Tamia Makes Triumphant Return, Beyonce Shuts Down Essence Fest

Tamia and Beyonce took over the Essence Festival this weekend. Tamia proved she was capable of making a powerful comeback, while Beyonce proved she was still on top by selling out Sunday’s show and shutting it down with a powerful performance.

Tamia has been missing from the R&B game for quite some time but when she returned with her first ever appearance at the Essence Festival on July 7 it was evident that her fan base was as strong as ever.

The massive crowd joined together at the McDonald’s Superlounge where Tamia performed for two full back-to-back sets in a stunning all-white ensemble.

She stood out among her backup singers who accompanied her vocals while donning sleek all-black outfits.

“Can you rock like this?” she teased as she opened up her first set.

During her set she made sure to show love to the people on stage who were helping the performance be such a great success.

“They could sing anything with me,” she said as she motioned to her stylish backup singers before transitioning into “You Put a Move On My Heart” where she gave a shout out to her guitarist.

This is the first major appearance by the 90’s R&B star in about six years, so she made sure she incorporated her fans who have stuck by her side throughout all these years.

“I call this part ‘memory lane,’” she said to the crowd. “So if you were with me from the beginning, you should recognize this.”

She then belted out her hits “Never Gonna Let You Go,” “Smile,” and “Making Live Poetry.”

After leaving Elektra Records, she set off to start her own record label in 2005 and has since released three new albums.

Tamia definitely showed off her ability to make a huge comeback, but it was Queen Bey who flaunted her ability to sell out any event in which she performs.

It isn’t often that the Essence Festival gets sold out, but on the night that Beyonce was scheduled to take the stage, the show was completely packed out.

Fans didn’t even mind the technical difficulties that delayed Mrs. Carter’s performance by 30 minutes.

Once she took the stage, the crowd was elated as she gave her usual riveting performance of “Run the World (Girls).”

Beyonce shuts down Essence Festival 2013

She was the epitome of female power while promoting what has been deemed Beyonce’s new brand of feminism.

Her lengthy set, which included tons of costume changes, featured her most popular hits such as “If I Were a Boy,” “Get Me Bodied,” “I Care,” “Irreplaceable” and much more.

She even performed some of her latest music as she belted out “Grown Woman,” but was wise enough to leave “Bow Down” off the set list.

It wasn’t all about feminism, of course. Bey also dedicated her hit “Flaws and All” to the city of New Orleans, where the Essence Festival is being held.

“This city has inspired my music so much,” she said before transitioning into the soulful ballad.

After performing her own hits, she really showed off her vocal skills by opening up her encore performance with “I Will Always Love You” where she also asked the audience to sing along.

“Sing so Whitney can hear you,” she told the lively crowd as she finally got them out their seats.

Even Baddie Bey admitted that the crowd was a little tough, but of course they were no match for her incredible stage presence.

“It took me a while to warm y’all up,” she said to the crowd as the finally began grooving along to her set. “You’re standing now. I feel good about that.”

While Bey was busy making the Essence crowd feel good, she wasn’t as concerned with making her father feel good as both she and her sister Solange missed out on their father, Mathew Knowles’ wedding.

Mathew Knowles finally married his long time girlfriend, Gena Avery, after being engaged to her for over a year.

It isn’t certain if his daughters were opposed to the wedding or if they were just too busy to attend, but neither Beyonce nor Solange made their way to Texas to attend the ceremony.

 

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