“Beyoncé Bowl” Sets a New Standard For Halftime Performances

Two hands to heaven aren’t enough to reach the bar Beyoncé raises. From “Beychella” to “Beyoncé Bowl”, she is the greatest pop star alive.

The icon put on a halftime show like no other on Wednesday during the Christmas Day Texans-Ravens NFL game in her hometown of Houston, Texas. The performance marked the first live debut of her 2024 Grammy-nominated album “Cowboy Carter.” Mrs. Carter caught the spirit of Tina Turner, enthralling viewers with a symbolic performance exhibiting Black pride and excellence.

Beyoncé sings beside Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, and Brittney Spencer / Credit: Netflix

She emerges singing “16 Carriages” atop a white horse in luxurious fur, scintillating jewelry, and a “Cowboy Carter” sash. A man donning a white paisley-patterned Stetson hat guides her through antique cars oozing blood-red interiors as sparklers rise behind. The camera pans to cattlemen alongside white horses as Texas icon Mike Jones’ “Still Tippin” subtly flutters to a keen ear.

Knowles-Carter then begins serenading “Blackbiird,” a cover of The Beatles’ 1968 classic hit. She saunters past singing veiled women as rising country singers Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, and Brittney Spencer join her. The five walk in unison and harmonize seamlessly, reminiscent of Beyoncé’s former iconic group “Destiny’s Child.” The ballad ends with Beyoncé gliding out of line and into a bright white light, stunning in a bedazzled bodysuit and chaps to match.

The party begins with the singer’s finger pistols blasting in sync with the fireworks on “Ya Ya.” Blue Ivy Carter, the singer’s 12-year-old daughter, subtly appears on her right before Beyonce fully assumes her “Queen Bey” persona. Hair flipping and side-stepping, she dances toward the Texas Southern University’s 200-member Ocean of Soul Marching Band. In a sea of dancers, Blue Ivy stands out as the only one to mirror her mother’s moves during “My House.”

Credit: Netflix

Breakout country singer Shaboozey sends fans into an uproar with his appearance performing “Spaghetti” alongside the band. The “Renaissance” singer gyrates Southern style for “Sweet Honey Buckin” before winding it down on “Levii’s Jeans” with Post Malone. The rapper rouses the crowd with a duet alongside the pop star beside a denim-dripped truck.

Next, the pageant queen belts “Jolene” in a convertible and Stetson hat while a fan blows against her in classic Beyoncé fashion. The Texan Cheerleaders graced the field as a procession of iconic rodeo figures, including the first Black Arkansas rodeo queen Ja’Dayia Kursh and bull-riding legend Myrtis Dightman Jr., among more emerged.

“I’m so honored to be in Texas right now,” she told the crowd. “It’s only right that we do ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ for the first time in Houston on Christmas.” 

She sang her hit single upon a floral carriage symbolic of Juneteenth celebratory tradition in Texas. Blue Ivy’s presence electrified the audience while line dancing beside her superstar mother. A hoedown erupts and white bandanas illuminate the sky as Beyoncé commands her cowboys to the dancefloor.

Upon on a floating stage, she elevates while ending the song on a breathtaking vocal run laying her viral 2023 “Drunk in Love” riff to rest. Her final finger pistol unveils the “BANG” beneath her feet – how fitting.

Credit: Twitter

The 32-time Grammy winner wasted no time teasing the date ‘Jan. 14, 2025’ on her Instagram post-performance. Fans quickly speculated a possible upcoming tour or the mysterious third act hinting at a rock and roll revival. In the teaser, Carter sits on horseback swinging the American flag over her head until it disappears on her right. In rodeo culture, this gesture may signify patriotism or the end of an event.

Yet excellence knows no end with Beyoncé. The halftime show, her first live performance in four years, attracted nearly five times the viewers of the 2024 Country Music Awards. Its meticulous execution solidified it as a pop culture phenomenon only she can cultivate. In fact, she became the most RIAA-certified female artist of all time with 103 titles. Cowboy Carter’s success earned 11 Grammy nominations, with “Texas Hold ‘Em” being her highest career debut.

To discredit the revolutionary, historian, and legend that is Beyoncé is foolish. She’s one of one and the only one.