Beyoncé Delivers ‘Dangerously in Love’ and Those Long-Awaited Visuals at ‘Renaissance’ Tour Opener

The Renaissance world tour kicked off today in Stockholm, Sweden, with Beyoncé billed as the opening act, main act, and encore act. To be fair, she has two decades’ worth of ground to cover, which she fittingly acknowledged by opening the show with “Dangerously in Love,” the title track from her debut solo album released 20 years ago. It also marked her first live performance of the song in over a decade.

Beyoncé made it through three full songs — “Dangerously in Love,” “Flaws and All,” and “I Care” — and a medley of her own “1+1,” Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” and Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Going Down,” before even touching anything on Renaissance. “I’m That Girl” and “Cozy” were her first picks from the record, preceding a mashup of Renaissance fan favorite “Alien Superstar” and “Sweet Dreams,” from 2009’s I Am… Sasha Fierce.

“You’ve asked for the visuals. You’ve called for the queen,” Kevin Prodigy states in a voiceover during “Formation,” nodding to the lack of music videos for any of the Renaissance songs. “But the queen moves at her own pace, bitch. The queen decides when she wants to give you a fucking taste — so get your fork and your spoon.”

Opening with a ballad like “Dangerously in Love” was just a starter before the main entree. A portion of Beyoncé’s appearance on the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration “Lift Off” served as a buffer before she launched into a back-to-back barrage of hits: “7/11” into “Cuff It” into “Energy” into “Break My Soul” into “Formation” into “Diva” — with an interpolation of Lil Uzi Vert’s “I Just Wanna Rock” — into “Run the World (Girls).”

Beyoncé is making it look easy — everyone else simply has to keep up.