Beyoncé, queen of pop and life, took the field at the Super Bowl Pepsi Halftime Show alongside some other musicians who don't matter as much.
Performing first her new single, "Formation," which dropped by surprise on Saturday along with a music video hailed as a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, she appeared in a glorious black jacket with gold straps.
A glorious black jacket with gold straps that looks remarkably similar to a garment worn by Michael Jackson during his "Dangerous" tour in 1993.
Subtle, but clever.
"Formation," of course, includes reference to Jackson -- or at least his family's famous band, The Jackson Five, with the lyric: "I like my Negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils." (She's also written about the deceased pop star's influence on her as an artist.)
The new song and video are unapologetically political, covering Hurricane Katrina, police violence and cornbread while managing to reclaim the word "Negro." Although Beyoncé is not afraid to make bold statements in live performances -- she famously ended her Video Music Awards performance in 2014 with the word "FEMINIST" projected behind her as big as a house -- her Super Bowl performance noticeably steered clear of such proclamations.
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