Hello world! It me, no. 1 Beyoncé stan and proud member of the BeyHive. In case you ~somehow~ missed it, Beyoncé bestowed her documentary HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé upon us.
The film documents her truly iconic performance at the 2018 Coachella music festival, from its inception to the live performance itself.
Larry Busacca / Getty Images
In case you’re not like me — a person who stayed up until 3 a.m. to watch this film even though I’m an adult with a 9-5 job — and you missed the initial drop, have no fear! I’ve gathered everything you need to know about the doc:
1.
First of all, the majority of the documentary is the actual Coachella performance.
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The film cut between both weekends, which made for a very compelling visual. So, just in case you didn’t make ‘chella last year or couldn’t stay up for the live stream, Bey’s got you covered!
2.
Bey’s performance was, in a word, legendary. There was choreography from Les Twins as well as the surprise appearances and performances by Destiny’s Children, Kelly and Michelle; her hubby, Jay-Z; and soul/actual sister, Solange.
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My goodness, what a show.
3.
The documentary itself is called HOMECOMING because it was Beyoncé’s return to the stage — her home — after her pregnancy with the twins, Sir and Rumi.
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Bey talked about how hard it was for her to come back after her unexpected pregnancy with the twins that resulted in her having to back out of the 2017 Coachella music festival. But, as hard as it was for her to bounce back, that only made her want to work harder.
4.
Beyoncé does SoulCycle.
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Maybe that only matters to me, but I’m obsessed with this fact. One more thing me and Bey have in common!
5.
The choreography and performance were inspired by HBCU traditions.
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Beyoncé reminisced on her childhood and how she actually wanted to go to an HBCU, but wound up being one of Destiny’s Children instead. Going to see battle of the bands and loving their movements was what inspired this show. “Instead of me pulling out my flower crown,” Bey stated, “It was more important that I brought our culture to Coachella.” What better way to ring in her homecoming than to go back to her roots?
6.
It took eight months of rehearsal to get Bey-formance ready.
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It was four months of vocal training and then four months of dance training. Quite the busy bee!
7.
Beyoncé strove for inclusion and acceptance with her performance. She wanted to shine light on the beauty of a culture that most don’t find beautiful.
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“I wanted every person that’s ever been dismissed because of the way they look to feel like they were on that stage.”
8.
Beyoncé personally selected each dancer, each light, each and every material that went into making the set because she wanted this to be the best performance it could be.
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From the rhinestones and patches on the costumes to the larger than life pyramid on the stage, Beyoncé had a hand in all of it. SHE DID THAT FOR US!
9.
Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain, was a crucial part of the costume / outfit process.
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Round of applause to Olivier. These outfits were SICKENING!
10.
This goes without saying, but this was the most unconventional festival performance in recent history.
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Beyoncé said it took months to script the show. There were over 200 people on stage and she wanted to make sure the story was clear and came to life not only on the stage, but also through the camera.
11.
Bey made sure to leave it ALL OUT on the stage.
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“I put my 22-year career into my 2-hour Homecoming performance.”
12.
Finally, this performance, this film, this experience, was Beyoncé’s vision.
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100% in awe of this woman.
So there you have it. Though you should really just go and watch HOMECOMING as soon as humanly possible. I guarantee you will have no regrets. It is, without a doubt, the most breathtaking 2 hours and 17 minutes you will ever behold.