Beyoncé The First Black Woman At Coachella: Call For Freedom From Oppression And Racial Discrimination

Beyoncé (Instagram @beyonce)

JAKARTA - Fifteen April became an important date in Beyoncé's music history. On that day, she made history as the first female singer to headline the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Since its inception, Coachella has had only two female singers perform as headliners. Before Beyoncé, there was Lady Gaga in 2017 and Bjork in 2002.

Originally, Jay-Z's wife was scheduled to appear in the front row at Coachella in 2017. However, she did not appear because she was pregnant.

In June 2017, she gave birth to twins Rumi and Sir. Not stopping there, she also had to go on a strict diet because of her excessive weight.

Beyoncé' return is certainly highly anticipated by fans attending the iconic festival in California. Beychella's nickname began to appear near the day of the appearance.

Reunions with destiny's child groups also took place on that stage. They sang hits and walked to greet the audience. Their performance generated 458 thousand streams.

Black Culture

As the first black headliner, Beyoncé wanted to showcase something related to her culture. Beyoncé also brought 100 dancers and her husband and sibling Solange to perform together on stage.

With a duration of two hours, Beyoncé performed a variety of hits ranging from Sorry to Formation, as well as her last album Lemonade. No less important, the presence of marching bands and choirs also enlivened the special stage.

Before starting her performance, Beyoncé sang the song Lift Every Voice and Sing, also known as the black anthem. Narratives and voices from black activists such as W.E.B. Du Bois.

The clothes Beyoncé wears are also related to the power of black people where she wears a costume inspired by Queen Nefertiti, one of the strongest women in Egypt.

His performance was billed as a tribute to all black people from backing dancers, performers, collaborators, to costumes worn. This performance became a call for the freedom of black people who are often oppressed, subjected to violence, and racial discrimination.

After ending the performance, Beyoncé called extending scholarship fees for students at eight black colleges or Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) through her organization, the BeyGOOD Foundation.

Influence

After performing at Coachella, Lemonade's album again topped the iTunes charts, as did Destiny's Child discography.

Some of the costumes Beyoncé wears are special designs by Balmain. This outfit is much sought after by internet users.

Beyoncé's performance at Coachella became one of the most searched appearances on Google's search engine throughout 2020.

Beyoncé' presence at the festival is a door for other female musicians to perform at the festival, such as Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Selena Gomez, BLACKPINK, and Cardi B.

The story of Beyoncé's performance can be seen through the netflix film Beyoncé: Homecoming. The film presents Beyoncé's point of view behind the Coachella stage and her personal life.