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Beyoncé‘s second show in L.A. wasn’t able to escape criticism from some fans who recently saw Taylor Swift at the same venue … and who noticed a big difference in visibility. 👀
Here’s the deal … Bey has been performing at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood these past couple nights — which is a go-to stop for big touring artists these days … and one that TayTay also performed at just a few weeks ago to cap off her U.S. leg of the Eras Tour.
Folks who went to both SoFi concerts (Bey’s and Taylor’s, that is) are walking away with an interesting comparison … namely, the monitor system. Based on some of these posts, it appears some felt Bey might’ve cut a few corners in the display … whereas Taylor didn’t.
What they’re referring to is SoFi’s 360-degree, circular videoboard — which hangs suspended in the middle of the facility and which has massive LED screens all around it (inside and out) … so that people in the nosebleeds can watch whatever action is going on down below.
Take a look at these videos people are posting juxtaposing the performances … they’re pointing out Taylor had that circular videoboard on the entire time, and that each screen was turned on as well. In Beyonce’s case, it appears only one monitor on the videoboard was on … and the rest of them were turned off. In other words, ticket buyers who were further out had to rely on just a couple of giant monitors on Beyonce’s main stage.
Some of these Beyonce clips are a little cringeworthy … ’cause people from certain angles legitimately couldn’t witness much at all — other than tiny specks down on the ground.
And yet, for the Taylor Swift crowd … even the people who were furthest away seemed to have had a great view of the performance, all because that circular videoboard was turned on.
Now, there’s been some speculation as to why this was the case for one and not the other … and it all has to do with what some claim is SoFi actually charging artists/their touring companies to run and operate those monitors — and, presumably, it isn’t all that cheap.
We haven’t been able to find any definitive evidence that SoFi even charges for this feature, or that the alleged cost is passed on to the artist — but if that is the case, it’s interesting.
The bigger picture here is that Swifties and Beyhivers continue to be at odds over which star is doing the touring thing better right now, but we won’t weigh into all that. No thanks!
One last thing … Chart Data claimed this past week that Beyonce’s Renaissance tour had broken a record by becoming the highest-grossing tour by a solo female artist since Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour, raking in $461 million so far. What that report fails to acknowledge, strangely, is that Taylor’s Eras Tour has been projected to be in the billions.
If true, it’s unclear how Bey can hold that title … especially since they’re both still going.