New material is often sheepishly introduced at intimate gigs in front of die-hard devotees, sandwiched between much-loved hits to demonstrate that the artist is growing creatively but can still play to the crowd.
Only Beyoncé could see halftime at Super Bowl 50 as the perfect opportunity to showcase her new track "Formation"—an unapologetically black identity anthem that touches on police brutality, which she had unveiled only one day prior. She then followed this with a sudden announcement of a world tour, containing a European leg that kicks off with a performance in the northern English city of Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
"Both provocation and pleasure; inherently political and a deeply personal look at the black and queer bodies who have most often borne the brunt of our politics," was how The Guardian interpreted the impact of her new single, which is currently available as a free download.
The Daily Beast explained how it existed within the "crushing interplay between power and helplessness, agency and victimization."
A song celebrating blackness & standing up against police brutality will be performed during one of television's biggest nights #Formation
— IMAC ELBAKAERBNU (@BeySatisfied) February 6, 2016
Beyonce just made me so proud of my nose. 😭😭 #Formation
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) February 6, 2016
The #Formation shout-outs to Malcolm X & MJ were excellent. #SB50
— deray (@deray) February 8, 2016
Coldplay's Chris Martin is no rookie college frontman performing his first show in front of five family members at the local student bar. But the moment Beyoncé's name was etched on the lineup, he would have known history would relegate his band to the position of Bey's support act. And that's exactly what happened.
To the New York Times, Coldplay were the "void at the center of a riot of exuberance," there to tee-up Beyoncé who was "the night's true event."
USA Today detailed how Beyoncé's "super-charged" and "sizzling" performance was everything Coldplay were not.
This was not simply an act of bias patriotism by an American press desperate to raise a homegrown act over a British counterpart.
The Guardian took an even more direct route to an obvious conclusion: "Queen Bey at the height of her powers effortlessly overwhelmed Coldplay's widescreen anthems in a show that seemed lightweight until she showed up."
When you think about it, it was really sweet of @coldplay to open for @Beyonce. #SB50
— Noam Ash (@MrNoamAsh) February 8, 2016
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