Beyonce and Nicki Minaj light up Tidal stage in New York City
Beyonce and Nicki Minaj stole the show at the Tidal concert on Tuesday (20Oct15) by performing their Feeling Myself hit live for the first time.
The ladies were among the long list of artists on the bill for the Tidal X: 1020 charity gig in Brooklyn, New York, which was put together to celebrate the online streaming service surpassing the one million subscriber mark.
They served as headliners for the night and delighted fans by
teaming up onstage at the Barclays Center for a rendition of
Feeling Myself, complete with a dance off with Beyonce and Nicki
each leading their crews. The set also featured Nicki rapping her
verse from their other duet, Flawless.
The Tidal show was all about star collaborations - Beyonce later
joined rapper Jay Z to sing Holy Grail, which she dubbed her
"favorite" track to perform with her husband, while he teamed up
with Rick Ross for F**kWithMeYouKnowIGotIt, and introduced Lil
Wayne to the stage for their 2007 song Hello Brooklyn 2.0.
Rick also made an appearance earlier on in the night to join Meek
Mill during his set, which featured French Montana and DJ Khaled,
too.
Other highlights included Usher's live debut of his moving new
single Chains, with Nas and Bibi Bourelly, and pop star Nick Jonas,
who played his latest release, Levels.
Earlier reports suggesting Prince, who had been one of the first
musicians announced for the concert, had pulled out of the gig
proved to be correct, while rappers Pusha T and Travi$ Scott were
also no-shows. No reason had been given for their scrapped sets as
WENN went to press.
During the Tidal X: 1020 event, dancehall star Damian Marley was
unveiled as the latest artist to invest in Tidal, while company
co-owner Jay Z announced plans to turn the celebration into an
annual bash to benefit the community charity New World
Foundation.
The rap mogul launched the streaming service in March (15) with
fellow investors including Beyonce, Usher, Nicki, Rihanna, Madonna,
Kanye West and Daft Punk. However, the stars faced a backlash from
critics over the company's subscription fees, amid concerns the
lack of a free service, which is provided by rivals like Spotify,
could drive music-lovers back to illegal downloads.