Talent show star will 'win' a slot on the tour
Michael Baggs

11:14 14th December 2013

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The winner of this year's X Factor will support Beyonce on her 2014 UK tour dates, it has been revealed.

The X Factor final takes place this weekend (14 and 15 December, 2013), with Sam Bailey, Nicholas McDonald and Luke Friend competing to take the talent show crown. Now it has been revealed that the winner will join Beyonce on the UK leg of her 2014 tour.

The announcement was made by X Factor's executive producer Mark Sidaway, who wrote on Twitter: "We just supersized our prize. Winner also gets to join Beyoncé in the UK leg of her world tour."

Beyonce hits the UK in February and March 2014, with a string of huge arena shows. Dates are below:

February 20 - SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow
February 23 - LG Arena, Birmingham
February 25 - Manchester Arena, Manchester
February 28 - The O2, London
March 1 - The O2, London
March 2 - The O2, London
March 4 - The O2, London
March 8 - The O2, Dublin
March 9 - The O2, Dublin
March 11 - The O2, Dublin

Beyonce made a surprise return to music this week, dropping her long awaited new, self-titled alb on iTunes without announcement or fanfare. It has been widely praised by critics and fans alike.

Tickets for Beyonce's 2014 tour go on sale on Monday, 16 December at 10am. For more information visit Gigwise Gig Tickets.

Below: the best bits from all 17 of Beyonce's new videos

  • 'Pretty Hurts': The album's opener is a powerful track, touching on the pressure women are under to meet society's demands. Bey is playing an insecure, pilled up beauty queen, and shows off her mad acting skillz in this clip. The best part is where she waxes her 'tache. See, even Bey has to reach for the Nair strips every now and then, ladies. Except she probably doesn't.

  • 'Ghost': Holy shit, this video is really cool. It's directed by super cool photographer Pierre Debusschere, whose work reminds us of modern, spaced out collages, and Ghost totally echoes his ethos. Best part? DOUBLE BEYONCE. Jay Z's dream.

  • 'Haunted': OK, this is directed by Jonas Akerlund, the dude responsible for Gaga's craziest videos, so you know it's going to be a bit 'zany'. And it definitely is - a high fashion version of The Shining, with Bey roaming round an opulent mansion, each room containing a surreal character (there's even a reimagining of the famous Shining twins). It's hard to choose a highlight, but it's possibly Beyonce looking like a sexy, evil queen.

  • 'Drunk In Love': This is The One With Jay Z in so it's probably going to be all moony and romantic, right? WRONG! (Thank God). Mr and Mrs Carter are just hanging out on the beach, yacht just out of shot, drinking a thousand year old whiskey or whatever from those special glasses supremely rich people sup aged spirits from. PLEASE ADOPT US.

  • 'Blow': This funky, Pharrell-produced track is already a highlight of the album for us, and the rollerdisco themed accompanying visuals are a perfect match. Solange! So many colours! Neon! 80s sportswear! It's all glorious, but look at Solange and Bey on their bikes. Pretty cool.

  • 'No Angel': There are lots of scary gangsters on motorbikes in this one showing off their gold teeth and being all macho. We're assuming it's an ode to the 'real' people of B's hometown, Houston. It's all a bit weird, but kind of cool. We like this man riding a horse down the pavement.

  • 'Yonce': Well. This video is very...ahem. Yes. Watch it for yourself. *Fans face*.

  • 'Partition': This is another 'fruity' one. If you've ever wondered what a Beyonce/Jay Z sex tape would look like, this is it. Not really, but it did make us feel a bit uncomfortable TBH. To pick a highlight would just be creepy.

  • 'Jealous': This video seems to be a continuation of 'Partition', except it's all gone a bit tits up for the happy couple - Beyonce seems to be mad as hell about something (maybe Jay ashed his cigar on the carpet). The best bit is when she shoulders some guy whilst she's walking down the street and he turns around all "Hey, watch yourself du-oh. Beyonce. I'm so sorry. I'M SO SORRY."

  • 'Rocket': Blimey, now we've watched these videos we can honestly say we have seen Beyonce 80% naked. The video for 'Rocket' is incredibly beautiful, even if we are feeling a bit fatigued by all the sex and stuff by now. The above image sums up the video, basically.

  • 'Mine' featuring Drake: We really like this song. IS DRAKE IN THE VIDEO, is the question. Answer? Yes he is. This video is really cool though - it starts off like a serene, calm 18th century painting then turns into a flashy, dramatic number with plenty of powerful imagery and aggressive choreography. Beyonce and Drake merge into a majestic two headed beast (kind of) at one point.

  • 'XO': Ah, this is the video which pissed off an entire themepark. Oh well, look at Beyonce on a rollercoaster. She's so happy.

  • 'Flawless': Flawless (formerly known as Bow Down) is a bit of a tune, and luckily Bey has pulled out all the stops for the video - a 'gritty', black and white number which looks like the cast of This Is England gatecrashed a Calvin Klein ad. Beyonce is looking RESPLENDENT in a checked shirt. Our favourite part is the clip at the end though, which shows a very early incarnation of Destiny's Child losing a talent contest. Never mind guys, it turns out OK. For most of you. For two of you.

  • 'Superpower' featuring Frank Ocean: This is a bloody great song. The post-apocalyptic visuals strongly remind us of the video game 'Fallout' (sorry if that reference was too nerdy for y'all). The best bit: DESTINY'S CHILD REUNION!!!!!! Even Poor Michelle's there. Pharrell is there too, but DC is a bit more important. Soz Pharrell. Distinct lack of Frank Ocean, however.

  • 'Heaven': We're not really sure what this video is all about. It seems to be a cross between 27 Dresses and Spring Breakers. Beyonce gets a cross tattooed between her boobs. We wonder if it's real?

  • 'Blue' featuring Blue Ivy: This the song featuring Beyonce's tiny child, Blue Ivy (all she does is some gurgling at the end IMO but hey). Bey and her family are on holiday somewhere lovely and warm and sunny and we're staring out of the window of our office looking at the moist, grey London streets wanting to die a bit. ANYWAY. There's a cute moment at the end between Bey and her daughter, which warms our cockles slightly.

  • 'Grown Woman': First off, Beyonce: WHY ISN'T THIS TRACK FEATURED ON THE ALBUM? The video is a warm nostalgic number, a great splicing of cute old footage of Bey with current clips of her dancing her bum off. The best bit is at the end, where it goes all glitchy and spacey and Beyonce and her mother Tina are sitting regally on a sofa, looking like more attractive versions of the Queen and the Queen Mother.

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