Photo Credit: NFL
Beyoncé gives a Super Bowl-quality NFL halftime show on Christmas Day, but not everyone is enchanted by the spectacle.
After performing selections from her Cowboy Carter album in her hometown of Houston, Texas, at the NFL Christmas Gameday halftime show, Beyoncé has gotten some mixed reactions. Critics called the show “pure torture,” while others praised her showmanship. The performance further drew criticism for the controversial “finger-gun” gesture that some viewers pointed out ran afoul of the NFL’s policies.
Beyoncé took the stage during the halftime of the Ravens-Texans game on Christmas day at the NRG Stadium in the starlet’s hometown of Houston. Entering the stadium on horseback, she delivered a nearly 13-minute show. It was the first live performance of songs from her country-flavored Cowboy Carter album.
Her set list included “16 Carriages,” “Blackbird,” “American Requiem,” “Ya Ya,” “Spaghetti/Riverdance,” “Levii’s Jeans,” “Jolene,” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Beyoncé’s guests included Post Malone, Shaboozey, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy. The singer’s eldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, also danced in the show alongside her mother, similar to her performance during Queen Bey’s Renaissance tour.
The spectacle earned lots of praise from fans, but it also left many divided. “Great show!! She did a fabulous job!!” wrote one fan. “That was pure torture!” wrote someone else. “I’m not a huge fan of her entire album, but I’m not a miserable hater so I can 100% admit, this performance was great,” wrote a third person.
“Flags tucked into belt loops, upside down, touching the ground,” one person complained. “Horrible covers of amazing songs, a few signals. Far from a great performance.”
“No really, it was not Christmasy at all and thought it was never gonna end,” another viewer wrote. “What was that.”
“Terrible. Really a slap to country music. Not good in my opinion,” said one observer. “Happy for her! Fun show. Haters gonna hate while she laughs her way to the bank,” countered another viewer.
The show concluded with the 43-year-old on a scaffold elevated above the field, making a finger-gun gesture as a “Bang” banner unfurled beneath her. The gesture ignited reactions on social media; NFL players have faced penalties for similar gestures in the past.
“Is the NFL going to fine Beyoncé for finger guns?!” wrote one netizen. “Where is the flag on Beyoncé for the finger guns?!?!” someone else expressed. Others were just enchanted by the production, with one user writing, “I can’t believe they played football at the Beyoncé concert!”
The full halftime performance of what has now been dubbed “Beyoncé Bowl” can be seen as a standalone special on Netflix later this week.
