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I Am… Tour

Tour by Beyoncé Knowles
Official logo for Knowles' I Am… Tour
Associated album	I Am… Sasha Fierce
Start date	March 26, 2009
End date	February 10, 2010
Legs	7
No. of shows	47 in Europe 32 in North America 7 in Australia 12 in Asia 1 in the Middle East 1 in Africa 6 in South America 106 in Total (to date)
Beyoncé Knowles concert chronology
The Beyoncé Experience (2007) I Am… Tour (2009 - 2010)

I Am… Tour is the third worldwide concert tour by American singer Beyoncé Knowles in support of her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce. The tour has visited North America and Europe, and later in Asia, Africa, Australia and South America.

It has become the 12th highest grossing tour worldwide, grossing US$37.4 million in its first 41 shows according to pollstar.com.

As of August 2, Knowles took over the No. 1 slot on Hot Tours rankings for the latest reporting week with box office totals arriving for her "I Am..." world tour. Billboard magazine's journalist Bob Allen, confirms the tour's success, stating: "With then reported grosses topping $36 million since the tour began, her show ranks among the top 15 grossing tours of the year, with still more dates scheduled in the fall".

On August 19, 2009, Knowles' official website announced that the tour was nominated for Billboard/Eventful Fans' Choice competition for "Best Concert of the Year".

As of October 1, 2009 the tour has grossed $53.5 million worldwide.

Background

On October 3, 2008, Billboard magazine reported that Knowles would go on tour in the spring of 2009 to support her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce. The tour dates for the European leg were released on December 11, 2008. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, Knowles stated: "I've been working on this tour for eight months I've been rehearsing and trying to make sure I put my set list together. Right now I'm anxious and I can't sleep -- I'll be wanting to be at rehearsal. That's the only thing I can think about. But I can't wait."

The tour kicked off on March 26 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Canada with the first leg ending in Seattle. The second leg was in Europe beginning in Zagreb, Croatia, before going through countries such as France, Germany, Spain ending the leg with fifteen shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Knowles performed to her biggest crowd in the first European leg in Lisbon, Portugal in front of 17,944 at the Pavilhão Atlântico.

Due to the phenomenal demand for tickets in Europe Knowles' website announced on May 28, 2009 that She will extend her United Kingdom and Ireland tour into November 2009, this further leg included more shows in Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Dublin, London and Belfast, as well as a visit to Nottingham of which Knowles hasn't visited since her 2007 UK Tour. These extra dates went on sale on June 5th and July 3rd 2009.

The North American leg started on June 21 with a two night stint at Madison Square Garden in New York City, after opening the US leg here Knowles then went on to perform concerts in other US cities such as Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Oakland as well as two further shows in Canada. In with this leg was also a performance at the Essence Music Festival in front of 80,000 people at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, it was the first year the Festival sold out completely. At the end of the US leg of the tour, Knowles performed for four nights at the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas Casino Resort. These four shows weren't normal I Am...Tour performances but instead brand new shows described by Knowles as 'Unplugged' to give her fans another side to the performer, the four night stint was called the I Am...Yours concerts and the final date was recorded for a live DVD.

After giving her curtain call in North America Knowles quickly rushed off to Japan to be the headline performer at the Summer Sonic Festival shows in Osaka and Tokyo, Her performances got rave reviews from critics resulting in a full Japan tour being added to the tour during October 2009. After the Japan shows, Knowles took a vacation in Europe. On August 29, she performed a one night only show in Donetsk, Ukraine as part of the opening ceremony of the brand new stadium the Donbass Arena in front of over 50,000 people.

The next leg of the tour kicked off on September 15 in Melbourne, Australia after Knowles gave a show-stopping performance of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" at this year's MTV Video Music Awards for which she won three awards out of her nine nominations, including the big award for Video of The Year. That leg concluded on September 24 in Perth, Australia with a one off festival show in Singapore's Fort Canning Park for the F1 Rocks event on September 26.

Knowles is expected to take a break from touring from then until early October in time for her Asian tour.

In September 2009, it was rumoured that Knowles may bring her tour to Israel. Most of the shows' details were agreed upon with the singer's managers while she was at the Las Vegas Wynn Hotel. Although there is no official statement from the management yet, Knowles is slated to perform three shows over three days in Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena in January.

Costumes

After several years of retirement from the fashion industry, french designer Thierry Mugler will serve as the main costume designer for the tour. Knowles was attracted with his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala 2008, "Superheroes, Fashion and Fantasy", where several of his haute couture pieces were on display. He has conducted a 72-piece wardrobe for Knowles and her dancers and band for the tour. It was announced that Mugler's input will extend to a creative advisor role, as he will contribute to designing the whole show, from lighting to choreography.

Mugler wanted to capture the "duality between being a woman and a warrior" and "understand these two sides with own perception of both aspects" while creating the costumes for Knowles and using the words "Feminine. Free. Warrior. Fierce" as inspiration. He felt "Sasha Fierce is another aspect of Beyoncé's personality, she is Fierce on stage and Beyoncé in real life", stating, "Beyoncé is a very sophisticated 'stage animal', which means that she is truly instinctive. Beyoncé expresses herself through the two aspects of her personality. On stage, there is Sasha Fierce and there is Beyoncé in her truest self."

Several of the costumes both in the stage show and the video interludes include a few vintage couture pieces by Mugler as well as new ones made specifically for the young diva.

As his role as creative advisor, Mugler stated "It was my responsibility to make Beyoncé's vision come true. There will be a lot of dramatization and metamorphosis on stage. Some very strong effects have been inspired directly by Beyoncé, and only she could make (them) happen on stage. I also was the AD (assistant director) for the Diva video shot especially for the show. I also gave input for various visual and creative aspects of the show." and wanted to send the message that, "The sense of mise-en-scène or using everything we get, like technology, lights, sets and costumes in order to sublimate the emotions and energy that we share and want to share with others."

About the show

I Am... Tour

"There will be a lot of dramatization and metamorphosis on stage. Some very strong effects have been inspired directly by Beyoncé, and only she could make (them) happen on stage" said lead costume provider and a creative advisor Thierry Mugler. The main stage is a simple stage, with a pop up set of stairs, a big LED background screen and glass risers for Knowles' band "Suga Mama" and her backup singers "The Mamas". There is also a smaller stage (The B-Stage) in the middle of the crowd where Knowles later performs.

The show starts with Knowles' silhouette appearing in the middle of the main stage singing the first verse of "Déjà Vu", the main stage is flooded in light revealing Beyoncé in a half gold, half silver costume with a bow at the back. She then sings "Crazy in Love". She then performs "Naughty Girl", "Freakum Dress" and "Get Me Bodied". During the dance break of "Get Me Bodied" Knowles leaves the stage for a costume change.

She then appears at the top of the flight of stairs with a white leotard and a white robe singing "Smash Into You". Later she performs "Ave Maria", at the climax of the song, her backup dancers transform her costume into a bridal complete with a veil. She then sings an excerpt from "Angel" and part of the classical "Ave Maria" by Schubert in the corresponding soprano range. She is taken out of her bridal skirt and continues on to sing "Broken-Hearted Girl". A video interlude with unreleased scenes from her video "If I Were A Boy" are shown on the large screen behind her. She then appears with a black rubber robot jacket, matching armband and a black leather skirt to perform the single. In the middle of the song she sings excerpts from Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know".

After the rock influenced excerpt, a video interlude directed by Thierry Mugler is shown as excerpts from Knowles "Sweet Dreams" play in the background. Beyoncé is seen wearing the designer's silver and plexiglass "Robot Body" costume, and she confronts a cheetah. This is a short introduction before Beyoncé performs "Diva", Beyoncé appears at the top of the flight of stairs with her backup dancers behind her. Knowles wears a bikini fitted with lights over a cheetah-print body suit and a long black cape; during the song she takes off the black cape. This is followed by another video interlude showing Beyoncé singing and dancing at the age of 5. Beyoncé then sings "Radio" and "Me, Myself and I". Before Beyoncé sings "Ego" and "Hello" she has a quick costume change in which the light-up bikini is exchanged for a black waistcoat.

The show goes on with a short medley performed by her backup singers, The Mamas followed by another video interlude featuring a coin toss between Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce. Knowles then appears from under the stage in a gold dress. She is wrapped in a harness and taken up and over the audience where she performs "Baby Boy" during which she performs some acrobatic flips. She is then lowered to the B-Stage where she finishes the "Baby Boy" number with an excerpt from Dawn Penn's "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" then continues with "Irreplaceable", "Check On It" and a medley of Destiny's Child hits. She then performs "Upgrade U" and "Video Phone". This is followed by a rendition of "Say My Name" where she interacts with one member of the audience, asking that person what his or her name is and then asks that person what her, Beyoncé's name is. As the song ends she runs through the audience to the main stage. Her backup dancers dance to excerpts from songs from Destiny's Child as well as "Beautiful Liar".

In the penultimate section of the show, Knowles appears in the middle of the stage in a floor length beaded gown. She then sings "At Last", "Listen" and "Scared of Lonely" (only at certain venues). This is followed by a Youtube video interlude featuring imitations of the choreography for "Single Ladies" performed by fans. Beyoncé then sings "Single Ladies" in a black jewel encrusted mini-dress. For the finale, she performs "Halo". At some venues Beyoncé chooses a member of the audience to sing Happy Birthday to. She then goes to the top of her stairs and repeatedly says 'I am', awaiting the crowd to say it back, she then says 'I am... yours' and exits the stage.

I Am... Yours

With less than 1,500 seats the Encore Theatre is the smallest, most intimate venue of Knowles tour. The "I Am... Yours" staged exclusively for the theatre at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas from July 30 to August 2, 2009, showcasing her like never before. Knowles premiered live performances of songs from her latest chart-topping album I Am... Sasha Fierce as well as songs from her previous albums B'Day and Dangerously In Love. Her extraordinary all-female band joins her to perform the musical hits as well as classics and surprises. For this once in a lifetime occasion Knowles changed her setlist, wearing new Thierry Mugler designed clothes and performing songs that she never sang before, like "That's Why You're Beautiful" and "Resentment", joined with her tour band Suga Mama, which expanded to a large live orchestra. These nights are different than the regular I Am... show. Most of the songs were performed acoustically and also the stage was different. The show was described as unplugged by Knowles as a way for her fans to understandmore about her as a performer and as a person.

The shows started every night with a fairytale narrator sequence introducing her to the stage, then from the back of the theatre appeared Knowles wearing her first of five Mugler outfits to perform "Hello" from her third album. Knowles made her way to the stage walking through the aisles in the audience whilst singing the hit before reaching the stage to perform the power ballad "Halo". Knowles then moved on the perform a powerful acoustic version of "Sweet Dreams" before mixing into "Dangerously In Love 2" from her debut album containing excerpts of Anita Bakers hit "Sweet Love". After taking a short breather in which Knowles changed her outfit she then performed a heart wrenching performance of "That's Why You're Beautiful" with excperts of Prince's classic "The Beautiful Ones" thrown in, after this performance Knowles went on to perform other hits of hers including "Listen", "Scared of Lonely", "Irreplaceable", "Ego", and "If I Were a Boy" which like the I Am... Tour version sampled Alanis Morisettes "You Oughta Know".

After a quick costume change Knowles appeared back on stage to talk about Her past, Her upbringing, Her Family and most of all Destiny's Child. She moved onto a musical medley of the group performing their hits "Bootylicious", "No No No", "Bug a Boo", "Bills Bills Bills" and "Say My Name" whilst in between the songs talking a little about the troubles She and the other group members went through to become as popular as they did. Next Knowles spoke about her Film career and most prominently Austin Powers: In Goldmember whislt the theme music was played in the background, She then went on to sing the title music, "Work It Out".

Knowles then found time in the show to speak about her as a solo artist and about each of her three solo albums. She mentioned facts like how her record label said her debut album didn't have one hit on it and were disappointed in her, in which she said they were right, there were five hits on the album. She then went on to perform the songs "Crazy In Love" and "Naughty Girl", before performing the dance anthem "Get Me Bodied", "Deja Vu" during which she said as she was in Las Vegas she would skat like Ella Fitzgerald and "Resentment".

The show would end with Knowles talking about her love for her Husband and how it started out with just a collaboration and ended as a fairytale, with Knowles performing "03 Bonnie & Clyde" and "Satellites" which in her words said fit the moment perfectly. The shows finale was Knowles performing the massive single from her third album "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" complete with the full dance moves. After this song the show ended with Knowles thanking all involved and supported her throughout her shows and her career. The band played an instrumental until the curtains closed.

As part of this occasion, the performance on August 2, was filmed and recorded for broadcast and commercial use. The DVD will be released in Japan on November 25,2009

Opening acts

Setlist

Main Stage

• "Sweet Dreams" (contains elements of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)")
• "Crazy in Love" (contains elements of "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", "Work It Out", "Let Me Clear My Throat" and "Pass the Peas")
• "Naughty Girl"
• "Freakum Dress"
• "Get Me Bodied" (Extended Mix)
• "Smash Into You"
• "Satellites"
• "Ave Maria" (contains excerpts from "Angel")
• "Halo"

"If I Were a Boy" Intro (contains excerpts from the official video)

• "If I Were A Boy" (contains excerpts from "You Oughta Know")

Fierce Cheetah Diva (Video Interlude)

• "Diva"

"Radio" Intro (contains excerpts from "Ring The Alarm", "Suga Mama", and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)")

• Radio
• "Me, Myself and I"
• "Ego"
• "Hello"
• "Déjà Vu"

Divinty Roxx Bass Jam/The Mama's Medley
Heads or Tails (Beyoncé vs. Sasha Fierce) (Video Interlude)
Sasha Prevails/African Drums Medley (Band Skit)
Main Stage to B-Stage

• "Baby Boy" (contains excerpts from "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)")

B-Stage

• "Irreplaceable"

Meeting of the Minds (Video Interlude)

• "Check On It"
• Destiny's Child Medley:
  • "Bootylicious"
  • "Bug A Boo"
  • "Jumpin' Jumpin'"
• "Upgrade U"
• "Ring the Alarm"
• "Video Phone" (contains elements of "Suga Mama" and "Snap Yo Fingers")

B-Stage to Main Stage

• "Say My Name"

Main Stage
"The History of Destiny's Child" (Dance Interlude, contains excerpts from "Independent Women Part 1", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "No, No, No (Part 2)", "Beautiful Liar" and "Survivor")
"Survivor" (Video Interlude)

• "At Last"
• "Listen"
• "Broken-Hearted Girl"
• "Scared of Lonely"
• "Dangerously in Love 2" (contains excerpts of "Sweet Love")
• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
• "Flaws and All"

Main Stage
Band Fanfare Introduction

• "Déjà Vu" (Tour Intro Skit)
• "Crazy in Love" (contains elements of "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", "Work It Out", "Let Me Clear My Throat" and "Pass the Peas")
• "Naughty Girl"
• "Freakum Dress"
• "Get Me Bodied" (Extended Mix)
• "Smash Into You"
• "Ave Maria" (contains excerpts from "Angel")
• "Broken-Hearted Girl"

"If I Were a Boy" Intro (contains excerpts from the official video)

• "If I Were A Boy" (contains excerpts from "You Oughta Know")

Fierce Cheetah Diva (Video Interlude, contains excerpts from "Sweet Dreams")

• "Diva"

Radio Intro (contains excerpts from "Ring The Alarm", "Suga Mama", and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)")

• "Radio"
• "Me, Myself and I"
• "Ego"
• "Hello"

Band Jam/The Mama's Medley
Heads or Tails (Beyoncé vs. Sasha Fierce) (Video Interlude)
Sasha Prevails/African Drums Medley (Band Skit)
Main Stage to B-Stage

• "Baby Boy" (contains excerpts from "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)")

B-Stage

• "Irreplaceable"
• "Check On It"
• Destiny's Child Medley:
  • "Bootylicious"
  • "Bug A Boo"
  • "Jumpin' Jumpin'"
• "Upgrade U"
• "Video Phone" (contains elements of "Snap Yo Fingers")

B-Stage to Main Stage

• "Say My Name"

Main Stage
"The History of Destiny's Child" (Dance Interlude, contains excerpts from "Independent Women Part 1", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "No, No, No (Part 2)", "Beautiful Liar" and "Survivor")
"Survivor" (Video Interlude)

• "At Last"
• "Listen"

"Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" (YouTube Video Interlude)

• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
• "Halo" (ending with an instrumental excerpt of "Kitty Kat")

Band Fanfare Introduction

• "Hello"
• "Halo"
• "Sweet Dreams" (Acoustic Version)
• "Dangerously In Love 2" (contains excerpts from "Sweet Love")
• "That's Why You're Beautiful" (contains excerpts of "The Beautiful Ones")
• "Listen"
• "Scared Of Lonely"
• "Irreplaceable"
• "Ego"
• "If I Were A Boy" (contains excerpts from "You Oughta Know")

Beyoncé Talks: Being Bootylicious

• "Bootylicious"
• "No, No, No"
• "Bug A Boo"
• "Bills, Bills, Bills"
• "Say My Name"

Beyoncé Talks: Austin Powers in Goldmember

• "Work It Out"

Beyoncé Talks: Dangerously In Love

• "Crazy In Love"
• "Naughty Girl"

Beyoncé Talks: B'Day

• "Get Me Bodied"
• "Déjà Vu"
• "Resentment"

Beyoncé Talks: Great Love

• "'03 Bonnie & Clyde"
• "Satellites"
• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

Additional notes

• During her performance in Winnipeg she sang Happy Birthday to two of her band members (Kim Thompson and Tia Fuller) instead of "Flaws and All".
• There was a one-hour delay due to technical problems in Budapest and Lisbon.
• During the first six dates of the European leg dancer Ashley Everett did not make an appearance. It was said that she stretched a ligament in her ankle, and needed time to recover.
• At her concert in Rotterdam on May 2, Knowles walked off the stage right before "Naughty Girl" because her hair needed to be fixed. Later she came back on stage and continued performing. At the same concert the lights went wrong during her performance of "Diva". Knowles shouted "Lights!" while dancing. After a few seconds she then said "Somebody's gettin' fired" along the beat of the song..
• At the concert in Rotterdam on May 3, the video segues during "If I Were A Boy" and "Smash Into You" didn't work.
• At the concert on Mother's Day in Denmark, May 10, Knowles sang the final part of "Halo" for her mother as well as dedicating a rendition of "Wind Beneath My Wings" to her. At the same concert Knowles did not fly during "Baby Boy" due to the venues restrictions.
• At the concert in Gothenburg on May 11, Knowles sang Happy Birthday to one of her background vocalists (Tiffany Riddick) during the finale after "Halo".
• During her concert in Zurich on May 16, Knowles performed "Flaws and All" after "Video Phone" to a boy named Tim.
• At her concert in Barcelona Knowles performed "Smash Into You" on the ground instead of stairs.
• In Spain, Knowles performed parts of "Irreplaceable" in Spanish. While in Madrid, when performing "Hello", she said "bueno" and "hola" during the chorus sometimes in lieu of "hello" per the song's normal lyrics.
• At the concerts in Paris, Birmingham, Chicago, Manchester and Melbourne children joined Knowles on stage whilst she performed "Halo".
• During the show in Manchester Knowles asked about the UEFA Champions League final's score as Manchester United were playing. As people told her, she first shouted out "Two-Zero!?" When she found out they had lost she quickly said "Oh!" and moved on.
• During the show in Dublin on May 29, water was spilled on the sound desk from the balcony right before Knowles was due on stage. As a result, Knowles didn't take to the stage for a further thirty minutes.
• During the show in Dublin May 30, one of Knowles's gold shoes fell to the ground during the flying part of Baby Boy. She then kicked off her other shoe and flew across the O₂ Arena barefoot.
• At the last UK show on June the 9th, after singing "Broken-Hearted Girl", Beyonce said she wanted to sing a bit of one of her favorite songs, and sang a bit of "One More Try" by George Michael. For the next song, "If I Were A Boy", Knowles was joined on stage by George Michael.
• During the first two North American shows in New York City on June 21 and 22, Jay Z performed with Knowles during "Crazy in Love" a part of his song "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)".
• During the show in Baltimore on June 23, during the flying part of "Baby Boy" one of Knowles's gold shoes fell to the ground again, because of her long foil skirt. She then kicked off her other shoe and flew across the arena barefoot.
• During the show in Philadelphia on June 26, Knowles made a special tribute to Michael Jackson's passing by singing "I Can't Help It", where she named him as one of her musical "heroes".
• During the show in Greensboro on 27 June, Knowles messed up on some of the lyrics to Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know" . She also performed the second verse of "Halo" out in the crowd while allowing one of her fans to sing part of the verse for her.
• Knowles surprised the crowd by bringing Cubby (the guy who danced to her hit "Single Ladies" on YouTube) on stage to dance on 1 July in Atlanta.
• Due to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on July 3, the whole show was changed. There was no B-Stage, and some of the songs were cut from the setlist. Also the main stage was different. Knowles made a special tribute to Michael Jackson again.
• During the show in Chicago, while performing "Single Ladies", Knowles costume started to unzip.
• On 7 July in Phoenix, Knowles got emotional and had to start over again the rendition for Michael Jackson. At the end of it she cried and said: "I love you Michael".
• Background vocalist Montina Cooper did not make an appearance in Dallas, and during the show in Los Angeles she hurt her ankle and left the stage.
• During the show in Toronto the main stage was once again different. There was no B-Stage and songs were cut from the setlist, the show was also two hours late. Also at the beginning of "Broken-Hearted Girl", they forgot to bring back the white robe for Knowles.
• Background vocalist Crystal A. Collins did not make an appearance in Montreal.
• Due to the Summer Sonic Festival, in Osaka and Tokyo, the main stage was once again different, but there was a B-stage. Songs were cut from the setlist.
• During the performance on August 9, in Tokyo, most of the setlist and dance numbers were cut due to strict curfew in the state. The last song was also changed to "Single Ladies".
• During the show in Ukraine, the main stage was once again different, and a layer of steps was added to where the band and stairs were. There was no video segue during "Smash Into You" due to technical issues. Songs were cut from the setlist, such as "Naughty Girl" and "Ave Maria" .
• At the show on September 18 in Sydney, Knowles sung "Halo" to Chelsea James who is suffering from Leukemia.
• Due to the F1 Rocks Singapore festival on September 26 in Singapore the whole show was changed. The main stage was different, songs were cut from the setlist, there was no B-Stage and for this time during "Diva", Knowles wore the dress she used to perform "Baby Boy".

Alterations

• During the tour’s premiere in Edmonton, Knowles performed "Sweet Dreams" as the opener while "Déjà Vu" was performed later in the show.
• The Meeting of the Minds video interlude was removed after the first show in Edmonton. Also "Satellites" was cut from the setlist.
• During her performances in Edmonton and Saskatoon, Knowles performed "Flaws and All" as the final number and then performed "Halo" before "If I Were A Boy".
• After the premiere performance in Edmonton, Knowles added a vest to her performance of "Ego".
• After the performance in Vancouver Knowles performs a different version of "Hello". The second chorus was cut from the song, after the second verse she begins directly with the bridge of the song.
• From the show in Vancouver the background during "Ego", were changed from black to one similar in the video.
• After the first leg of the tour "Sweet Dreams", "Flaws and All", "Dangerously in Love" and "Ring the Alarm" were cut from the setlist. "Scared of Lonely" is occasionally not performed. Also, Knowles performs parts of "Ave Maria" in Latin.
• From the European leg the background during "Single Ladies" were changed from black to white.
• From the show in Prague Knowles wears Fish-Net leggings during her performance of "Diva".
• From the show in Rotterdam background dancers and cop uniforms were added to the performance of "If I Were A Boy".
• From the second show in Rotterdam, Knowles performs a new version of "Get Me Bodied". Also, the background video during "Crazy in Love" was replaced with a different one after the shows in Rotterdam.
• From the show in Newcastle on May 22, before Knowles exits the stage, the band plays an excerpt from "Kitty Kat" after "Halo".
• From the show in Birmingham on May 23, Knowles cuts out a verse from "Ego". Also, when Knowles saying "I am... yours", the inscription "I Am... Yours" is seen in the background.
• From the United Kingdom shows when Knowles flies into the air she has a long gold foil skirt that matches outfit, drape down to the stage and with the music rips it off. Knowles also wears gold ballet heels that matches her dress, but when she arrives at the B-Stage, her two male dancers takes them off and put on her black heels.
• Solo parts are added to the performances of "Hello" and "Diva", from the show in The O₂ Arena.
• From the show in London on May 25, while performing "Halo", Knowles decides to walk through the middle of the audience to touch her fans.
• After the European leg of the tour, "Scared of Lonely" was cut from the setlist.
• From the show in Atlanta on 1 July, just before the end of the show Knowles performs an emotional rendition of her song "Halo" to Michael Jackson.

Tour dates

a This concert is a part of the Essence Music Festival.
b These set of concerts in Las Vegas, NV were part of the intimate I Am...Yours shows.
c This concert is a part of the Summer Sonic Festival.
d This concert took part in the opening event of the Donbass Arena.
e This concert is a part of the F1 Rocks Singapore festival.
f This concert is a part of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix festival.
g This concert is for the winner of a UK competition held by Cadbury's Trident, the UK tour sponsor. The competition consisted of buying special packs of chewing gum and entering a draw with 1,000 ticket winners been given away every week. A total of 13,000 tickets will be up for winners.

Cancelled dates:

• The July 22 show in Mansfield, Massachusetts was cancelled by the tour promoter. Live Nation cited the "production and logistical issues" of transporting the set and other equipment on a tight schedule for Knowles's "I Am ... " tour into the Comcast Center as the reason for the cancellation.

Due to unforeseen change in Knowles international schedule it has become necessary to make the following changes to the forthcoming I Am... Australian tour dates.

• The September 13 show in Brisbane was cancelled.
• The September 20 show in Sydney was cancelled.
• The September 12 show in Brisbane was rescheduled to September 20.

Critical response

The opening leg of Knowles' third tour received generally positive reviews from critics.

Mike Ross of the Edmonton Sun gave her performance at Rexall Place 4.5 out of 5 stars stating, "Beyonce can sing traditional R&B if she wants. She proved it late last night - wailing on the Etta James classic "At Last", which she performed for the inauguration of U.S president Barack Obama". Stephanie Classen of The Star Phoenix remarked, "Beyonce doesn't really need the bells and whistles of a big stadium show, but it sure makes for an unforgettable concert. And as she says in the song Ego, "I walk like this 'cuz I can back it up." Additional praise was received from Randall King of the Winnipeg Free Press. He gave a 4 out 5 to Knowles performance at the MTS Centre, saying, "In Sasha-mode for songs such as "Radio", "Sweet Dreams", and "Single Ladies" (the latter performed, alas, after press time), Knowles is raw energy convincingly expressing a live hard/work hard ethos with every shimmy and nimble vocal trill". Alice Jones of The Independent writes, "Watching Beyoncé sing and strut her stuff can feel at best overawing, at worst, alienating. She takes her role as entertainer so seriously she's almost too good." The New York Times writes, "there is a breathtaking elegance in her acute desire to entertain". Renee Michelle Harris of the South Florida Times writes, Knowles "owns the stage with her trademark swagger and intensity... showcasing her powerful vocals without missing a note, often while engaged in vigorous, perfectly executed dance moves...no one, not Britney, not Ciara and not Rihanna can offer what she does—a complete package of voice, moves and presence." This was echoed by Lorraine Schwartz of The Examiner, who wrote, "In less than a year, I've seen Madonna, Britney and Beyoncé... was by far the best of all three."

Francois Marchand of the Edmonton Journal was not impressed with the performance, stating, "If Beyonce's first outing on her I Am tour was no major disappointment, it was still a somewhat muddled affair, one that didn't clear up where the line between Beyonce and her "alter ego" Sasha Fierce is drawn."

Box office score data

Broadcasts and recordings

The special I Am... Yours show was filmed at Encore Theater in Las Vegas on August 2. It was announced by Knowles' tour manager via Twitter that there will be another DVD recorded of the standard I Am... Tour, this will be recorded in November at the London shows.

Parts of the show in Vancouver on March 31 were recorded and have been used for commercial use, as well as photos from the show used in the official tour book and other promotional items.

Two songs from the show in New Orleans:"If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies" were recorded and show on TV One as a part of the Essence Music Festival.

Five songs from the show in Donetsk, Ukraine: "Crazy In Love", "Freakum Dress", "Get Me Bodied", "Smash Into You" and "Broken-Hearted Girl" were recorded professionally and shown on TRK Ukraina as part of their footage of the Donbass Arena opening.

"Crazy In Love" was professionally recorded at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic for the Czech news-website tn.cz and is available for streaming.

"Crazy In Love" and "Single Ladies" was professionally recorded at the Summer Sonic Festival in Osaka, Japan and used to promote Knowles' Japanese tour.

"Crazy In Love" and "Naughty Girl" were professionally recorded at the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix F1 Rocks event in Singapore for Channel HD 5 Live coverage.

Personnel

References

1. Cohen, Jonathan (2008-10-03). "Beyonce Eyeing 2009 Tour". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
2. Willman, Chris (2008-10-15). "Split personality for new Beyoncé album". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
3. MacDONALD, Patrick (2009-04-05). "I Am coming to Adelaide". AdelaideNow. News Limited, Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
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5. http://www.pollstarpro.com/SpecialFeatures2009/2009Top25WordwideTours.pdf
6. Concert Charts: Fierce Showing By Beyonce On Top Tours List
7. Fans competition 'Concert of the Year'
8. http://www.billboard.com/#/features/beyonce-the-billboard-cover-story-1004017959.story
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11. ^ http://www.ents24.com/web/artist/66627/Beyonce.html
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14. ^ http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/mugler-for-beyonce-woman-meets-warrior-2082354
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17. ^ Classen (2009-03-28). "Beyonce no ordinary performer". The Star Phoenix. Canwest Publishing Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-31. {{cite web}}: Text "first-Stephanie" ignored (help)
18. "Linda Teodosiu: Im Vorprogramm von Beyoncé". TIK Online (in German). 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
19. "Ildi nyitja meg a sztár káprázatos show-ját". Ma.hu (in Hungarian). Deltha Rendszerház Kft. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
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21. "HUMPHREY en 1ère partie du concert de Beyonce à Paris Bercy". Official Music Blog of Humphrey (in French). Sony Music Entertainment France. 2009-04-20. {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2009-05-10" ignored (help)
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25. "Zarif to support Beyonce's UK tour". Zarif's Official Website. 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
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27. http://www.targetcenter.com/default.asp?targetcenter=87&objId=640
28. http://twitter.com/AudraSimmons/status/2197865851
29. "Flo Rida announced as support for Beyoncé Australian Tour!". Access All Areas. AAA Entertainment Pty Ltd. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
30. http://www.thehothits.com/news/16595/jessica-mauboy-to-support-beyonce-on-tour!
31. http://entertainment.stv.tv/tv/102548-alexandra-burke-to-join-beyonce-on-tour/
32. http://www.beyonceonline.com/us/news/beyoncé-lends-helping-hand
33. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT88ASSfemg
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35. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1fk8Hd8g2M&feature=channel
36. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C56nEhDWiIM
37. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMDyTg_HOP4
38. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDCZdf_M3Hw
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40. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVoZdeHB68
41. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fp86Ge0W4s
42. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKD4SVPXPXQ
43. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjNn5awkZQI&feature=related
44. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igMOvFoe1_Q
45. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxxzw-BTju0
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48. Thorogood, Tom (2008-12-12). "Beyonce Announces UK Tour". MTV News. United Kingdom: MTV Networks. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
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51. "Here's Beyone". The Toronto Star. Torstar Corporation. 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
52. "Beyonce:An Intimate Performance in the Encore Theater". Encore: Wynn Las Vegas. Wynn Resorts Holdings, LLC. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
53. "Line Up". Summer Sonic Festival 09. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
54. Ukraine show
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56. 3rd Sydney show
57. http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/International/Arch/SR/Beyonce/m_info.html
58. "English - Creativeman Productions".
59. Beyonce's Nagoya show
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61. Singapore show
62. Singapore show
63. http://www.beyonceonline.com/us/events
64. http://www.piao.com.cn/ticket_12544.html
65. Malaysia show
66. 1st Seoul Show
67. 2nd Seoul Show
68. Abu Dhabi Show
69. ^ Russian date
70. Egypt Show
71. Greece show - official
72. http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/180042C28ED53EB5?artistid=945147&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=202%7Ctitle=Beyoncé, The O2, Dublin, Sun 22 Nov 2009, 20:00}}
73. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/news/beyonce-plans-belfast-return-14323114.html
74. London show Nov 14
75. "09 Artists//Schedule-Main Stage". The Essence Music Festival 2009. Essence Communications Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-31. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
76. "Live Nation official site". www.livenation.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
77. "Beyoncé concert at Comcast officially canceled". Retrieved 2009-06-02.
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79. King, Randall (2009-03-29). "Part vamp, part demure -- all Beyoncé". Winnipeg Free Press. FP Canadian Newspapers. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
80. Jones, Alice (Wednesday, 27 May 2009). "Beyoncé, 02 Arena, London:Diva who answers the call of booty". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-05-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
81. Ratliff, Ben (June 22, 2009). "Flash, Concepts and, Yes, Songs". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
82. Harris, Renee Michelle (July 03, 2009). "Beyonce Wows Crowd at BankAtlantic Center". South Florida Times. Retrieved 2009-07-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
83. Schwartz, Lorraine (July 03, 2009). "Concert Report: Beyoncé at Madison Square Garden". The Examiner. Retrieved 2009-07-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
84. Marchand, Francois (2009-03-27). "Beyonce and Sasha Fierce blow off Rexall doors". Edmonton Journal. Canwest Publishing Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
85. http://www.singersroom.com/news/3780/I-AM-Yours-Beyonce-Gone-Intimate-with-Las-Vegas-Run
86. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PcYFG62d54
87. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5DZbhUkniU
88. http://www.beyoncefan.com/2009/09/28/i-am-world-tour-f1-rocks-crazy-in-love-hd-video/

External links

• Official website

• 2009 concert tours
• Beyoncé Knowles concert tours