“Every tiny detail had an intention,” says Beyoncé in her new Netflix documentary, Homecoming, that takes viewers behind-the-scenes of her historic Coachella performance last year. The two-hour-seventeen-minute film, that was released at midnight on April 18, 2019, is a glorious, raw and incredible behind-the-scenes look of her performance that was special for more reasons than one.
Queen Bey holds the distinction of being the first ever black woman to headline the music festival that is currently in its 19th year. But that’s not why it broke the internet; it was an epic performance, engineered to instill a sense of pride in a community that has often been marginalised. It did what art is supposed to do—it made you feel something. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t easy to pull off (then again, is anything that Beyoncé does easy?). And Homecoming is a retelling of what went into the making of an incredible triumph—sweat, tears, pain and agony, over a four-month rehearsal period.
One that Beyonce entered having just given birth to her twins. A tough time, the artist developed toxemia/preeclampsia and had to have an emergency C-section and her rehearsals coincided with her recovery. In the documentary, Beyoncé recounts moments of doubt about her ability as a performer, the struggle to lose weight and fit in to her old costumes and even the dance sequences. In addition, the conceptualisation of a show of Beyoncé-scale took a toll on the artist extraordinaire.
A rare look at how hard performances like these are to pull off, Homecoming is proof that although Queen Bey wears her crown lightly, she knows it comes with great responsibility.
It’s now available for streaming on Netflix India.
Featured image: Netflix
