“Look around everybody on mute.”
These are more than the lyrics to Beyoncé’s song “Energy” on her transformative album “Rennaisance.” Since Queen Bey kicked off her Renaissance World Tour, these words have become a competition among concert-goers worldwide.
When Beyoncé sings the line, the screaming crowds in packed stadiums go silent. Viral videos shared online of the silent moment created rivalry among cities – arguably more significant than sports – of who is the quietest. This iconic moment during Beyonce’s concert has been nicknamed “The Mute Challenge.”
The tour wrapped up on October 1, so the big question is, which city won the competitive challenge? Here’s Travel Noire’s ranking of the Top 10 Mute Challenge cities.
1. New Orleans, Louisiana
Beyoncé told us in “Formation,””My daddy Alabama, momma Louisana,” so all eyes were on New Orleans on September 27.
Beyoncé is proud of her Creole roots, and the fans in a place she reps so hard did not disappoint. Unlike Houston, New Orleans didn’t need a redo. Fans inside Caesar’s Superdome went quiet all the way into the nosebleeds.
Even Beyoncé was surprised by their silence.
2. Houston, Texas (Night 2) Second Mute Challenge
This sounds confusing, but during the hometown show on September 24 (night 2), Beyoncé, dressed in Black, had a surprise mute challenge for the crowd. She was singing acapella when suddenly, she broke out into, “Look around everybody on mute.”
The entire crowd went silent. It shook the superstar to her core. But let’s be clear. Houston had two challenges in one night and also won the first.
It was quite the makeup test for Beyoncé’s hometown because they almost didn’t make the list. The crowd failed miserably on the first night of the concert held on September 23.
3. Atlanta, Georgia (Night 1)
The momentum of the challenge picked up during the North American leg of the tour, and by the time September and October rolled around, fans had a rubric for the mute test. Atlanta deserves their flowers for being good early on.
Beyoncé performed three nights in Atlanta: August 11, 12, and 14. The crowd killed the challenge on the first night for the full five seconds. Atlanta held the top spot until the later shows rolled around.
4. Kansas City, Missouri
The tour ended in Kansas City on October 1, so some people may argue concert-goers had an unfair advantage because they had a lot of time to prepare.
What no one expected at the concert, however, is Beyoncé would make Kansas City stay quiet for more than 20 seconds! Most cities only had to keep quiet for five seconds. The middle of the country showed out and nailed it before Beyoncé picked back up from where she started.
5. Tampa, Florida
Beyoncé seemed to be in on the challenge’s fun and competitiveness because she would randomly surprise the crowds with the lyrics.
During the Tampa, Florida show on August 16, as Beyoncé transitioned from “Before I Let Go,” she asked everyone to say “Hey Mrs. Carter” before asking them to scream. It seems she was testing them because the following lines out of her mouth, of course, were, “Look around everybody on mute.”
Tampa was thrown off but prevailed. Queen Bey was proud and thanked Tampa with a laugh and smile.
6. Dallas, Texas
Texas made Beyoncé proud. The Dallas show on September 21, just days before the hometown concert, gave Houston a run for its money.
“Y’all did that, Dallas,” Beyonce told Dallas after successfully completing the challenge at AT&T Stadium.
7. Los Angeles, California (The Birthday Show)
Los Angeles gave Beyonce one heck of a birthday gift on September 4, 2023. It was the last day of the three-day tour in Southern California.
Beyonce did the Mute Challenge twice during her birthday show. She told everyone, “Y’all are pretty good,” after successfully pulling off the silence at SoFi Stadium.
Southern Cali should be proud because Beyoncé was proud of their efforts across the three days. During another challenge in LA, she told the crowd, “Y’all killed that challenge,” after shaking her head in agreement.
8. Washington, D.C. (Night 2)
Social media says the nation’s capital is why everyone started taking the challenge more seriously. There were two concerts in early August at FedEx Field.
August 6, Night 2 of the DMV shows, was better than the first. It was here that the standard of what was expected during the Mute Challenge was created.
9. Las Vegas, Nevada (Night 2)
Beyoncé held two shows in Las Vegas. The first night was good, but there was one girl who screamed, and it threw the challenge off. Night 2 on August 27, made sure to get it right at Allegiant Stadium.
The crowd got silent before receiving their flowers from Beyoncé. “Y’all did that,” Queen Bey told Vegas.
10. Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte wasn’t perfect, but was pretty close to making the top five on the list. Fans gave Beyoncé about 3 seconds of pure silence of roughly five on August 9.
When you compare Charlotte to other cities, Queen City came prepared and pretty close to clearing out some of the top cities on the list.