Beyoncé Pit Drama, the TikTok Trend Replacing Vlogs, the "Male Charli XCX" About to Break Big
Bringing back the three trends in one report for this week! Let me know which one you prefer ❤️
In today’s FTR (the Friday Trend Report), I will be discussing:
The “Cowboy Carter” tour controversy upsetting Beyoncés biggest fans
No More Voiceovers: The new trend replacing TikTok vlogs
The underground artist being dubbed “the male Charli XCX”
Why these topics matter:
Beyoncé Fans Upset: Beyoncé is arguably the artist that sets the gold standard in the music industry for performance and live-experience expectations. If her biggest fans are disappointed, what does that mean for where we stand with our relationship to performers and expectations from venues and event promoters?
No More Voiceovers: There is a shift happening in the way audiences consume vlogs and daily life content. If you are a lifestyle creator, or you strive to be one, you may have to make this adjustment to compete on an oversaturated FYP.
The “male Charli XCX”: The new generation of American female pop stars have been bringing their A-game. But it’s been a while since we have had a true, male pop star in the West (not counting K-Pop stars). However, one artist seems to be making waves. Is he the future?
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Tour Trouble? Why Some Beyoncé Fans Are Upset After the “Cowboy Carter” Debut
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour opened on April 28, 2025, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The nearly three-hour show featured a 45-song setlist that combined tracks from her Cowboy Carter album with music from earlier projects. The performance focused on themes like Black American history, personal growth, and genre evolution, using visuals and interludes to create a strong narrative throughout the show.
I personally attended the show and had the time of my life. I bought a floor ticket for $408 the week before. I showed up by myself: nervous but determined to be present for Beyoncé’s opening night of a tour after she won her first Album of the Year at the Grammy’s.
While settling down, security informed me that they would be changing my seat to something better. They directed me to a guest services booth who then directed me to another guest services booth. There, I was handed a physical ticket and told to have a staff member direct me to my new seat.
Two people being escorted to their seats at the same time as me was Serena and Kordell from Love Island USA. I was so excited and got a picture with them. I knew in that moment it was going to be a good night. I could die happy before the concert even started.
But unbeknownst to me, Beyoncé’s most loyal fans — the ones who paid upwards of $1,000+ to be there during the pre-sale were distraught and upset before the show even began.
The reason for the upset? The Sofi Stadium, where the first night of the Cowboy Carter tour took place, had two VIP tiers for her biggest fans:
Club Ho-Down: The smaller circles in the middle
Bunkin Honey Pit: The bigger circles on the outside of the runway
The two VIP pits were supposed to be comparable to one another. While Club Ho-Down seemed to have no complaints, the Bunkin Honey Pit began to go viral on TikTok with fans feeling frustrated with their experience. From this video, posted by concertin4k on TikTok, they show the distance from one of the Bunkin Honey Pit’s to where Beyoncé performed the majority of her set on the runway (which was coincidentally right in front of my upgraded seat in section B3).
One creator, with the username beysus.christ on TikTok, posted a 9 minute and 52 second video about her disappointing experience in the Bunkin Honey Pit night one of the Cowboy Carter tour. Going off her username alone, one would assume she is a huge fan of Beyoncé. For her to break from the beehive ranks and speak out about how bad her experience was at this concert, it must have been really bad. You can watch her TikTok here:
She explains that she arrived early to get a good spot at the barricade. However, security initially directed her group to the wrong pit. Instead of guiding them in an organized way to the correct section—so people kept their original place in line—security allowed those who had just arrived to move ahead. As a result, the people who waited the longest ended up at the back of the entrance.
Some of the comments on her video, which now has over 900k views and counting, are:
I, myself, almost feel a sense of guilt because I only paid $408 for my ticket and had a better view of Beyoncé for the majority of the night since I was right where she stopped on the runway to perform the majority of the concert.
This was my view of Beyoncé (without zoom to give you the best perspective of how close I was):
Plus, my section had assigned seats. The people who paid for VIP pit tickets had to stand and hold their spots for hours. If they moved, they risked losing their spot. Whereas mine was an assigned seat that no one could take from me.
Now, tickets in the Club Ho-Down are going for $10,000+ and tickets for Bunkin Honey Pit have dropped to as low as $705 (that is less than half of what some people spent on pre-sale at $1,800).
One ticket in the section I was upgraded to is now going for $5,000+. I believe this is because people realized that the B-section on the floor is next to where Beyoncé performs when she is on the runway. I paid 1/12 the going price for a ticket that is only 4 rows up from where I sat opening night.
Despite Club Ho-Down being the “better” pit, it still seems there was dissatisfaction from that pit, as well. Alfredo Lewis posted a very honest and optimistic review from his night one at the concert in the pit but even then, you can hear his disappointment). You can watch his video here:
What does this mean for the future of concerts, if even Beyoncé fans are left disappointed?
This incident is part of a larger pattern of fan frustration with dynamic pricing models employed by ticketing giants like Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Dynamic pricing adjusts ticket costs based on demand, often resulting in inflated prices for popular events. The practice has faced criticism for creating barriers to access and diminishing the concert-going experience. Notably, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Live Nation for potential antitrust violations, examining whether its dominance in ticketing and live events stifles competition and harms consumers (Source: Financial Times)
In response to these challenges, fans may increasingly seek alternative live music experiences. Music festivals, for instance, offer access to multiple artists at a single event, often at a comparatively lower cost per performance. However, festivals are not without their issues, such as weather-related disruptions and logistical complexities. Nonetheless, the collective dissatisfaction with current ticketing practices could drive demand for more transparent and equitable models, potentially reshaping the landscape of live music events.
I personally think there are only few artists in the world who could actually move the needle in tackling the monopoly that is live music and dynamic pricing: Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
But why don’t they put their foot down for the fans? Do they get a cut of the inflated prices? That I don’t know but I would be curious to find out. Let me know your thoughts on why they don’t demand a better system for fans in the comments:
By the time this article goes out Friday morning, Beyoncé will have performed her second night at Sofi Stadium I will be eagerly waiting by my phone to see if she moves the Buckin Honey Pits to closer to the stage as to appease her most loyal fans who spent thousands for the best seat in the house.
You’re just getting to the good part. Become a paying member for $9-a-month to unlock the rest of this article—and get full access to the last two Friday Trend Reports:
The TikTok trend replacing vlogs
The next pop boy being dubbed as “the male Charli XCX”