NEWS
Beyoncé has surprised fans in France by bringing out Jay-Z to perform a number of songs together – check out footage of the moment below.
Last night (June 22), Beyoncé performed her third and final concert at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France to close out the European leg of her ongoing ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour. To make the moment even more special, Beyoncé surprised audience members by bringing out her husband and rapper Jay-Z.
Besides marking the final show of the European ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour, it also served as the first time that the couple have performed onstage together in seven years. They last performed together back in 2018 as part of their co-headlining ‘On The Run II’ tour.
Together, the couple performed their duet ‘Crazy In Love’, and Jay-Z’s ‘N***** In Paris’. The latter track notably removed any mentions of the highly controversial Kanye West, as Jay-Z rapped over all of his former collaborator’s verses, and swapped out the lyric “Just might let you meet Ye” to “Just might let you meet me“.
Following ‘N***** In Paris’, Jay-Z disappeared offstage, while Beyoncé transitioned into ‘Drunk In Love’ and ‘Partition’. Check out fan-shot footage of the performance below.
Just days before Jay-Z’s surprise appearance, Beyoncé surprised fans in the same venue by bringing out Miley Cyrus to perform their collaboration ‘II Most Wanted’ together for the first time ever.
“I’m so excited because I wanted to do something very special for you guys,” Beyoncé said. “I could not do it without this young lady’s help, so I want you to scream as loud as you can. I wan’t y’all for this icon. I’m your biggest fan. I’m so grateful to watch you, to sing with you, Miss Miley Cyrus.”
Beyoncé’s first London date at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this month earned her a glowing five-star review, with Nick Levine writing for NME: “As a performer, she remains pretty much flawless – who else can sing from a bucking mechanical bull without missing a note? And as a creator of stadium spectacle, she keeps getting better. No one leaving this show will be removing their cowboy hat on the ride home.”
NEWS
Oliver Tree’s team has provided a new update following the singer’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, confirming that a new artist grant will soon be established in his memory to help creatives secure funding, a plan he had detailed in his will before his passing.
Accompanying a collection of photos highlighting Tree’s performances, travels and creative work through the years, a post shared Sunday (June 21) on his Instagram account revealed that the musician’s remains have been brought back to California, the state he called home and where he will be laid to rest. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” the caption reads. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing.”
“We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish,” the statement continued, adding that “the constant love, support and positivity” shown by fans throughout the past week has helped his “family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
Tree was among six people who lost their lives in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro. The musician was in Brazil for his The World’s First Tour run and had performed what would ultimately be his final concert on June 6 in São Paulo. The other victims of the crash were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim and Lucas Brito Chaves, along with pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Just months before his death, Tree discussed his plans to direct his fortune and future earnings from his music toward a grant program for artists during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I take no credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said during the April interview. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that any of the wealth or things that get made from it is mine. So when I die … my will is set up so that when I pass, my family, nobody is going to get a penny.”
“If I have a wife or kids or anything, they’re not getting a penny,” he added at the time, explaining that the initiative would focus on helping artists create work rather than funding education. “I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but there’s not gonna be a silver spoon. All the money is going to go back to artists.”
