Beyonce’s Homecoming documentary cements her status as Queen of the stage

IN April 2018, Beyoncé became the first black woman to headline Coachella Music and Arts Festival and now she's immortalised the performances in new Netflix documentary, Homecoming.

The event was watched by millions worldwide over the two weekends and was instantly praised as the best performances in the history of her 22-year career.

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The documentary gives viewers the chance to see just how - and why - the singer managed to bring a performance so heavily influenced by African-American culture to one of the world's biggest stages.

The first 16 minutes viewers are reminded just how impactful the performance was, with picture perfect view that makes it feel like you are watching the performance for the first time again.

A chance to revel in the simple fact that Beyoncé truly does "slay".

Then the voice of Nina Simone speaks about the importance of why she empowers black people through her work.

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At this point, we finally see Beyoncé and her team at work behind-the-scenes. As one might expect it takes a lot of time and effort to bring a show like that together so masterfully.

The singer personally selected each dancer, chose the height of the pyramid and basically left no detail to chance.

Beyonce and her team worked tirelessly to ensure her vision was actualised as intended with over eight months of rehearsals before the big day.

“Instead of me pulling out my flower crown it was important that I brought our culture,” Beyoncé can be heard saying, and she certainly succeeded in that mission.

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It turns out Beyoncé always dreamed of attending a Historically Black College and University - a reminder that she sacrificed having a normal life to embark on her journey to superstardom.

But Bey found a way to make her dream happen in a way that furthered her already illustrious career, as well as inspiring others to strive for greatness.

The documentary is peppered with short clips that reveal a glimpse into Bey's life offstage, as she is seen struggling to get back to her dancing best following the birth of her twins, Rumi and Sir Carter.

She reveals for the first time that she had an emergency C-section to deliver the twins, after what was a very difficult pregnancy.

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And getting back into shape in time for the performance was no easy task.

"In order to meet my goal, I’m limiting myself to no bread, no carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no meat, no fish, no alcohol — and I’m hungry," she admits in one segment.

And all those who think she doesn't struggle with dance routines stand corrected.

“What people don’t see is the sacrifice,” she says in a voice-over segment, while she is seen struggling through rigorous dance training.

“I definitely pushed myself further than I knew I could. And I learned a very valuable lesson. I will never, never push myself that far again,” she states.

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But thankfully, her hard work and sacrifice paid off.

While the performance cemented Beyoncé’s status as one of the greatest performers of all time, the documentary confirms that the world can trust her to put in the work necessary to make sure her legacy will be the ultimate masterclass of Black Excellence.

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For Beyoncé, the question is no longer, "Are you entertained?"

Instead, she makes it clear that going forward, she will always be asking: "Are you inspired?"
And the answer from her fans is a big, fat yes.