Beyoncé Headlines Opening of Rock in Rio

By Lisa Flueckiger, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – American superstar Beyoncé will headline the opening night of this year’s Rock in Rio on Friday, September 13th, after shows by Brazilian star Ivete Sangalo and International DJ sensation David Guetta. She will sing on the Palco Mundo (World Stage) with a performance from her “Mrs. Carter Show World Tour”.

To announce her tour in Brazil, Beyoncé launched a video on her website inviting her Brazilian fans to the sound of “The girl from Ipanema” to her shows all over Brazil.

She will start her tour in Fortaleza, on September 8th, then play Belo Horizonte on the 11th, before coming to Rock in Rio on September 13th. After Rio, she will travel to São Paulo and perform on September 15th and make her last stop in Brasília on September 17th.

Beyoncé Knowles came to stardom as lead member of the R’n’B girl group Destiny’s Child in the 1990s. The group had their breakthrough with the song “No, No, No” and subsequently became one of the world’s best-selling girl groups of all time.

During a break from Destiny’s Child in 2003, Beyoncé launched her first album Dangerously in Love, which started on number one of the Billboard charts and sold 317,000 copies in the first week. After another album with Destiny’s Child the year after, the band split in 2006.

Beyoncé continued her solo career launching three other albums until today, selling 118 million records as a solo artist. Her fifth album is scheduled for release later this year.

Beyoncé first made it to Brazil in February 2010 with shows in Florianópolis, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador as part of her I Am…Tour. Especially as she had left out Brazil in her previous tours, the shows were highly anticipated and all sold out. Tickets for her performance in Rio sold out in less than a week and in Salvador ticket sales in a Shopping center caused turmoil due to overcrowding.

“I am very happy to be in Brazil for the first time. I have to thank you for all this affection. On Twitter and on the internet, you asked me to come to Brazil and here I am,” Beyoncé announced in in 2010 while in Florianópolis.

Shortly before the beginning of her tour in Brazil, Beyoncé also shot part of the video clip to “Put It In a Love Song” with Alicia Keys in Rio’s Santa Marta favela community. The two American stars had chosen the same location as Michael Jackson for his “They don’t care about us”.

Beyoncé is known for her contemporary R’n’B songs incorporating pop, hip hop, soul and funk. Her repertoire goes from high-energy dance songs, such as “Crazy in Love” or “Single Ladies” to power ballads highlighting her mezzo-soprano voice like “Halo”.

In her new tour, whose title refers to her marriage to Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, she promotes her latest album 4. Fans can expect lavish costumes from several designers, some of which were compared to Marie Antoinette, energetic dance moves, light effects, as well as a capella performances.

“What I like most about Beyoncé is that she is very complete. She dances a lot, sings a lot, she doesn’t seem to be from this planet,” Marçal Vianna, who has attended Beyoncé’s previous concert in Rio, told The Rio Times. “She is a legend, she has a bucket of grammy awards. I expect to dance a lot and enjoy it,” he added about her upcoming show at Rock in Rio.

By the end of June 2013, Beyoncé’s tour had already taken in US$55.6 million from its first 36 shows that took place mostly in Europe and North America, although ticket prices started as low as US$45. Official ticket sales for Rock in Rio had sold out in hours at R$260 for full price, but are starting to show up in unofficial channels for much more.