Beyonce gave an exuberant performance during the Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The real star of the night, she delivered a riveting, politically charged performance as part of halftime show.
This was Beyoncé's second appearance during the Super Bowl halftime. Three years earlier, she had given a relatively tamer performance at New Orleans.
She performed her new song "Formation" during one of the most watched live events in U.S. The single and video for "Formation," her first new song since 2014, had just released the day before.
CS Monitor reports that Beyonce has routinely used her music as a platform to discuss issues related to women's roles, beauty standards and power. The new song references police brutality against African-Americans, and the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
The song dubbed a modern protest anthem made for a stunning display of unapologetic blackness and political activism. Beyonce along with her dancers, put her fist in the air during the performance, evoking the infamous black power salute.
According to The Washington Post, the performance was seen by an estimated 112 million people and drew wholesome praise from her fans. Not everyone was a fan of Beyonce's Super Bowl performance though.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani criticized the whole show on Fox & Friends Monday morning and singled out Beyonce. He called the whole halftime show "ridiculous."
New York Republican Congressman Peter King condemned Beyoncé for her performance, saying on Facebook "her pro-Black Panther and anti-cop video and her Super Bowl appearance is just one more example of how acceptable it has become to be anti-police."
The performance that also featured the band Coldplay and singer Bruno Mars - has since become the most-talked about and most controversial half-time show in over a decade. Any publicity is good publicity for the cause and artists, right?
