Adidas first announced their partnership, the shots she posted on the social network collectively drew tens of millions of likes and hundreds of thousands of comments. At a moment when pop stars seem to be more effective at selling sneakers than pro athletes, Beyoncé could have a noticeable effect on the company’s sales to women, especially since Adidas has found in the past that people such as influencers are a more effective way to reach women than athletes anyway. Read more...

Beyoncé makes her 60th appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as "Before I Let Go (Homecoming Live)" debuts at No. 75 (on the list dated May 4). The single, released April 17 as a bonus track on her Homecoming: The Live Album, bows after its first full week of tracking.

The cover of the 1981 hit by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, which reached No. 13 on the Hot Soul Singles chart (now Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) enters with 6.9 million U.S. streams in the week ending April 25, according to Nielsen Music. It also starts at No. 28 on Digital Song Sales with 6,000 downloads purchased in the same window.

Though "Go" doesn't yet make the all-genre Radio Songs chart, the single has claimed a fast start at R&B/hip-hop radio, bursting 45-27 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay with 7.2 million in audience in the week ending April 28.

In addition to its Hot 100 start, "Go" also opens at No. 45 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (which, like the Hot 100, blends streaming, sales and airplay data). Homecoming, meanwhile, ascends 7-4 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and 4-2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts following its first full tracking week. Read more...

The 2019 Billboard Music Awards were held last night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Beyonce and Jay-Z were nominated in three categories, out of which they won two awards:

Top R&B Tour
Beyoncé & JAY-Z (Winner)
Childish Gambino
Bruno Mars

Top Rap Tour
Beyoncé & JAY-Z (Winner)
Drake
Travis Scott

It’s a big week for Beyoncé on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the diva claims a pair of concurrent top 10 albums for the first time.

Her 2016 album Lemonade re-enters the list at No. 9 following its wide streaming release, and Homecoming: The Live Album jumps 7-4 after its first full chart tracking week of activity. Further, two more Beyoncé albums dot the list, as both I Am… Sasha Fierce and her self-titled set re-enter the tally.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new May 4-dated chart, where Lemonade re-enters at No. 9, will be posted in full on Billboard's websites on April 30.

Homecoming: The Live Album rises 7-4 after its first full chart tracking week of activity, earning 57,000 equivalent album units (up 47%) in the week ending April 25. The album gains in both SEA and TEA units, but declines in album sales (8,000; down 43%). On the April 26-dated chart (reflecting the tracking week ending April 18), the album debuted on the list from just two days of activity, as it was released on April 17. Read more...

Mufasa isn’t the only reigning royal in these Pride Lands.

The internet collectively bowed down when, in November 2017, Disney confirmed that Beyoncé Knowles-Carter had joined the cast of Jon Favreau’s photo-real virtual-production remake of The Lion King. The music icon plays Nala, the childhood friend of Simba (Donald Glover) who re-encounters the exiled prince in adulthood, now as a fully-grown, powerful, unquestionably indomitable lioness.

So, how did Favreau convince a queen to get in formation with this King?

“I’ve got the Beyhive in my house,” chuckles the director, who wasn’t specifically aware that the singer was in play for the role until he reached out to her on a casting whim. “I’ve seen her live and she’s a unique talent, to say the least,” he says. “And when I finally spoke to her after reaching out, although her persona onstage is bigger than life, she’s very down to earth and is very much dedicated to her family and having a life that is human-scale.”

That, Favreau reasons, helps to explain why Knowles-Carter (as she’s being officially credited in the film) agreed to play Nala, which marks her first feature film role since 2013’s animated Epic (and prior to that, 2009’s Obsessed). “I think that part of it is that she’s got young kids, part of it is that it’s a story that feels good for this phase of her life and her career — it’s a very positive story, it’s a classic that a lot of people feel very emotionally invested in — and I think she just really likes the original very much,” says Favreau. “At the end of the day, she’s also an actor and it’s a great bunch of people to work with and a project that I think she felt was going to be special. And then of course, there are these wonderful musical numbers that she can be involved with, and my God… she really lives up to her reputation as far as the beauty of her voice and her talent.” Read more...

Beyoncé’s surprise-released Homecoming: The Live Album debuts at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart with 38,000 units earned from just two days of tracking activity (with 14,000 of that sum in album sales). The album dropped with no warning in the very early hours of Wednesday, April 17, and the tracking week for the chart ended on April 18. (Billboard’s album charts’ tracking week runs Friday through Thursday.)

Homecoming: The Live Album was released to digital retail and streaming services shortly after the premiere of Beyoncé’s Homecoming film on Netflix at 12:01 a.m. on April 17. Both projects chronicle Beyoncé’s headlining performances at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Homecoming: The Live Album is Beyoncé’s eighth top 10 album as a soloist. She also recently visited the top 10 as one-half of The Carters (alongside husband Jay-Z) with 2018’s No. 2-peaking Everything Is Love.

It’s possible that Homecoming: The Live Album could rise higher on next week’s Billboard 200 chart (dated May 4), after its first full tracking week of activity.

Beyoncé officially launched the #BeforeILetGoChallenge on her Instagram Story Monday night, just days after her documentary "Homecoming" was released on Netflix.

The trailblazing singer dropped a surprise live album of her legendary 2018 Coachella performance along with the documentary, which debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart this week.

The album features the bonus track "Before I Let Go," a cover of Frankie Beverly & Maze's black cultural anthem, which has sparked a viral dance challenge.

Queen Bey promoted the hashtag with a bee and heart eye emoji on her Instagram Story, a rarity for the singer, who has only used the IG function a few times.

She shared dozens of video submissions from dancing fans who flawlessly stepped to "Swag the right/ surf the left/ Work the middle 'til it hurt a little."

Go to her Instagram profile to watch all the videos!

Three years after its release, Beyonce’s Lemonade album has been added to streaming services, including Spotify and Apple Music. Previously, in order to hear the album or watch the accompanying film fans had to be subscribers to TIDAL, the music service co-owned by Beyonce and Jay-Z.

The streaming version of the 13-track, Grammy-winning album includes an original demo version of “Sorry.” Lemonade, which dropped exactly three years ago, features guest appearances by The Weeknd, James Blake and Kendrick Lamar.

Beyoncé released on her website t-shirts seemingly responding to fans demands with graffiti style messages of 'Where is the FWT DVD?'. The shirts cost $40 and come in pink, white, yellow and blue and feature the main admat from the 2016 world tour. Shop now!

Netflix has become a destination for television visionaries like Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy, with deals worth $100 million and $250 million, respectively, and top comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle ($40 million and $60 million, respectively). The streaming giant, which just announced it’s added nearly 10 million subscribers in Q1, is honing in on music, too, landing a three-project deal with Beyonce worth a whopping $60 million, sources tell Variety.

The first of the three specials is “Homecoming,” the behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling her 2018 Coachella performance — a massive spectacle of dance, visuals and music that reaffirmed Beyonce’s moniker of Queen Bey — which premiered on April 17. The price tag on this installment, for which Beyonce Knowles-Carter is credited as executive producer, writer and director, hovers around $20 million. Beyonce’s rep did not respond to Variety’s requests for comment; Netflix declined comment for this story, although a source at the company disputed the financial terms of the deal.

According to Vulture, HBO was also interested in the project, having had a long relationship with Knowles-Carter (the cable network aired her 2016 “Lemonade” film as well as her 2014 “On the Run Tour” concert special with husband Jay-Z and 2013 doc “Life Is But a Dream”), but backed out when Netflix came in with a richer offer. (HBO has not responded to Variety‘s request for comment.) Read more...

To celebrate the release of the "Homecoming" documentary and live album, Shop Beyonce dropped an entire collection including previously available items, as well as new ones! Shop now.

Beyonce’s history-making 2018 Coachella performance is now available as both a documentary and a live album. Homecoming is the expected Netflix documentary that the singer has been teasing for the past few weeks and also the title of the accompanying live album, which unexpectedly accompanied the arrival of the film. While the trailer for the Homecoming film has been circulating on Youtube for the past week, plans to release the performance as an album were kept mum until Beyonce herself tweeted the link at midnight PST.

With Homecoming the film detailing the creation and performance of the set, Homecoming the album features the full concert, which included Beyonce hits like “7/11,” “Crazy In Love,” “Formation,” “Single Ladies,” and her Coachella rendition of “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” the Black National Anthem. The tracklist also features two bonus tracks: “I Been On,” a tribute to Beyonce’s hometown of Houston, Texas, and a cover of Frankie Beverly And Maze’s “Before I Let Go,” a Black family reunion staple.

Homecoming is out now via Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. Get it here. The Homecoming film is now available on Netflix.

Two HBCUs will host advance screenings of Beyonce's Netflix documentary "Homecoming" for their students on April 16!

Texas Southern University will screen the film at House of Blues Houston at 7 p.m. Students can pick up tickets at the Sterling Student Center in room 220 starting April 15 at 10 a.m.

Howard University's screening will take place at Cramton Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets will be available at the Cramton Box Office on April 15 at 10 a.m.

Three new items are now available on Shop Beyonce!

Last week, a rumor started to circulate regarding a possible Beyoncé documentary making its way to Netflix. Sources close to the singer also indicated that she's been in the studio working on some new music, but it's currently unclear if there's a follow-up to Lemonade on the way anytime soon. However, it's starting to look as though the first part of the rumor might be true after all, as Netflix has sent the Beyhive into a frenzy with a simple tweet.

Netflix teased a project entitled Homecoming on their social media accounts. While there's no more information besides an April 17 release date, fans immediately connected the font and color theme in the teaser image with that of Beyoncé's Coachella 2018 merch.

While it's not exactly a confirmation, it's starting to look very likely that fans will be getting a behind-the-scenes look at Bey's legendary set at the 2018 festival. Sources did state that the documentary would "be tied to her Coachella 2018 performance" and will feature unspecified additional footage. Regardless, we won't have to wait much longer to find out what Homecoming has in store. Read more...

Beyoncé, who announced a partnership agreement with Adidas earlier this week, reportedly walked out of a potential deal with Reebok due to the brand’s lack of diversity.

“Throughout this process over the last year or two, she had discussed with Under Armour, with Reebok as well, Jordan at one point was interested in maybe partnering with her,” ESPN writer Nick DePaula said of the singer during a recent appearance on the sport network’s program “The Jump.”

“She had a meeting at Reebok and they had a whole presentation of everything, potential products, how this could all look, and she kind of took a step back and said, ‘Is this the team that will be working on my product?' ” DePaula quoted.

“Somebody said, ‘Yes,’ and she said, ‘Nobody in this room reflects by background, my skin color and where I’m from and what I want to do.’ So she took a step back and left and then it did not come to terms,” he continued.

“For her, it really goes beyond that. It’s not just about putting her name on a shoe and here’s the new Adidas Beyoncé 1, or whatever they end up calling it. It’s about having an imprint on the company and an impact in terms of diversity,” the sports writer concluded. Read more...