Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Beyonce Drops New Track “Formation” & Announces 2016 World Tour

Yes, I know “Formation” actually came out on Saturday, but I’ve got better things to do in life than shit my pants the minute Beyonce so much as breathes. I didn’t actually listen until yesterday morning. Obviously I like it — the message is timely and really needs to be spread, so I’m with that, and the rich culture of New Orleans is always a welcome sight — but the way people have been losing their damn minds over this song/video simply because it’s Beyonce is pretty obnoxious.

If you’ve been reading Evil Beet for a while, you know I have a love/hate relationship with Queen Bey. I think she’s phenomenally talented and accomplished and I love seeing women out there doing their thing, killing it and dominating in whatever field they pursue. Also, she has some great tracks spread out over multiple albums and I enjoy the fact that she’s finally letting the “real Bey” (as in, not whitewashed as many of her early albums were) show. But she’s someone who very easily oversaturates the market and then has to get out of my sight so I can get less sick of her for a while. “Formation” is a great track with an even better message, but the fact that people were literally making gifs and sacrificing their first born five seconds after the song came out — without actually listening to the music or appreciating the meaning behind it (because yes, pop music can be meaningful) — makes me want to hate it, if that makes sense.

Have a listen/watch for yourself, if you haven’t already:

And that’s that. Like I said, I think this is a really timely release, done in such a way as only Beyonce could, so I’m loving it. Do I think it’s the best song I’ve ever heard musically? Not quite, but that almost doesn’t matter because I kind of feel like that’s not the point here. In recent years, Beyonce has made an effort to release stuff that makes people feel empowered, whether it’s women, people of color, whatever. The message behind that is more important than the melody itself at times, so it’s hard to really judge a track on anything other than its cultural importance.

ANYWAY, Beyonce’s going on tour and here are some dates. Beyhive VIP members can start buying tickets tomorrow, which kinda blows that it’s such short notice (her tickets are NOT cheap), while the rest of us peons will have to wait until February 16 to book.

NORTH AMERICA:

Wed. April 27 Miami, FL Marlins Park

Fri. April 29 Tampa Raymond James Stadium

Sun. May 1 Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome

Tue. May 3 Raleigh, NC Carter-Finley Stadium

Thu. May 5 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium

Sat. May 7 Houston, TX NRG Stadium

Mon. May 9 Dallas, TX AT&T Stadium

Thu. May 12 San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium

Sat. May 14 Los Angeles, CA Rose Bowl

Mon. May 16 San Francisco, CA Levi’s Stadium

Wed. May 18 Seattle, WA CenturyLink Field

Fri. May 20 Edmonton, AB Commonwealth Stadium

Mon. May 23 Minneapolis, MN TCF Bank Stadium

Wed. May 25 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre

Fri. May 27 Chicago, IL Soldier Field

Sun. May 29 Detroit, MI Ford Field

Tue. May 31 Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Field

Fri. June 3 Boston, MA Gillette Stadium

Sun. June 5 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field

Tue. June 7 New York, NY Citi Field

Fri. June 10 Baltimore, MD M&T Bank Stadium

Sun. June 12 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium

EUROPE:

Tue. June 28 Sunderland, UK Stadium of Light

Thu. June 30 Cardiff, UK Millennium Stadium

Sat. July 2 London, UK Wembley Stadium

Tue. July 5 Manchester, UK Emirates Old Trafford

Thu. July 7 Glasgow, UK Hampden Park

Sat. July 9 Dublin, IE Croke Park

Tue. July 12 Dusseldorf, DE Esprit Arena

Thu. July 14 Zurich, CH Letzigrund

Sat. July 16 Amsterdam, NE Arena

Mon. July 18 Milan, IT Stadio San Siro

Thu. July 21 Paris, FR Stade de France

Sun. July 24 Copenhagen, DK Parken

Tue. July 26 Stockholm, SE Friends Arena

Fri. July 29 Frankfurt, DE Commerzbank Arena

Sun. July 31 Brussels, BE Roi Boudoin