Countdown to Bey Day
Bey domination is cluttering the blogosphere. We’ve got the perfect timeline to prove it, as we prepare for Beyoncé’s big Super Bowl halftime throwdown
Halftime shows at Super Bowls have become just as popular as the fitted rough-and-tough attractions on the field.
Just ask advertising guru Derek Jackson about why that 15-minute slot means so much to pop stars. “There is not anything like it,” Jackson, cofounder of the Glu advertising firm, said. “The Super Bowl, for an artist, is considered the medium of all mediums. You can’t beat it from a promotional standpoint. You garner so many eyeballs at one time.”
Prince. Rolling Stones. The Who. Janet Jackson. Madonna. The Black Eyed Peas. There’s been alot of rock n’ roll on that gridiron over the years. But Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s presence at Super Bowl XLVII may be one of the most anticipated televised mini-concerts of our lifetime. And it’s not because the Jay-Z’s queen, the former Destiny’s Child leader-turned solo act-turned actress is the best in the league, but the momentum building inside her recent rounds of publicity corroborated by today’s world of social networking and fast-food media shows just how intelligent her divadom really is.
We’ve compiled just a few lead-in stories building up to Beyoncé’s throwdown at the big game. And what you should expect.
Plus, we’ve done the honors of looking back at each of her solo albums, while exploring the good and exposing the bad. Plus, Destiny’s Child discography gets examined as well. You didn’t think we would forget all about DC – did ‘cha?
Baby Girl, You’re On My Mind
Last year, Beyoncé embraced the New Year as a proud mother of a baby girl. She gave birth to Blue (Blu) Ivy Carter, her first child with rap mogul Jay-Z, on Saturday (8 January 2012). There was no swarm of paparazzi in place. That’s because Shawn Carter reportedly rented out the entire fourth floor of New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital, just so the “Crazy in Love” singer could deliver in (relative) peace. It ended up costing the couple a whopping $1.3 million. But that’s chump change for this power couple.
“When I gave birth, that was the first time I truly let go and surrendered. And it taught me how amazing that feels,” Knowles-Carter told GQ in February. “Giving birth made me realize the power of being a woman. I have so much more substance in my life. And expressing that excitement and that sensuality and the connection I have with my husband — I’m a lot more comfortable with that now. I actually feel like my child introduced me to myself.”
The first set of baby pictures were leaked on Bey’s website and has since travelled all over the Twitterverse.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter seen pictured with baby Blu Ivy.
HIFI GUIDE: Destiny’s Child / Beyonce’
Destiny’s Wild
Like the hundreds of compilations already cluttering the shelves in music stores, Love Songs pretends to be a celebration of “greatest hits,” but only focuses on the ballads of Destiny’s Child’s catalog. Devout fans will “cater 2” it just to grab the new track, “Nuclear.” It’s a sleeper, concocted with daydreamy Janet-esque whispers and Lyn Collins beats. But it’ll probably the last time The Supremes Destiny’s Child will seriously reunite in the studio for a while. Call this a sweet souvenir, especially if Bey and the girls team up for the big halftime show.
Rumour has it that their might be a Beyoncé reunion with the Destiny’s Child cast, featuring Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. But even Rowland and Williams are tight lipped on the buzz:
“It is rumored,” Williams told radio station WRUG. “I’m going to be in the musical Fela! I hate to disappoint the people and tell them that it’s not true.”
Girls on Film
Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Kings of Leon and Miley Cyrus have all done it: Documentaries. Or something I like to call pop-umentaries. Well, Bey jumped into the growing field of bio-docs by producing one for HBO. Scheduled to be aired on February 16, Life Is But a Dream focuses more on her private life, while also addressing her miscarriage (before Blue Ivy) and pop life. “Editing myself and seeing all the mistakes that I’ve made and still putting in the film and seeing life as if it wasn’t me, and I feel like it’s time, it’s time for people to really get to know me and see a different side,” she said at a recent conference. “I’m really curious and scared and every night now [I go,] ‘It’s too late. It’s coming out.’ But I’m happy with it.”
The film also addresses the rumors of Blue Ivy being a product of a surrogate. “There’s a stupid rumor,” she states. “The most ridiculous rumor I think I’ve ever had about me. It’s crazy. To think I would be that vain – I respect mothers and women so much and to be able to experience bringing a child into this world, if you’re lucky and fortunate enough to experience that, I would never, ever take that for granted.”
The Star-Strangled Banner
We all know Beyoncé can sing. Even if her melisma usually gets out of control from time to time, she’s proved time and time again to be a hefty vocalist. She also has no shame in performing live; she actually prefers singing live. But on January at Barack Obama’s inauguration, she didn’t do that. Instead she opted to use a pre-recorded tape of “The Star Spangled Banner” and lip synched her performance, which she did flawlessly.
No one even suspected her of lip-synching the performance; she surely fooled this journalist. It wasn’t until one of the spokespersons of the U.S. Marine Band blew the whistle and leaked the information. Damage control and Bey’s die-hard fans tried to kill the bad press. Another official from the Marine Band tried to quell the most-talked about trending topic by backpedaling on the issue:
“Later in the day, however, the Marine Corps said in a statement that no one in their organization “is in a position to assess whether [Beyoncé’s vocal performance] was live or pre-recorded.”
Who Runs the 2013 Inauguration? A President (And Girls!)
The Encore
At a press conference only hours before the Super Bowl kick-off, Beyoncé admitted to the gathered press that she did lipsynched the performance, citing that she is a “perfectionist” and she didn’t fell comfortable in taking big risks.
“I practice until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra,” she said. “Due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk.” Beyoncé added: “It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry. And I’m very proud of my performance.”
But right before she ended the confusion with the spoken word, she stunned the room with an a cappela version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Immediately after she finished, she addresses the rabid media using diva sarcasm: “Any questions?”
Not only did Beyoncé get the last word; she got the last note.
The Set List
So what will Bey do during halftime?
A Destiny’s Child medley? A Michael Jackson tribute (“I Wanna Be Where You Are”)? A Jay-Z jam? What about a guest appearance from Lady Gaga for “Video Phone.”
The set list hasn’t been revealed yet, but one thing’s for sure, Beyoncé won’t be leaning on pre-recorded tapes. At least that’s what she says.
“I will absolutely be singing live,” the singer said. “This is what I was born to do.”
So what do you think?
Tired of all of the Bey coverage?
Excited about this year’s Super Bowl halftime?
Post your thoughts.
