Beyoncé Knowles's is a woman en route to becoming the biggest pop star in the world. Fact.
The show-stopping performance shown here was nothing short of spectacular and will firmly aid her flight. The Texan-born 'diva' managed to transform the M.E.N arena into a 15,000-strong backing group with each and every song she sang.
With up to nine dancers and a 13-piece, all-female band, surrounding her, at times the extravagance became as mesmerising as Beyonce's curves. She repeatedly bowed her head and threw back her hair to dance, shake and shimmy across the stage in perfectly, choreographed sync.
For the legions of Beyonce's fashion fans reading this, the on-stage outfits were enough to see any catwalk impressario through alone. From her wedding dress for "Ave Maria" to the biker-girl outfit for "Diva" each were polished off perfectly by singer. A sense of feminity and daring in each and every one.
Dividing the venue into cheering sections of left, right and centre, the responses from all, even those right at the back, was a sound that you would not get from any other concert hall but the M.E.N. The noise was obviously well received by Beyonce herself as she kept the crowd going.
By the time she had lifted off from a 40ft gold lamé dress and flown across the room to an island mini-stage, the super-talented 27-year-old had emphatically raised the bar for what can be done in an arena show. It only remained for the moment that 15,000 had been waiting for: Single Ladies – the song, the dance, the video that has swept around the world and become the anthem of the year so far. "All the single ladies! Put your hands up!" I have to confess that mine were up as high as anyone's!!
A dazzling succession of stage costumes, killer dance moves, an explosive live band - and of course a clutch of some of the best funk-pop smash hits you're ever likely to hear in one night.
"Manchester," she drawls in that sultry Texan way, "Thank you so much for being here. We're all very happy to be here," she says.
One after the other hit is belted out by Beyonce, who grooves, gyrates and jumps across the stage without, incredibly, ever losing breath.
You might say she's the world's ultimate diva, although even that word doesn't quite sum up this beautiful, powerhouse of a performer.