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Blue Ivy used Renaissance backlash as motivation, Beyoncé reveals

‘Renaissance’ artist was joined by her daughter, 11, for a number of shows on her record-breaking world tour this year

Roisin O'Connor
Monday 27 November 2023 14:52 GMT
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Blue Ivy joins Beyoncé as backup dancer for Oscars 2022 performance

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Truly her mother’s daughter: Blue Ivy used negative comments about her dancing during Beyoncé’s tour as motivation.

Premiering her new concert movie Renaissance: A Film in Los Angeles over the weekend, the Lemonade artist shared new details about how her record-breaking tour came together, including her 11-year-old daughter’s cameos.

Fans were stunned when Blue Ivy, whom Beyoncé shares with her husband, music mogul Jay-Z, made a surprise appearance at her mum’s show at the Stade de France in Paris on 26 May.

Joining Beyoncé onstage for “Her Power”, Blue Ivy later led a troupe of dancers during “Black Parade”, pulling off some intricate footwork in front of an audience of more than 75,000 people.

She had previously performed at an exclusive Beyoncé event in Dubai in January, for a surprise duet of “Brown Skin Girl”, and served as a backup dancer for her mum at the 2022 Oscars.

Her grandmother, Tina Lawson, proudly shared footage of the moment in Paris from her Instagram account, writing: “Last night I saw my beautiful grandbaby (11) dance in front of almost 70 thousand people,” Lawson wrote on Instagram at the time. “She killed it and was as cool as a cucumber! Blue Ivy Carter. No fear.”

(WireImage for Parkwood/Getty)

“She told me she was ready to perform, and I told her no,” Beyoncé says in the film, according to The New York Times.

After she changed her mind, Blue Ivy was still only supposed to take part in the one show, in Paris, with little over a week to prepare.

After the concert, Beyoncé was apparently “dismayed” to discover that Blue Ivy had read negative social media comments about her supposed “lacklustre” moves.

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However, she was thrilled when her daughter decided to “put in the work” to improve, later joining her at multiple stops on the tour.

Blue Ivy is no stranger to collaborations with her famous parents. After she was born in January 2012, her father Jay-Z featured her “vocals” – her gargling and crying as a baby – on the song “Glory”.

The moment earnt Blue Ivy a Guinness World Record for being the youngest person to have charted on the Billboard Hot 100. She is also one of the youngest Grammy nominees of all time.

The Renaissance tour launched on 10 May in Stockholm before concluding on 1 October in Kansas City, Missouri.

Promoter Live Nation announced in October that the world tour had earnt more than $579m across 56 dates in 39 cities, with more than 2.7 million fans seeing Beyoncé perform live.

Renaissance: A Film is scheduled for release on 1 December.

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