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April 21, 2019

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How Beyoncé made Coachella her home

By Mesfin Fekadu | 00:05 UTC+8 April 21, 2019 | Print Edition

BEYONCé is extremely private, and only lets you know what she wants you to know, when she wants you to know it — typically through a post on her website or Instagram.

But throughout the years, she’s slightly cracked open her door to reveal parts of her life and personality — apart from what she gives through strong singing and extraordinary dance moves — to help remind us that though she is epic and flawless, she is still mortal.

“HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé,” which premiered on Wednesday on Netflix, captures the human side of the superstar singer with behind-the-scenes, intimate moments of a mother, wife and artist tirelessly working on what’s already become one of most iconic musical performances of all-time: Beyoncé’s headlining show at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The performance was the first time a black woman headlined the festival and made Beyoncé just the third woman to score the gig, behind Bjork and Lady Gaga. Beyoncé took on the role seriously and gave the audience a rousing, terrific and new show highlighted by a full marching band, majorette dancers, steppers and more that is the norm at historically black colleges and universities.

The film shows what it took to get there: a mother bouncing back from giving birth to twins via emergency C-section; an African American woman embracing her family’s history and paying tribute to black college culture and honoring black art; and the world’s No. 1 pop star defying pushing herself to new heights, creating an even wider space between herself and whoever is No. 2.

Simply put, Beyoncé changed Coachella forever and performing after her is like trying to out-ace Serena Williams or dunk better than Michael Jordan: You won’t win.

Woven into the film are audio soundbites from popular figures: Nina Simone speaks about blackness, Maya Angelou talks about truth, and Tessa Thompson and Danai Gurira explain the importance of seeing people like you on the big screen.

Beyoncé speaks, too, telling of how she had dreamed of attending a historical black college, though she explains: “My college was Destiny’s Child.”

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