Video footage of Beyoncé dancing with her daughter, Blue Ivy, during her Christmas Day NFL halftime performance has gone viral on social media.
Netflix made a splashy foray into football on December 25 by livestreaming two NFL games: the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Houston Texans.
Pulling out all the stops, Houston native Beyoncé was drafted in to perform at halftime during the Texans' game. The star performed songs from her country album Cowboy Carter live for the first time during the show.
The epic performance at the NRG Stadium kicked off with Beyoncé emerging on a white horse. The star was wearing a spectacular white feathered ensemble with a wide-brimmed cowboy hat.
Following appearances from collaborators Shaboozey and Post Malone, Beyoncé closed out her set with her hit Texas Hold 'Em, when she was joined by her 12-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, who danced alongside her famous mother.
Beyoncé referenced her daughter with a lyric change during her performance, singing: "Then spin me in the middle, Blue, I can't read your mind."
The two then line-danced together among a large group of dancers, before Beyoncé ascended on a platform, from which fell a giant banner that read "BANG."
During the show, the #BeyonceBowl hashtag trended on X, formerly Twitter. Following the show, footage of Beyoncé and Blue Ivy's part of the performance was shared on X, whereas of press time it has garnered more than 2 million views.
In the lead-up to Beyoncé's performance, Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, told Newsweek that there would be much to look forward to.
"It's her hometown and she's so excited … to be part of Christmas Day on the NFL in Houston," Schroeder said of Beyoncé. "I think was just a great confluence of the circumstances.
"You can anticipate a heck of a show. And the Texans have been great in working to make sure [the show goes smoothly]. You know, it's their home game, but how this comes to life on the day in their building for their fans in the stadium [matters to them]. So I think it's just going to be one heck of a show."
The show had an unprecedented audience share, as it was livestreamed to Netflix subscribers across the U.S. and in more than 190 countries.
This was not Beyoncé's first NFL halftime show, having appeared in two Super Bowls. She headlined in 2013, when she was joined onstage by her Destiny's Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. In 2016, Beyoncé joined Coldplay and Bruno Mars on the Super Bowl halftime stage, where she debuted her hit track Formation, which had been released the day before.
Blue Ivy is not new to performing before large audiences, having danced on her mother's Renaissance World Tour in 2023. She also joined her mom onstage at the grand reveal of Dubai hotel the Atlantis The Royal in January 2023, when the two gave a live performance debut of their song Brown Skin Girl.
Blue Ivy recently made her feature film debut in Mufasa: The Lion King as Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala. Beyoncé voices the lion, Nala, in the film, after previously performing as the character in the 2019 live action remake of The Lion King.
As well as Blue Ivy, Beyoncé and her husband, hip-hop star and business owner Jay-Z, are parents to 7-year-old twins Sir and Rumi.
In an interview with GQ that was published in September, Beyoncé spoke about how it was Blue Ivy's choice to dance on her world tour.
"Blue is an artist," she told the publication. "She has great taste in music and fashion. She is a fantastic editor, painter and actress."
"She has been creating characters since she was three," Beyoncé continued. "She's a natural, but I did not want Blue onstage. Blue wanted it for herself. She took it seriously and she earned it. And most importantly, she had fun! We all watched her grow more and more every night before our eyes."
Beyoncé said that she only tours when her three children are not in school, as she wants them to travel with her and learn different languages and cultures.
"My kids come with me everywhere I go," she added. "They come to my office after school, and they are in the studio with me. They are in dance rehearsals. It's natural that they would learn my choreography."
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