I paid $2,300 for two ground seats at Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour however I used to be nonetheless upset by my view

• I’m a founding member of the Beyhive. In reality, I’ve by no means missed a Beyoncé live performance tour or residency.
• Bey’s Renaissance World Tour was totally wonderful; a silver-speckled, immersive homage to ballroom tradition.
• Nonetheless, my ground seats at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey have been disappointing and had low visibility.

Beyoncé is the best reside performer alive — and he or she proved as a lot when she kicked off her Renaissance World Tour earlier this summer season.

The 56-date tour, which started in Could abroad in Stockholm, Sweden, is an immersive homage to ballroom tradition. Primarily based on Bey’s seventh solo album, 2022’s “Renaissance,” the mom of the home herself introduced her membership music-enthused tracks to life with a giant-sized silver bedazzled horse, duck strolling, quite a lot of thigh-high boots, and a few robotic arms. 

I wrestled by means of Ticketmaster’s difficult Verified Fan gross sales, annnnnd the Beyhive presale, solely to stroll away waitlisted for each.

So when my pal urged I strive a random presale code she noticed on Twitter, I used to be delighted to search out that it not solely labored however there have been loads of “good” seats left on the July tour date I needed: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Feeling pressured by Ticketmaster’s countdown clock, I bought two tickets for round $1,150 every.

Despite the fact that I actually ran into Blue Ivy and Jay Z whereas leaving the stadium (OMG; I am nonetheless pinching myself!), this is why I remorse my ground seats and can seemingly think about sitting in a distinct part for her subsequent live performance tour — if she blesses us once more.

Ground seats do include perks, however it would not assure visibility 

Once we arrived at MetLife round 7:30 p.m., it was thrilling to test in and get our orange wristbands. These bands allowed us entry to the stadium ground and its services.

As soon as secured, we walked our manner out into the stadium and located our spot — Part 3, Row 16.

It felt very near the principle stage and the now-iconic circular-shaped runway, designed by leisure architects Stufish and stage designer Es Devlin, who’s additionally labored with Adele, U2, and The Weeknd.

Being on the ground additionally meant seeing most of the VIPs who got here out to assist Beyoncé whereas on this tour cease. There’s been social-media footage of celebrities from Madonna and Megan Thee Stallion to Oscar-nominated actor Taraji P. Henson and “Recreation of Thrones” actor Emilia Clarke at Bey’s tour.

Throughout Beyoncé’s second evening in New Jersey, my husband and I noticed Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, and even rapper Fats Joe.

And as I humble-bragged earlier than, whereas making our technique to our automobiles throughout Bey’s final tune of the evening, “Summer time Renaissance,” safety forcefully stopped us earlier than we ran proper into Blue Ivy, accompanied a couple of paces again by her billionaire dad, Jay Z. Speak about a spotlight of my life! 

Nonetheless, as an leisure reporter for greater than 15 years, superstar sightings weren’t sufficient to make up for my low visibility throughout the precise live performance. 

The round stage’s risers prevented me from seeing the very best components of the present off-screen

As a reside live performance fanatic — I’ve in all probability been to greater than 500 reveals in my lifetime — I favor to sit down on the ground so I can see an artist of their aspect with my very own two eyes.

Whereas I recognize how jumbo screens permit me to see further particulars that simply aren’t potential with the bare eye in a stadium, my desire is at all times to attempt to see the expertise for myself.

When Beyoncé opened her set with three of her iconic ballads, “Dangerously In Love,” “Flaws and All” (which I used to be stunned to see her sing with out getting emotional. True followers know she at all times tears up just a bit bit whereas singing that one), and “1+1,” she utilized the principle stage. 

Whereas Bey was on the bigger stage, I had excessive visibility, capable of go expertly backwards and forwards between the screens and my very own eyes with ease. And though some followers have been sitting on what’s known as the “Pure/Honey On Stage Risers,” or literal risers onstage, they have been off to the facet sufficient in order that they did not block our view.

I additionally actually cherished that Bey took a web page from her Coachella set and used risers to be even larger onstage, making visibility nice whereas she sang her Platinum-hit single, “Cuff It,” one among my favourite performances of the evening.

However because the present progressed, my naked-eye visibility worsened as a result of how the round runway was constructed. On both facet of it, there is a raised portion of the platform, 5 steps larger than the remainder of the runway.

This allowed Bey, and her dancers, to stroll up and down, however it additionally blocked my view when Bey was on the inside runway that cuts into the circle, which was so much throughout the later a part of the live performance.

I did not even see Blue Ivy come out onstage and as a substitute relied on the jumbo screens to see our niece do her ones and twos.

We additionally thought Beyoncé would come round to our a part of the circle extra, however even when she did, she turned inward towards the Membership Renaissance pit part, so it was a little bit of a letdown. 

Regardless of visibility points, I nonetheless had a life-changing, inspiring time throughout the Renaissance World Tour. One of many explanation why I’ve by no means missed a solo live performance tour or residency is that seeing Beyoncé carry out the music that conjures up all of us, jogs my memory to faucet into my best potential as an artist.

She jogs my memory that as a inventive, as a lady, as a mom of multiples, as a spouse, I can do something — and do it gloriously. 

If Beyoncé decides to go on tour once more, I will be proper there, ticket in hand. I simply could pay for a seat within the 100 part as a substitute of on the ground.