Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Beyoncé Explains Why She Approaches Her Live Shows ‘Like an Athlete’

“You know how they sit down and watch whoever they’re going to play and study themselves? That’s how I treat this,” Beyoncé said.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Beyoncé sits comfortably in the pantheon of all-time great live performers. Her grandiose choreography never impedes on her dazzling, effortless vocals. Despite the intense dancing, Beyoncé’s high notes never falter. Through rigorous study and rehearsal, she joined the ranks of Michael Jackson, Prince, Freddie Mercury. It almost justifies the obscene prices for her concerts.

But how did Queen Bey reach that level in her performances? During a January 2013 interview with GQ ahead of her Super Bowl Halftime Show, she opened up about the planning behind her live performances. Ultimately, Beyoncé is a perfectionist first. Consequently, she’s intent on studying the art and figuring out how to improve and make everything just right.

“One of the reasons I connect to the Super Bowl is that I approach my shows like an athlete,” she told the outlet. “You know how they sit down and watch whoever they’re going to play and study themselves? That’s how I treat this. I watch my performances, and I wish I could just enjoy them, but I see the light that was late. I see, ’Oh God, that hair did not work.’ Or ’I should never do that again.’ I try to perfect myself. I want to grow, and I’m always eager for new information.”

Beyoncé Breaks Down Her Meticulous Process as a Performer

As much as she’s hypercritical of timing and hellbent on trying to master everything, it never seems to impact her while she’s on stage. Even if something messes up around her, it never knocks her out of her zone. That’s because the “Crazy in Love” multi-hyphenate finally lets go of her inner thoughts and focuses exclusively on the moments. All she can do is fixate on what she can control in the moment: herself.

“I love my job, but it’s more than that: I need it,” Beyoncé stressed. “Because before I gave birth, it was the only time in my life, all throughout my life, that I was lost. It’s like a blackout. When I’m onstage, I don’t know what the crap happens. I am gone.”

Her sister Solange confirmed this meticulous process, admitting that Beyoncé has been wired that way since they were kids. “I have very, very early-on memories of her rehearsing on her own in her room. I specifically remember her taking a line out of a song or a routine and just doing it over and over and over again until it was perfect and it was strong,” she recalled. “At age 10, when everybody else was ready to say, ’Okay, I’m tired, let’s take a break,’ she wanted to continue—to ace it and overcome it.”

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

(Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) Beyoncé Explains Why She Approaches Her Live Shows ‘Like an Athlete’ 8 minutes ago By Caleb Catlin

Beyoncé Explains Why She Approaches Her Live Shows ‘Like an Athlete’

Screenshot: Nintendo Nintendo Announces Game Price Changes for Switch 2 28 minutes ago By Denny Connolly

Nintendo Announces Game Price Changes for Switch 2

Photo by Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images Korn Goes Viral After TikTok Finds Out ‘Freak on a Leash’ Syncs Perfectly With Pop Song Choreography 32 minutes ago By Lauren Boisvert

Korn Goes Viral After TikTok Finds Out ‘Freak on a Leash’ Syncs Perfectly With Pop Song Choreography

The AI Tools Worth Paying For (Because Free Is Trash) 1 hour ago By Matt Jancer | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

The AI Tools Worth Paying For (Because Free Is Trash)

By Matt Jancer | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Screenshot: Xbox, Netflix Xbox Could Bundle Game Pass With Netflix in Cheaper Tier, According to Report 2 hours ago By Brent Koepp

Xbox Could Bundle Game Pass With Netflix in Cheaper Tier, According to Report

Ditch the Beer: Cycling Frog’s THC Drinks and Gummies Hit Different 2 hours ago By Maha Haq | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Ditch the Beer: Cycling Frog’s THC Drinks and Gummies Hit Different

By Maha Haq | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Photo By A. Perez Meca/Europa Press via Getty Images Gorillaz’ The Mountain Tour: Here’s How You Can Still Score Tickets to Sold-Out Shows 2 hours ago By Nick Stockton

Gorillaz’ The Mountain Tour: Here’s How You Can Still Score Tickets to Sold-Out Shows

Image: The Metaverse Meet the People Devastated by the End of the Metaverse’s Horizon Worlds 3 hours ago By Amber Rawlings

Meet the People Devastated by the End of the Metaverse’s Horizon Worlds

Screenshot: PlayStation, Naughty Dog PlayStation Store Spring Sale Shows Different Prices for Players, Sparking Dynamic PS5 Pricing Concerns 3 hours ago By Brent Koepp

PlayStation Store Spring Sale Shows Different Prices for Players, Sparking Dynamic PS5 Pricing Concerns

(Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage) The Reason LeBron James Carried J. Cole’s ‘The Fall-Off’ Vinyl to a Lakers Game 4 hours ago By Caleb Catlin

The Reason LeBron James Carried J. Cole’s ‘The Fall-Off’ Vinyl to a Lakers Game

Kill the ads for just $2 a month

VICE membership also gives you access to our very best writing and exclusive new documentaries.

Add your account details

© Vice