Celebrity
Twitter Is Gagged Over Beyoncé Sampling Britney Spears' “Toxic” At Her Tour
The surprise moment comes after Bey reportedly wanted Spears to appear in a music video.
There’s room for more than one Queen B in the music industry. Beyoncé kicked off her Renaissance World Tour in Sweden on May 10 with an almost 3-hour long, 35-song show — but one small viral moment is making Twitter particularly emotional. The 32-time Grammy winner samples Britney Spears in a performance, marking a subtle show of support for her longtime peer.
During the breakdown of her Renaissance track “THIQUE,” before launching into the last chorus, the famous cinematic strings from Spears’ Grammy-winning hit “Toxic” can be heard in the background, making concert attendees who recognized the sample scream. Spears’ 2004 single actually samples the 1981 Bollywood track “Tere Mere Beech Mein” by Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, which is where the strings come from. But given their history and a more recent report, it’s likely that Bey’s nod to Brit Brit was totally intentional.
Despite being pit against each other throughout their careers, Beyoncé and Spears have always been publicly supportive of one another. In 2003, they co-starred in the iconic Gladiator-themed Pepsi commercial alongside Pink. Over the years, the singers have been spotted at each other’s shows, and Spears even used part of her Video Vanguard Award speech at the 2011 MTV VMAs to lavish praise on Bey and introduce her “Love On Top” performance, where Bey revealed her first pregnancy. Naturally, Yoncé’s latest public nod is making Twitter a bit nostalgic.
There were also many memes, because Twitter is gonna Twitter.
Some fans also connected the dots to a Page Six report from January 2023 which claimed that Beyoncé wanted Spears to star in a new music video. The appearance reportedly didn’t work out for unknown reasons, but the sample being used in “THIQUE” has some wondering if Bey wanted her to make a cameo in that song’s music video.
Beyoncé has yet to release any visuals for her Renaissance album, meaning it’s not too late for this rumored collaboration to become a reality.
