Whether you've already got tickets to Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour or you're planning a last-minute hitch, there's one important thing to figure out: Beyoncé's setlist. The Renaissance World Tour will be the first time Beyoncé has performed anything from her Grammy-winning seventh studio album. The stadium outing also marks her first tour in five years and first solo trek in seven years. Putting together a playlist will be a difficult task, considering she's in between releasing projects like The Lion King: The Gift and its accompanying 2020 film Black Is King . Luckily for Bey, we've put together a dream playlist for her to draw inspiration from.
Renaissance was created as a continuous mix when played front to back, with the stunningly smooth transitions from songs like "Cuff It" to "Energy" and "Plastic Off the Sofa" to "Virgo's Groove" becoming album highlights. In keeping with the spirit of the big mix and keeping these moments intact, this dream tracklist keeps the order of the Renaissance tracklist as close as possible. Of course, there's no way Beyoncé can tour without performing some oldies and fan favorites, which means some exceptions need to be made in order to best incorporate these songs from the past.
There's also a section dedicated to "The Gift," a song Bey performed at a private concert in Dubai on January 21, as she reportedly had to cancel a planned 2020 tour in support of Black Is King . There are a total of 32 songs on this setlist, which may seem like a lot until you remember that Beyoncé often performed the same number of songs on her 2016 Formation Tour (some songs were shortened, which may be the case here as well) .
Here’s what a Renaissance World Tour setlist should look like.
1. "I'm That Girl"
Is there any other possible way for the Renaissance World Tour to begin other than hearing "These motherfuckers can't stop me" being shouted from the stadium speakers as Beyoncé makes her grand entrance? The answer is no.
2. "Comfortable"
Once she found her feet on stage, Beyoncé naturally made the crowd feel comfortable enough to dance with her performance of "Cozy."
3. "Alien Superstar"
The fan-favorite song sees Beyoncé walk down the catwalk into the Renaissance Club area and start dancing on the bar, bringing to life the lyrics "high heels kicking vintage crystals out of the bar." Yes, according to the seating chart, the Renaissance Club has a real bar.
4. "***Perfect"
Barbara Ann Teer's speech at the end of "Alien Superstar" easily transitioned into the empowering mantra from Beyoncé's 2013 hit, reminding the audience before dancing the night away How beautiful they look.
5. "Formation"
Do I still need to explain this choice?
6. “Sit back and watch”
With her costume change, Beyoncé should be bringing back her roller-disco look from her viral 2013 TikTok renaissance hit video "Blow," which perfectly recreated the '70s throwback.
7. “Energy”
The seamless, almost unnoticeable transition from "Cuff It" to "Energy" needs to be retained in the show at all costs. But imagine how good it would sound to have the end of "Energy" leading into "Crazy Love."
8. "Crazy Love"
Beyoncé will never go on tour without performing her 2003 debut solo single, and that's a given.
9. “Keep me in good health”
Renaissance is all about making listeners dance to it, but back in 2006, nothing got the Beyhive on their feet more than this infectious birthday single. It’s time for a “Get Me Bodied” revival.
10. "Baby Boy"
The 1-2-3 punch of Beyoncé's "Get Me Bodied," "Baby Boy" and "Diva," along with mix injections and expert transitions, has been done on previous tours and should be repeated here. But instead of going wildly from “Baby Boy” to “Diva,” it should have led into “Heated.”
11. "Heating"
More specifically, "Baby Boy" is supposed to lead into the rap of "Heated," which the audience will scream word for word.
12. "Move"
During the Renaissance , "moving" and "heating" went hand in hand. It would be a sin to separate these Afrobeat jams.
13. “Running the World (Girls)”
"Run the World" is Bey's first Afrobeat single and has been a tour staple since its release in 2011.
14. "Naughty Girl"
Beyoncé never left "Naughty Girl" off her tour setlist. Considering the 2003 hit's impact on Renaissance 's huge inspiration, Donna Summer, don't expect her to leave it out now.
15. “Plastic on the couch”
The "Love to Love You Baby" sample from "Naughty Girl" is perfect for this Grammy-winning cut from Renaissance .
16. "Rhythm of Virgo"
The transition between "Plastic" and "Virgo Groove" is the reason the music exists. While many of the songs on the setlist were bound to be shortened, every second of this six-minute disco adventure needed to be on stage.
17. "Blow"
Beyoncé had previously experimented with disco music on this 2013 deep-cut album of the same name, and after her disco masterpiece "Virgo's Groove," there's no better place to do it.
18. “The Other Side”
Inspired by "Black Is King," Beyoncé should begin the show's slowest part with the album's most reflective song, hopefully accompanied by strings, harp and piano, just like she did in Dubai.
19. “Bigger”
Just like in Dubai, the stunning Swahili outro of "Otherside" should transition into "Bigger," her passionate ballad about dreaming bigger.
20. "Spirit"
Closing the show's ballad with her "Lion King" soundtrack cut "Spirit" should make the Academy regret not nominating it in 2020. We didn't need to perform the song that was actually nominated two years later.
21. "Freedom"
As Dubai proves, the climax of "Spirit" fits perfectly into the anthem of Bey's inspiring 2016 Lemonade . Bonus points if Kendrick Lamar is willing to post his own verse.
22. “Brown Skin Girl”
What's the point if Blue Ivy Carter doesn't guest on the song that made her the youngest Grammy winner in history, just like she did at her mother's Dubai concert?
23. "Tick"
Back in renaissance mode, "Thique" should kick off the real club portion of the show, with dancers of all shapes and sizes doing their thing.
24. “It’s all in your head”
The transition between "Thique" and "All Up In Your Mind" is art, so it had to remain intact. Ideally, the dancers would clear the stage, allowing Bay to belt out the solo while surrounded by lasers or something more futuristic.
25. "Sweet Dreams"
Beyoncé performed a total of one electro-pop snippet from "I Am...Sasha Fierce" on her Formation Tour before removing it from the track list.
26. “America has a problem”
The only problem America faces when Beyoncé performs this song live is the amount of dancing and butt-banging that happens in stadiums.
27. “Pure/Honey”
The show brought in all the drag stars, dancehall queens and fashion experts and extended "Pure" and "Honey" to a full 10 minutes of performance.
28. “Summer Renaissance”
The pre-encore (yes, there was a four-song encore) was obviously supposed to be Renaissance 's last song, as Beyoncé was on top of a giant disco dome and flying off into space (top of the stage) (previously a tribute to Donna Summer) at the end of the galaxy.
29. "Church Girl"
The encore was inspired by gospel, ending the Renaissance Journey on a comforting and inspiring note, and you can't do it without performing "Church Girl" accompanied by a full-fledged choir.
30. "Drunk Love"
Inspired by her infamous vocal performance while performing "Drunk In Love" in Dubai, Bey was supposed to embrace the meme and gospelize the song with the choir, finishing with those heavenly sash straight into her signature Sex ballads.
31. "Halo"
What’s a gospel clip without Halo?
32. “Break my soul”
Beyoncé should end the Renaissance Tour by reminding the Beyhive to quit the jobs that allow them to afford gigs. But beyond that message, imagine Bey, her choir, and the crowd chanting "You Won't Hurt My Soul," sending us off to church and then sending us home in a better mood than when we left. It couldn't have ended better.
