Beyonce Super Bowl performance impresses fans, critics

If naysayers still doubted Beyonce’s singing talents — even after her national anthem performance this week at a press conference — the singer proved she is an exceptional performer at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Beyonce opened and closed her set belting songs, and in between she danced hard and heavy — and better than most contemporary pop stars.
She set a serious tone as she emerged onstage in all black, singing lines from her R&B hit “Love on Top.” The stage was dark as fire and lights burst from the sides. Then she went into her hit “Crazy In Love,” bringing some feminine spirit to the Superdome as she and her background dancers did the singer’s signature booty-shaking dance. Beyonce ripped off part of her shirt and skirt. She even blew a kiss. She was ready to rock, and she did so like a pro.
Her confidence — and voice — grew as she worked the stage with and without her Destiny’s Child band mates during her 13-minute set, which comes days after she admitted she sang to a pre-recorded track at President Barack Obama’s inauguration less than two weeks ago.
Beyonce proved not only that she can sing, but that she can also entertain on a stage as big as the Super Bowl’s. The 31-year-old was far better than Madonna, who sang to a backing track last year, and miles ahead of the Black Eyed Peas’ disastrous set in 2011.
Beyonce was best when she finished her set with “Halo.” She asked the crowd to put their hands toward her as she sang the slow groove on bended knee — and that’s when she the performance hit its high note.
“Thank you for this moment,” she told the crowd. “God bless y’all.”
Her background singers helped out as Beyonce danced around the stage throughout most of her performance. There was a backing track to help fill in when Beyonce wasn’t singing — and there were long stretches when she let it play as she performed elaborate dance moves.
She had a swarm of background dancers and band members spread throughout the stage, along with videotaped images of herself dancing that may have unintentionally played on the live-or-taped question. And the crowd got bigger when she was joined by her Destiny’s Child band mates.
Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams popped up from below the stage to sing “Bootylicious.” They were in similar outfits, singing and dancing closely as they harmonized. But Rowland and Williams were barely heard when the group sang “Independent Woman,” as their voices faded into the background.
They also joined in for some of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” where Beyonce’s voice grew stronger. That song featured Beyonce’s skilled choreography, as did “End of Time” and “Baby Boy,” which also showcased Beyonce’s all-female band, balancing out the testosterone levels on the football field.
Before the game, Alicia Keys performed a lounge-y, piano-tinged version of the national anthem that her publicist assured was live. The Grammy-winning singer played the piano as she sang “The Star Spangled Banner” in a long red dress with her eyes shut.
She followed Jennifer Hudson, who sang “America the Beautiful” with the 26-member Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus. It was an emotional performance that had some players on the sideline on the verge of tears. Hudson also sang live, her publicist said.
The students wore green ribbons on their shirts in honor of the 20 first-graders and six adults who were killed in a Dec. 14 shooting rampage at the school in Newton, Conn.
The students began the song softly before Hudson, whose mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were shot to death five years ago, jumped in with her gospel-flavored vocals. She stood still in black and white as the students moved to the left and right, singing background.

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Beyonce Live Performance 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show

The halftime show at Super bowl keeps hundreds of millions of people around the world entertained.

Beyonce definitely lived up to the challenge and proved her metal.

After making her entrance on the stage — she played with “Love on Top”, switching from fast to slow.

At the end of “Crazy in Love,” she was literally growling, giving that song a power it never had before. During “Baby Boy,” she screamed “dutty wine!” again and again, and on “Single Ladies,” her voice turned grimy.

At the beginning of “Crazy in Love,” she dropped to one knee, and then sprawled on her back, dancing for the cameras in the sky.

She opened “End of Time” with ferocious stomping and, during “Baby Boy,” was accompanied by a screen full of Beyoncés.

Late in her set, Beyonce was joined by Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, for snippets of “Bootylicious” and “Independent Women Part I.”

After Rowland and Williams left the stage, Beyonce brought the arena to a hush with “Halo,” the ethereal ballad that closed her set.

Beyonce Has Been Rehearsing for Super Bowl Halftime Show Since October 2012

 

It’s no secret that Beyonce is a true perfectionist. “One thing about me is that I practice until my feet bleed,” she said at yesterday’s Super Bowl press conference, where she sang an a cappella rendition of the National Anthem in an effort to silence the critics who blasted her for singing along to a backing track at President Obama’s inauguration last month.

So it’s no surprise that she has reportedly been rehearsing for her upcoming Super Bowl Halftime show performance since last October, when it was first announced that she would be taking the stage at one of the biggest events this year

The Super Bowl Halftime Show is usually watched by around 100 million people, the biggest live viewing audience in the entire history of Beyonce’s career. So to prepare for that, the singer has put in over 3 months of training to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.


Super Bowl XLVII goes down this Sunday (Feb 3), when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Baltimore Ravens for this year’s NFL title, and when the game pauses for halftime, Beyonce will surely be ready for the biggest performance of her career.

Meanwhile, there are reports floating around that Beyonce has been making “diva-like demands” for her family during their stay in New Orleans.

A report from British tabloid The Daily Star claims that in addition to demands for her husband Jay-Z to have $6,000 in expensive cigars and alcohol, she also lists in her rider that she wants her 1-year-old daughter Blue Ivy’s $20,000 cedar bed be shipped from their home in New York to the Mercedes-Benz Sueprdome in NOLA. And she wants a make-shift nursery to be constructed there, decorated with rose-scented candles, and kept at a constant temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

“She’s by far one of the most difficult celebrities we’ve ever dealt with,” an anonymous source allegedly complained. “The list is as long as my arm. She may be a superstar, but this day is about football not her.”

But NFL’s Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy denies those made-up reports, saying that Beyonce and her team haven’t been “difficult” to work with at all.

“Beyonce and her team have been great to work with throughout this process,” McCarthy said, according to the Kansas City Star. “We have enjoyed her creativity, vision and spirit in putting on a great show that is truly a Super Bowl performance,” he added.

Us Weekly also quoted sources that noted that Beyonce has been “incredibly gracious” during rehearsals, even personally thanking every single one of the hundreds and hundreds of people who are helping with her big performance.

Additional reports regarding Beyonce’s upcoming Super Bowl performance note that the singer will not be paid for it. An NFL spokesperson confirmed that the NFL traditionally doesn’t pay artists who do the Halftime Show, but they do pay up to $600,000 for production costs.

So even though Beyonce will be performing for free (which really isn’t a big deal, considering you can’t even pay for that type of exposure), everyone else on her team — including her band, backup dancers, technical crew, etc. — will be paid for their time, and any additional production costs will be covered by her new $50 million partnership with Pepsi.


Other than a few behind the scenes videos and photos posted on Tumblr and Instagram, Beyonce and her people are keeping the details about her much-anticipated halftime performance under wraps, but rumors suggest that her former Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams will join her on stage.

Further corroborating those claims is a special note on the website for the musical “Fela!” — which stars Michelle Williams — that states that Williams will not be appearing in the show in the days leading up to and including the Super Bowl (Jan 31 – Feb 3).

When Beyonce was asked about a possible one-off Destiny’s Child reunion at her Super Bowl press conference yesterday, she said, “I don’t know. I can’t really give you any details. I’m sorry!” — which really means, “YES” in celebrity terms.

So based on the fact that Beyonce is on the hush about it, and Michelle is taking time off from her musical, there’s a 99.99% chance that the other two Destiny’s children will be joining their leader on stage this Sunday in New Orleans.

And just in case you were wondering, NO. Beyonce will NOT be lip-synching during her nearly 15-minute performance. At her press conference yesterday, she adamantly stated:

“I will absolutely be singing live [at the Super Bowl]. I am well rehearsed. This is what I was born to do.”

Since we know you absolutely can’t wait for Beyonce’s big Super Bowl performance, check out some behind the scenes footage below to hold you over until Sunday night:

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