Lost Footage of Beyoncé’s Early Career Has Just Surfaced, and It’s Up for Auction
We may neverget to see the inside of Beyoncé‘s self-proclaimed “crazy archive” — the one she revealed to GQ in her 2013 cover story that contains every trace of her career, from photos and videos to interviews and diary entries — but now someone out there can get there hands on a piece of Beyoncé’s archives that not even Beyoncé has. Specifically, the 19 videotapes that just hit the London auction house, Ted Owen & Co, which capture the earliest days of Beyoncé’s career.
The clips, which amount to over two and a half hours, capture the iconic singer’s rise as a 10-year-old in 1992 when she was just starting out with Girls Tyme. “Ready? Play the music!,” she confidently says in one of the clips, “We need to do the second one one time then we go to that one.”
“Can we get some longer takes?,” a man from behind the camera asks.
“No, we don’t have the rest recorded,” she tells him. “That’s all we have.”
Even at 10, Beyoncé was fully in control of her own art and image, as the trailer for the unearthed footage shows. Outside of a young Bey taking directorial matters into her own hands, the videos — which were socked away in storage for two decades — also include “rehearsals, performances and outtakes,” the singer’s covers of “Talkin’ Bout My Baby”, “Sunshine”, “Say It Ain’t So” and “Sweet Young Tender,” and footage of Beyonce and later ousted Destiny’s Child member LaTavia Roberson hanging out in a mall, The FADER notes. Additionally, the footage up for auction on March 13 at 7 p.m. GMT also contains “the edited master tapes and work in progress tapes from Beyoncé’s first two music video productions.”
As for who will end up with it, Beyoncé — and her husband Jay Z, who casually dropped over $100,000 on a night out with friends over the weekend — clearly has the capital to outbid most interested parties. But, she might already has the footage, considering how deep her own archive is. As writer Amy Wallace wrote in her GQ profile, the “temperature-controlled digital-storage facility” has “virtually every existing photograph of her, starting with the very first frames taken of Destiny’s Child, the ’90s girl group she once fronted; every interview she’s ever done; every video of every show she’s ever performed; every diary entry she’s ever recorded while looking into the unblinking eye of her laptop.” Still, it wouldn’t be surprising if Beyoncé bought the footage simply to own it and let it collect dust in her vault. After all, there are few people out there who are as in control of their own life as her. See: Lemonade.
Related: Jay-Z Says He and Beyoncé Worked Through Their Marital Strife Because, “That’s My Soulmate”
Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kendall Jenner and More Celebrities Wearing High Heels at Basketball Games
Beyonce wore Gianvito Rossi boots with a Jacquemus skirt while attending The 67th NBA All-Star Game: Team LeBron Vs. Team Stephen at Staples Center on February 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California with her daughter Blue Ivy and mother Tina Knowles.
Victoria Beckham’s nickname is Posh for a reason. While attending a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks with her husband David Beckham, and their children, Cruz and Romeo, the singer-turned-fashion designer put her platform heels on display.
Wearing a simple tee and jeans, Beyonce looked surprisingly understated while attending a New Jersey Nets v New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden with Jay Z… until you look at her feet. Those, ladies and gentleman, are Christian Louboutins. And they are anything but casual footwear.
Kate Upton’s bright pink pumps stood out at a New Jersey Nets vs the New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. Fortunately, her seatmate also got the memo about fancy footwear.
Alicia Keys proved that her heels were made for walking, while attending the Miami Heat vs New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden with Swizz Beatz.
At a game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden, singer Taylor Swift looked sleek in an all-black ensemble, paired with Christian Louboutin booties.
While Kanye West looked casual in a white button-down, jeans, and boots, Kim Kardashian was all glammed up in strappy sandals and a little black dress to watch the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets in Game Seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
While they’re wearing very different looks–Kendall Jenner went full Yeezy monochromatic, while Cara Delevingne channeled a British guard–both supermodels got the memo about heels: when you’re courtside, they’re a must.
Kendall Jenner wore a somewhat more understated ensemble, with entirely more outrageous shoes, while attending a basketball game between the Houston Rockets and The Los Angeles Clippers with her sister Khloe Kardashian.
Back at it, Jenner wore a pair of nude booties to a game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Her companion, Bella Hadid, chose a pair of black Christian Louboutin pumps.
In a “Dior Addict” graphic tee paired with vintage Levi’s jeans — both from What Goes Around Comes Around — and Yeezy-inspired clear boots, Kendall Jenner channeled Rihanna a basketball game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers.
While Jay Z and Blue Ivy wore coordinating sneakers, Beyoncé Knowles stood out wearing a pair of strappy sandals and some sort of unexplainable poncho at the 66th NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Rihanna, eternal queen of courtside style, looked displeased but chic at Game 1 of the 2017 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
