Imagine If Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour Setlist Looked Like This

Whether you’ve already cuffed tickets to Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour or are planning how to wiggle your way in last-minute, there’s one major thing left to figure out: Beyoncé’s setlist. The Renaissance World Tour will be Beyoncé’s first time performing anything from her Grammy-winning seventh studio album. The stadium outing also marks her first tour in five years and first solo trek in seven years. And given how she’s released projects like The Lion King: The Gift and its accompanying 2020 film Black Is King during the gap, assembling the setlist will be a doozy. Luckily for Bey, we’ve completed a dream setlist for her to draw inspiration from.

Renaissance was created as a continuous mix when played front-to-back, with jaw-droppingly smooth transitions from songs like “Cuff It” to “Energy” and “Plastic Off the Sofa” to “Virgo’s Groove” becoming album highlights. To align with the megamix spirit and keep those moments in tact, this dream setlist keeps the Renaissance tracklist in order as much as possible. But of course, Beyoncé can’t tour without performing some older hits and fan favorites, meaning some exceptions were made to best incorporate those past songs.

There’s also a section dedicated to The Gift, songs from which Bey performed at her Dubai private concert on Jan. 21, since she reportedly had to cancel a planned 2020 tour in support of Black Is King. Altogether, there are 32 songs on this setlist, which seems like a lot until you remember that Beyoncé regularly performed the same amount on the Formation Tour in 2016 (some songs were shortened, which will likely be the case here as well).

Here’s what the Renaissance World Tour setlist should look like.

1. “I’m That Girl”

Is there any other possible way for the Renaissance World Tour to start other than hearing “These motherf*ckers ain’t stopping me” blaring out of the stadium speakers as Beyoncé makes her grand entrance? The answer is no.

2. “Cozy”

Once she’s established her presence onstage, it’s only natural for Beyoncé to make the crowd feel cozy enough to dance by performing, well, “Cozy.”

3. “Alien Superstar”

During this fan-favorite track, it’s a requirement for Beyoncé to march down the catwalk into the Club Renaissance section and start dancing on the bar, bringing the lyric “stilettos kicking vintage crystal off the bar” to life. Yes, there’s an actual bar in Club Renaissance, according to the seating chart.

4. “***Flawless”

Barbara Ann Teer’s speech heard at the end of “Alien Superstar” would make for an easy transition into the empowering mantras of Beyoncé’s 2013 hit, reminding the audience of how good they look before dancing the night away.

5. “Formation”

Do I even need to explain this choice?

6. “Cuff It”

After a costume change, Beyoncé should bring back the roller-skating disco from her 2013 “Blow” video for the TikTok-viral Renaissance hit that lends itself perfectly to a ’70s throwback.

7. “Energy”

The seamless, almost unnoticeable transition from “Cuff It” to “Energy” needs to be kept in the show at all costs. But imagine how well the end of “Energy” would sound going into “Crazy In Love.”

8. “Crazy In Love”

Beyoncé is never going to not perform her 2003 debut solo single on tour, and rightfully so.

9. “Get Me Bodied”

Renaissance is all about getting listeners to dance, but back in 2006, nothing got the Beyhive on their feet quite like this infectious B’Day single. It’s time for a “Get Me Bodied” renaissance.

10. “Baby Boy”

Beyoncé’s 1-2-3 punch of “Get Me Bodied,” “Baby Boy,” and “Diva,” complete with remix infusions and expert transitions, has been done on prior tours and should be repeated here. But instead of “Baby Boy” frantically building up to “Diva,” it should lead into “Heated.”

11. “Heated”

More specifically, “Baby Boy” should lead into the rap from “Heated,” as the crowd screams it word for word.

12. “Move”

“Move” and “Heated” go hand-in-hand on Renaissance. It’d be a sin to keep these Afrobeats jams apart.

13. “Run the World (Girls)”

“Run the World” was Bey’s first Afrobeats-inspired single, and it’s been a tour staple since its 2011 release.

14. “Naughty Girl”

Beyoncé hasn’t left “Naughty Girl” off her tour setlist... ever. Given how the 2003 hit samples Donna Summer, a huge inspiration on Renaissance, don’t expect her to leave it out now.

15. “Plastic Off the Sofa”

The “Love to Love You Baby” sample in “Naughty Girl” would lend nicely to this Grammy-winning cut from Renaissance.

16. “Virgo’s Groove”

The transition between “Plastic” and “Virgo’s Groove” is the reason why music exists. And while many songs on the setlist are bound to be shortened, every second of this six-minute disco odyssey is required on stage.

17. “Blow”

Beyoncé previously flirted with disco sounds on this 2013 self-titled deep cut, and there’s no better place to bring it back than right after “Virgo’s Groove,” her disco masterpiece.

18. “Otherside”

Kicking off the segment inspired by Black Is King, Beyoncé should begin the show’s most downtempo segment with the most reflective song on the album, hopefully accompanied by strings, harps, and pianos like she was in Dubai.

19. “Bigger”

Just like in Dubai, the stunning Kiswahili outro from “Otherside” should transition into “Bigger,” her impassioned ballad about dreaming bigger.

20. “Spirit”

Ending the show’s run of ballads with her Lion King soundtrack cut, “Spirit,” should make the Oscars regret not nominating it in 2020. We don’t need a performance of the song that actually got her nominated two years later.

21. “Freedom”

As proven in Dubai, the climax of “Spirit” perfectly blends into Bey’s motivating 2016 anthem from Lemonade. Bonus points if Kendrick Lamar comes out for his verse.

22. “Brown Skin Girl”

If Blue Ivy Carter doesn’t make a guest appearance for the song that made her the youngest Grammy winner in history, like she did at her mother’s Dubai concert, then what’s the point?

23. “Thique”

Going back into Renaissance mode, “Thique” should open the true club segment of the show, with dancers of all shapes and sizes doing their thing.

24. “All Up In Your Mind”

The transition between “Thique” and “All Up In Your Mind” is art, so it must stay intact. Ideally, the dancers would clear the stage, leaving Bey to belt this out solo surrounded by lasers or something even more futuristic.

25. “Sweet Dreams”

Beyoncé performed this electro-pop cut from I Am... Sasha Fierce a grand total of one time on the Formation Tour before removing it from the setlist.

26. “America Has A Problem”

The only problem America will have when Beyoncé performs this track live is the severe amount of dancing and booty-popping that will occur in the stadium.

27. “Pure/Honey”

Bring out all the drag stars, ballroom queens, and voguing experts for this number, and extend both “Pure” and “Honey” until the entire performance is 10 minutes long.

28. “Summer Renaissance”

The pre-encore number (yes, there’s a four-song encore) should obviously be the last song from Renaissance, as Beyoncé serves her best Donna Summer tribute before ascending atop a huge disco ball and blasting off into space (the top of the stage) during the galactic outro.

29. “Church Girl”

The encore is gospel-inspired, ending the Renaissance Tour on a comforting yet motivational note, and you can’t do that without performing “Church Girl,” backed by a full-blown choir.

30. “Drunk In Love”

Inspired by her now-infamous vocal run while performing “Drunk In Love” in Dubai, Bey should embrace the meme and gospel-fy the track with the choir, ending with those heavenly belts to lead straight into her signature ballad.

31. “Halo”

What’s a gospel segment without “Halo”?

32. “Break My Soul”

Beyoncé should end the Renaissance Tour by reminding the Beyhive to quit the jobs that let them afford tickets to the show. But aside from that message, just imagine Bey, her choir, and the crowd all belting out “You won’t break my soul” in unison, sending us to church before sending us home in better spirits than we left it. There would be no better finale.