5 Surprise Revelations From Beyoncé's 'Homecoming' Netflix Documentary
The moment that BeyHivers worldwide have been waiting for since last week arrived on Wednesday (April 17): Beyoncé’s Homecoming documentary, which unwraps the never-before-told story behind her critically acclaimed Coachella headlining experience of 2018.
Aside from the performance becoming the first Coachella stage Bey has ever graced, it also became a landmark moment in history for the popular arts and music festival too, as the Queen became the first Black female ever in its 20-year history. Thus, the megastar songstress dove into the most revelatory behind-the-stage moments leading up to the show, dubbed by fans as Beychella. Two hours and 17 minutes unravel the magic that emerged on stage from the most minute details of the HBCU-honoring and inspiring performance, including Bey’s handpicked dancers and stage design, inspiring moments of her self-reflection and vulnerability following her pregnancy with the Carter twins and the valor Bey embodied within herself and her team to beat the odds in the most sought-after festival experience ever in Coachella history.
BET tuned in and captured some of the most moving revelations of Homecoming that we’re still standing in complete awe of hours later, and here are some of the top 5:
Beyoncé wanted to go to an HBCU herself
“I dreamed of going to TSU [Texas Southern University]," Bey said of her aspirations to attend a historically Black educational institution. With the rising emergence of her industry debut as the lead singer of R&B's iconic Destiny's Child girl group, however, those dreams were placed on the back burner for the time being.
Beyoncè feared the worst from recovery from her high-risk pregnancy with the twins
"There were days when I felt like my endurance and physicality would never be the same," she explained. She added that she needed to do a full recalibration of her body to prepare for the performance, restricting herself to a strict vegan diet that included no alcohol, sugar or carbs. One tender moment captures her Facetime with her hip-hop mogul husband, Jay-Z, as she shows off her costume that she was able to fit in after shedding the pounds. Bey glows with glee in light of the accomplishment that pushed her one step closer to her goals for the Coachella show.
Beyoncé took on full supermom goals, breastfeeding between rehearsals
"I would dance and go off to the trailer and breastfeed the babies," she said in the doc, "the days I could, I would bring the children." In her 2018 Vogue cover story, Bey also spoke to her journey with body acceptance during her pregnancy and labor with Rumi and Sir Carter. She weighed 218 pounds when she birthed the Carter twins and struggled with toxemia, which also ended in an emergency C-section and a NICU stay for the babies before she could finally take them home.
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Beyoncé, her band, and her dance troupe worked through 12 to 20-hour rehearsals over a four-month period
"The music and vocals are the heartbeats of the show," she said in the film. As evidenced by the triumphant performance, Bey spent grueling hours arranging and establishing each tiny detail for the two-hour show. From each dancer, to set lights, to the material used on the steps of the bleachers, every piece of the show was designed for perfection. She even worked with Balmain's Olivier Rousteing for costume selection. “I put my 22-year career into my 2-hour Homecoming," she said.
Beyoncé reached one moment of frustration about the performance
Bey's major goal was for the performance to successfully translate to film, so that those who didn't witness the live show could hear and feel the same energy of it through their screens, as she expressed in the film. With the reigning success of Homecoming, we'd say mission accomplished, Bey.
Find out more about the magic behind the stage in Beyonce's Homecoming film, available via Netflix.
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