For some, Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime show was to be the Big Game's finest moment. But for all who tuned in to see the singer perform, it's clear she brought her A game.
Beyonce worked through a medley of her hits, including "Love on Top," "Crazy in Love," "End of Time," and "Baby Boy" before she was joined by Destiny's Child bandmates Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland. The trio started with "Bootylicious" and worked through "Independent Woman" before collaborating on "Single Ladies," which is a Beyonce song.
Rowland and Williams then left the stage, leaving Beyonce to perform "Halo" solo.
The show featured plenty of fire, ice and smoke, with Beyonce appearing on a rising platform. She was clad in an all-black ensemble with heels and a leather-like get-up. Early in the set, she threw her jacket into the audience. At some point, she used a screen that recalled her 2011 Billboard Music Awards performance.
Before the game started, Jennifer Hudson and a chorus of children from Sandy Hook Elementary School sang "America the Beautiful." Alicia Keys then performed the national anthem while seated at a piano.
Last year, Madonna headlined the show. She was joined by Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and LMFAO. The show was perhaps most notable for M.I.A.'s decision to give the middle finger to the camera, and the 114 million people who were watching at home. Given its massive viewership (3 million more people watched the halftime show than the game itself), headlining the event often translates into a sizable increase in sales of the performer's music.
A number of music's biggest names have performed at past Super Bowls, including Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams, The Rolling Stones, Prince, The Who, Gloria Estefan and, of course, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. Early games featured only college marching bands, and for quite a few years, Up With People performed. More information on the history of the halftime show is available in our earlier coverage.
This year, pre-game speculation centered on two main questions: Will Destiny's Child reunite, and will Beyonce lip-sync like she did at Barack Obama's inauguration? Though she was mum on the first point (and bandmate Michelle Williams did her best to jumble rumors of a DC reunion), Beyonce tackled the lip-syncing question head-on in a Super Bowl press conference on Thursday.
"I will absolutely be singing live," she said ahead of Sunday's performance. "I am well-rehearsed. This is what I was born to do."
Fair enough.
