Jan. 31, 2013: It’s a few days after Beyoncé is accused of lip-syncing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Barack Obama’s second inauguration. Beyoncé sings the national anthem at the Super Bowl XLVII press conference. She kindly asks attendees, “Would you guys mind standing?” And they do, because who says no to a request from Beyoncé? Unsurprisingly, she kills it, the people cheer, and she winks at her haters by asking “Any questions?”
Beyoncé finds a new way to steal Super Bowl week every year
The biggest week in sports is no match for Queen Bey.
She later clarifies what happened with the inauguration performance by revealing she sang along with a pre-recorded track, citing the weather, delay, and sound check as reasons for her decision. Basically, she reminds us that we’re mortal beings and she’s a professional who knows how live concerts work.
Feb. 3, 2013: Beyoncé headlines the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVII. She brings her old group Destiny’s Child as surprise guests. Everyone generally has a fun time, and Beyoncé probably causes the power outage in the game’s second half. In the aftermath, unflattering photos of Beyoncé’s halftime show surface. Her publicist tries to take down the photos — except that’s not how the internet works, unfortunately.
Feb. 6-7, 2016: The day before Super Bowl 50, Beyoncé drops the video for her single “Formation,” which would later appear on her album Lemonade. This leads to rumors that she’ll perform the song during the halftime show. The next day, Beyoncé performs “Formation” and is pretty much the highlight of the halftime show, upstaging both Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and honestly, the Panthers-Broncos game itself.
Feb. 1, 2017: In the middle of Super Bowl week, while everyone’s preparing for the big game — whether it’s the media and players doing work on radio row, or the fans flying in with their expensive tickets — Beyoncé drops news that she’s pregnant with twins. The internet, predictably and understandably, loses their shit.
On one hand, this confirms that she won’t do a guest spot at Lady Gaga’s halftime show (the two are both on Gaga’s “Telephone”). But on the other hand, AYYYY BEYONCÉ’S PREGNANT WITH TWINS! CONGRATS!
What will future Super Bowl weeks hold for Beyoncé? My predictions:
2018: Beyoncé announces a new album.
2019: Beyoncé announces she’s running for president.
2020: Beyoncé signs on to perform the Super Bowl LIV halftime show while running for president.
2021: President Beyoncé Knowles does a Super Bowl LV pregame interview with Bob Costas.
