If Beyoncé’s halftime show during the Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens game on Christmas Day wasn’t top-tier entertainment, I don’t know what is.
In her all-white cowgirl aesthetic, the 32-time Grammy winner performed songs from her most recent album, “Cowboy Carter,” to a packed NRG Stadium in her hometown of Houston. There were horses and a marching band and dozens of dancers and appearances from several album collaborators, including Post Malone and Shaboozey. She line-danced alongside her 12-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, in a mesmerizing performance that culminated with the global superstar’s shimmering ascent above the crowd.
In short, I ate it up. It was 13 minutes of Beyoncé bliss. This was Texas and she was holding the attention of millions. (I’m sorry.)
It was so good that it left me with one — not especially burning, but mildly intriguing — question: How on this Queen Bey-loving earth can February’s Super Bowl halftime show follow that?
That isn’t a knock at Kendrick Lamar, who is set to perform at Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. After all, the hip-hop star broke records this year and dominated the charts. He was Spotify’s No. 7 most-streamed artist in the United States this year. And his “Squabble Up” single made former President Barack Obama’s annual list of his favorite songs, to boot.
Kendrick will undoubtedly deliver. But how? We’re in the dark on any potential special guests. (New Orleans native Lil Wayne, perhaps? I think we can safely count Drake out.) The mystery only adds to the anticipation.
I don’t envy having to follow a “Cowboy Carter” Christmas — the energy, the costumes, the dancing, the cameos. But if we’re to consider that the opener to the Super Bowl’s main event, giddy up.
