By the time Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s closed out Sunday night’s (Dec. 2) Global Citizen Festival — with a stadium-sized version of “Forever Young” — they were the undisputed Queen and King of this global social activism campaign.
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The ecstatic reception given to The Carters when they finally took to the stage at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium confirmed what everyone knew in the months leading up to marathon 10-hour event: the couple’s first-ever South African performance was the real drawcard for those local music fans who took part in the 5.65M social media actions calling on world leaders to commit to end extreme poverty by 2030.
Taking to the stage for a nearly 90-minute set, Beyoncé and JAY-Z delivered a scaled-down version of On The Run II, replete with crowd-pleasing hits (’’03 Bonne and Clyde”, “Crazy In Love”, “Drunk In Love”), Love Is Everything imagery, plenty of costume changes, hand holding and loving looks. But The Carters also took the opportunity to deliver several surprises, including a performance by Beyoncé of “Halo” with the backing of a local choir that added an African-rooted poignancy to the song.
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“I can feel so much light and beauty in here,” the singer told the 70 000-plus crowd. The couple also made full use of the other performers on the festival line-up: Pharrell Williams stepped onto the stage for a relaxed rendition of “Nice’ while Ed Sheeran joined Beyoncé for a delicately delivered, first-ever live performance of “Perfect Duet,” off Sheeran’s Divide.
Sheeran is due to tour South Africa in March next year, and his expansive appeal was evident in a rousingly-received performance which included “Shape of You” and “Thinking Out Loud.” Improbably filling a huge stage — designed to switch between the music and the regular announcements of Global Citizen commitments by heads of states and business leaders — Sheeran’s live looping allowed him to showcase a musical simplicity that was, along with Kacey Musgraves’ country-inflected set, a counterpoint to the festival’s high-energy performances.
Along with Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, Musgraves was largely unknown to the crowd, but both demonstrated an appealing unshowiness, with Vedder taking seriously the citizen activism message of Global Citizen. His solo set was threaded with action-directed messages, made haunting use of the Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir on “Better Man” and ended with a version of John Lennon’s call to peace, “Imagine.”
Festival curator, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, was like everyone’s congenial musical brother, turning up several times — including (on piano) with Musgraves — and helping deliver one of the music debuts of the night, a collaboration between Cassper Nyovest and Stormzy. Titled “Timbuktu”, the track (which also features the Coldplay-in-disguise group Los Unidades and Jess Kent) is one of four on the just-released Martin-overseen Global Citizen – EP 1 (Parlophone).
Smartly placed on the line-up just ahead of The Carters, Nyovest is a homegrown hip-hop heavyweight who had come to the event fresh off his own stadium-filling show in the coastal city of Durban the previous night. Nyovest’s ongoing sonic nod to his South African music heritage was highlighted when he was joined by the legendary mbaqanga group, the Mahotella Queens, for “Malome,” while the festival’s own activist lineage was underscored by the appearance of Bob Geldof. Former Boomtown Rats leader Geldof delivered a moving, honest appraisal of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy that ended with a solo performance of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” “This is where I blow JAY-Z and Beyoncé off the stage,” the co-founder of Live Aid said with his trademark irony.
Other highlights included the much-anticipated collaboration between Usher and South African DJ and producer Black Coffee — a mash-up of “We Dance Again” and “Without You,” Usher’s hit with David Guetta. The performance, early on in the show, gave the American star the opportunity to showcase his grasp of the distinctly South African dance, the Gwara Gwara (recently favoured by Rihanna and Childish Gambino). It also set the scene for a festival where dancing was a recurring backdrop to performances, or took center stage, as in the blistering set by South Africa’s rising star, Sho Madjozi. The festival additionally illuminated the dominance of Nigerian artists in Africa’s push into the global music scene with powerful appearances by Wizkid, D’banj, Tiwa Savage and Femi Kuti.
The latest iteration of the Global Citizen Festival honored the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth (July 18, 1918) giving most of the speakers — which included Oprah Winfrey — an opportunity to pay tribute to the late global icon through quotes and tributes. The festival was hosted by The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah, who grew up in Soweto, the South African township that borders on the FNB Stadium. Noah struck an easy balance between the festival’s serious messages of urgent global social change and the entertainment that was at its heart.
#Beyonce & #JayZ shut down the stage at the #GlobalCitizenFestival pic.twitter.com/VHXAeetwMa
— AnissaYone (@AnissaYone) December 2, 2018
Who’s cutting onions here —— #beyonce & #edsheeran performing at the #GlobalCitizenFestival in #SouthAfrica ??
When dem go show Nigeria? — pic.twitter.com/jCixjWpg02— I. ETONIRU (@Waynetipsy) December 3, 2018
Just watched the most beautiful rendition of “Long Road” from the Global Citizen Festival livestream. He dedicated it to Mandala and his “brother” Chris. –The whole set was amazing. My heart is warm. @PearlJam #eddievedder #globalcitizenfestival #pearljam pic.twitter.com/ve1BLVN3jz
— Heidekens (@Heidekens) December 2, 2018
THE ENERGY ALONE ——
“Make we scatter this place tonight…” — #TiwaSavage performing at the #GlobalCitizenFestival#Mandela100 #GlobalCitizenpic.twitter.com/2uTlvu9fhZ
— —- ME HO Y3 F3 ROFF —- (@okt_ranking) December 2, 2018