Like just about every other NFL fan this year, I was disappointed by the Super Bowl. The two best teams lost in fluke games, so the teams that actually played were mediocre at best—not to mention controversial (my favorite quote of the night was “I hope someone checks around Ray Lewis after the lights come back up to make sure they’re aren’t any dead bodies”).
The bright hope of the night was Beyonce. After enduring lackluster halftime shows for the past few years, I was trying not to get my hopes up too much in the work preceding the game. But I watched an unedited iPhone video Jay Z took in the recording studio of her just singing, and I got excited. Maybe she won’t lip sync. Maybe she’ll dance. Maybe she’ll do the whole “Single Ladies” dance.
My expectations were blown right out of the water. Beyonce is probably one of the most gorgeous women alive, as well as an incredible singer and dancer. When she winked and blew a kiss to the audience, I felt like we were best friends and that it was directed toward me.
She didn’t sing quite as much as I thought she would have, but dancing is hard work, and she performed well enough that I didn’t even really notice. And when she did sing, her voice was fantastic. It has to be so hard to perform in front of the crowd of the Super Bowl, especially in a lace-lined monokini. But she did it, and she did it like a goddess.
When she brought out the other members of Destiny’s Child, my inner 12-year-old squealed. She was still obviously the star of the trio, but she shared the stage like a pro. She even told Michelle to sing at one point.
The show looked cool too. I mean, it was kind of weird. There were a lot of Beyonces around, but as you can probably tell, I didn’t mind much. The face-shaped holes with streaming hair made me wary, though. I’m still not sure I really understand that part of the show. But the projections on the stage itself and behind it were really cool.
I hope that it really was Beyonce’s performance that caused the lights to go out in the Superdome, and I’m so glad it happened after she performed. She gave me the burst of energy that I needed to not just stop watching after the first half. All in all, lackluster game, glowing halftime performance. Bravo, Beyonce.