The live performance for " I Was Here " as part of 4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé , where it served as the closing song , was taped and premiered online on November 16 , 2011 . It was added on the DVD '' Live at Roseland : Elements of 4 '' , which was released in late November 2011 . The video begins with Beyoncé onstage in a shimmery silver minidress , giving the crowd a bit of a windup about where " I Was Here " came from . She says : " It 's taken a lot of hard work to get to where I am . I searched all around the world , and I found myself . You all are my inspiration . I want to sing this last song and dedicate it to all of you guys . " The video then turns into a career retrospective in the form of Beyoncé 's home movies and her professional highlights . It splices poignant memories throughout Beyoncé 's life , from her childhood , to partying and vacations with her family , to most of the locations she visited around the world , to her rise with Destiny 's Child into solo stardom and her love story with Jay-Z . Also containing footage from major performances and awards shows , the clip begins with a young Beyoncé thanking the judges in a talent show and later doing the snake in her living room , performing in her TLC-inspired neon overalls . The clip briefly returns to the center of the stage where Beyoncé starts to belt out the ballad over a montage of other home videos . It later shows Beyoncé , as an adult , hugging Michael Jackson , performing with Prince , Tina Turner , her husband , and contains cameos by Oprah Winfrey and Nelson Mandela . The montage additionally contains moments of the everyday behind-the-scenes footage of Beyoncé ; her sometimes-awkward teenage hair , Beyoncé playing on a Slip 'n Slide , playing with her nephew in a pool , frolicking on a beach , going for whale watching , and trying on her actual wedding dress at the 3:36 mark . Other footage includes : Beyoncé performing on her world tours in support of her second and third studio albums , her performance at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival where she was the first major solo female headliner to appear on the Pyramid stage in over twenty years , a backstage scene of Beyoncé at the 52nd Grammy Awards , holding her six Grammy awards , which broke the record for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in one night , The clip ends with Beyoncé revealing her baby bump on 2011 MTV Video Music Awards . a performance of " Run the World ( Girls ) " at the 2011 '' Billboard '' Music Awards , where she was given the Millennium Award for recognizing her career achievements and influence in the music industry
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
I Was Here (song)