When Beyonce stepped onto the stage at Atlantic City this weekend, ostensibly she was there to celebrate the opening of the new beachfront resort, the Revel. But really what we were witnessing was a new mom on her first day back in the office, facing all the questions that entails: Will she have the same level of intensity she had before the baby? Will she have the same commitment? Does she still want to be here—or is she at her desk every second wondering what the baby is doing? And where in the hell is she going to use that strange-looking contraption she calls the breast pump?
Beyonce answered every question and more on that Revel stage, delivering a classic energy-filled, sexy, scintillating Beyonce performance. As usual, every step was precisely choreographed, every note pitch perfect. In fact, it was her husband, rapper Jay-Z, who called it best in a tweet he sent out at 4:17 a.m., after her first show on Friday night: “I’m gonna say this and then I’m gonna end mine.” BEYONCE is the best performer in the world. Period.”
The crowd was laced with big names, including one of the biggest of them all: First Lady Michelle Obama, who was there in a gorgeous sleeveless green dress with daughters Sasha and Malia. The First Lady recently told People that if she could trade places with anybody, it would be Beyonce.
Even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, not known as the world’s biggest R&B fan, was in the crow at the Revel’s Ovation Hall.
The 30-year-old R&B megastar showed no signs of being slowed by the January delivery of Blue Ivy Carter. As usual, Beyonce stunned the audience with an array of outfits, many of them showing off her amazing post-pregnancy body. Not only did Beyonce still have the body, but she showed her fans that she still had the moves too. And there was no breast pump in sight—though there were plenty of breasts.
Beyonce’s talented group of backup dancers did their best to match her high energy as the singer transitioned from one challenging routine to the next. Throughout the night, every persona of the new mother had been let loose on the stage. From a sassy performance of her hit “End of Time” to a more soulful jazzy rendition of “Love on Top,” the R&B queen conquered it all.
The high intensity of the show finally began to simmer down when Beyonce gave a short speech about female sexuality to introduce a sensual performance of her 2004 hit single “Naughty Girl.” Of course, the new mother took the time to constantly remind her massive audience of just how important girl power was. The theme fit perfectly as she moved on to perform one of her latest hits “Run the World (Girls)” before taking her fans back to 2006 with a playful rendition of “Irreplaceable.”
Beyonce decided to close the night with a collection of her R&B ballads, starting with “1+1.” Soon afterwards, a guitarist added to the mix to aid Bey in her performance of “If I Were A Boy,” which she cleverly combined with a hit from the Goo Goo Dolls, “Iris.” The iconic Beyonce paid tribute to an even greater icon as she belted out the lyrics to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” The touching performance left many of the audience members with tears in their eyes as they took the time to remember the legendary recording artist.
A final performance of “Single Ladies” closed the show as Beyonce proudly exited the stage after blowing kisses and waving to her adoring fans.
