Beyoncé brought her album “Cowboy Carter” to life for the first time at a halftime performance of an NFL game on Christmas Day in her hometown of Houston.
The show, which came midway through the Baltimore Ravens' loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, was designed to draw viewers to Netflix as the streaming goliath inaugurated a new pact with the most popular professional sports league in USA. It was also a way to draw attention to Beyoncé's latest LP, a detailed foray into country music that highlights the singer's Southern roots, just as Recording Academy members were voting for February's Grammy Awards, where “Cowboy Carter” is nominated for album of the year.
Immediately after her performance, Beyoncé posted a short video on
Yet for all its cross-promotional synergy, Wednesday's halftime show was a reminder that anything that breaks Beyoncé out of her superstar cocoon is worth celebrating—as usual for the greatest live performer. of pop music, this 13-minute production: a “ho ho ho-down”. ” as she called it, it was a thrill from top to bottom.
The show began with Beyoncé riding a white horse strolling down a hallway in the bowels of NRG while singing “16 Carriages,” her ballad about a youth who travels chasing dreams in show business. He was soon joined by a quartet of black country singers (Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts) for a moving rendition of the Beatles' “Blackbird.”
Beyoncé took to the stadium field to sing a passionate “Ya Ya,” her version of a Tina Turner rave-up classic, accompanied by a small electric rock band and a huge trumpet section arranged in stands reminiscent of her performance at Coachella. . festival in 2018. She then did the club “My House” before welcoming Shaboozey to join her on “Sweet Honey Buckiin'” and Post Malone for his “Levii's Jeans” (which he did in front of a van wrapped in denim). .
Beyoncé sang her cover of Dolly Parton's “Jolene” while riding in a car through the countryside (like her Coachella tribute to the HBCU tradition, this was a loving embodiment of black rodeo culture) and ended the show with her successful “Texas”. Hold 'Em,” which he did at the 50-yard line while dancing alongside his 12-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy.
Throughout the show, Beyoncé's voice was strong and precise, the choreography tough and forceful, the costumes beautifully stunning—a Christmas gift to her fans in the form of a marketing opportunity.
