On Christmas day, at an American football game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens, there weren’t only football fans in the stands. There was the Beehive, the fandom name for Beyoncé fans, that flew in from all over the country to see Beyoncé’s highly anticipated halftime show. No one knew what she was going to sing, what she might wear and who else she might bring on stage with her. By the end of the performance, Beyoncé had turned heads, blown minds, and shocked even her most knowledgeable fans with the show and the special announcement she made on Instagram that day.
To start off, the show was named “Beyoncé Bowl,” a nod to how she was not asked to perform at this year’s Super Bowl. Beyoncé performed songs from her newest album Cowboy Carter and a single she released earlier last year called “MY HOUSE.” From the album, she performed snippets of 8 of the 27 songs in less than 15 minutes. While the show was short, it certainly wasn’t sweet. It was an experience to say the least. I don’t think you’ll find a fan who hasn’t watched her halftime show multiple times. Now, let’s get into the specifics.
The show started with a pre-recorded performance where Beyoncé enters in on a white horse wearing a giant, flowy, white coat, singing the third song on the album: “16 CARRIAGES.” This song, along with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “II MOST WANTED” were released as singles before the rest of the album came out on March 29 last year. While that snippet was amazing, the next song, “BLACKBIIRD,” is where things got interesting.
The song “BLACKBIIRD” features four country singers: Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, and Tiera Kennedy. They wore identical white dresses and hats, perfectly matching Beyoncé’s outfit. There are a total of 12 artists featured on Cowboy Carter and 6 of them participated in the performance. The special part about this song was the ending: all of them sang the last word “arise” in a beautifully long and complex five part harmony, ending the recorded part and starting the live show. As Beyoncé threw off her cowboy hat and strutted through the stadium doors, we all knew something insane was about to happen.
Beyoncé had a complete outfit change from a flowy, giant, white coat to a glittery fully white cowboy outfit. It began with a lively performance of “YAYA,” a song with an emotional story but an intense beat. It was towards the end of it when Blue Ivy, Beyoncé’s daughter, made a special appearance and popped up again in a few songs. Did you know she’s 13 years old? Barely a teenager and already making her mark in the music world.
After “YAYA” came “MY HOUSE.” Beyoncé and Blue Ivy did a synchronized and powerful dance on a stage designed as bleachers along with the marching band and backup dancers. Beyoncé then walked down a carpet made to look like the stripes on the United States flag as she sang “SWEET HONEY BUCKIN’” with guest and featured artist Shaboozey. Fans loved to see the collabs they’d been listening to for months come to life. But only 7 minutes in, and the “Beyoncé Bowl” was far from over.
Right after “SWEET HONEY BUCKIN’” there was a complete mood change and the fans started screaming. Why? Because one of the most popular songs and collabs from the album started playing: “LEVII’S JEANS.” The stadium turned blue and the spotlight went straight to Beyoncé. The camera then panned over to a van covered in different jean patches. Sitting on top of the back of the car was Post Malone. He and Beyoncé sang together with the most perfect chemistry–definitely one of the most rewatched parts of the performance.
The second to last song was a cover of “JOLENE,” originally written and performed by Dolly Parton. Beyoncé sang this number on the back of a car as a whole parade of musicians and dancers performed on top of giant white flower covered floats. This is believed to be an homage to white outfits and floral carriages worn and created in 1865 to celebrate Juneteenth. Among other guests, the Houston Texans owner and his wife made an appearance in the parade. Through Beyoncé Bowl, Beyoncé honored people of both the past and present and paved the way for her daughter Blue Ivy’s future.
Last but not least, the Pièce De Résistance: “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM (PONY UP) REMIX.” As the intro plays, Beyoncé greets the audience with a warm welcome. Blue Ivy comes back in to do a group line dance. Seeing Ivy and Beyoncé dance together in their hometown warmed fans hearts and furthered hope that Beyoncé will bring Blue Ivy more into the entertainment industry. At the very end, Beyoncé’s vocals truly shone through when she ascended in both height and pitch. Her last words of the night: “BANG.” With her band behind her and her dancers beside her, Beyoncé closed out a performance that can only be described as Black Excellence.
One last thing! Right before the show Beyoncé posted on Instagram a reel that ended with the date “1.14.2025” in red. Fans instantly knew to mark their calendars because it meant that she was going to announce something BIG that day. On that fateful day, she ended up posting that her announcement would be postponed in response to the fires in Los Angeles, California. Her foundation, BeyGood, and all of us at the ACC Chronicle, are holding people in LA facing devastating loss in our hearts. Due to this, fans speculate that the announcement must be a tour for Cowboy Carter. Why else would she postpone it? Fingers crossed! I encourage you to watch Beyoncé Bowl on Netflix and Youtube. It will be worth it, I promise!
