Everything about the Super Bowl, the halftime show, and Beyoncé

I probably won't be the only one here, but this year I was able to name at least one team that played in the Super Bowl for the first time. In fact, I know who won: Travis Kelce. Oh, I mean the Kansas City Chiefs, but I only know that name because of that certain Travis Kelce as a Swiftie. They won the Super Bowl for the third time in five years... I had never heard of him before his relationship with Taylor Swift. Well, it was a nice evening for the Kansas City Chiefs, but what we are mainly looking forward to are the halftime show and the bizarre commercials. Yes, really, I think the Super Bowl is the only event where the ads might be even more popular than the event itself.

Dunkin’ Donuts invested millions in their advertising and managed to snag Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck (and stars like Matt Damon and Seth Rogan were also seen in it). The connection between Ben Affleck and Dunkin’ Donuts is quite hilarious by the way: he became their spokesperson during the pandemic when he was spotted multiple times with their products on the street while looking like he was struggling with life nine out of ten times. That made him a meme and already provided (free) top advertising for Dunkin’ Donuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MiapbMqFWE

But most eyes were probably on Queen B; Beyoncé announced her new album Renaissance Act II with a commercial and immediately launched two new songs called 16 Carriages and Texas Hold ‘Em. She did this in collaboration with Verizon, which is probably the most financially sensible decision for her ever. Getting paid well for the ad AND the best publicity ever for your new album – well done. The most striking thing: her new album will be a country album; so expect NO songs like Break My Soul.

You could almost forget that there was also a halftime show yesterday (I wonder how happy Usher was with this announcement from Beyoncé) and it was a delight for the average millennial. We were treated to the biggest hits from our younger years; songs like Yeah, Caught Up, My Boo, and If I Ain’t Got U with Alicia Keys (my personal highlight of the evening) came by. It was a quarter of an hour filled with nothing but hits, and Usher can really sing and dance.

Although I wonder if he would be so happy with this announcement from Beyoncé: since artists get absolutely nothing for the halftime show of the Super Bowl, publicity is actually the only reason to do it (hence why Rihanna took some extra time during her performance to promote Fenty), and if one of the world's biggest artists steals your moment a bit by not only announcing a long-awaited album but also dropping two songs at that moment, then that might not be ideal. Especially since he himself also came up with a new album; Coming Home was released on February 9.

It's quite remarkable that Taylor Swift received quite a bit of criticism for this last week during the Grammys: she announced in her first thank-you speech (for her thirteenth Grammy ever) that a brand new album called The Tortured Poets Department will be dropped in April. Many viewers found that inappropriate, a bit like proposing to your partner at someone else's wedding: not done. This action from Beyoncé is currently being received very enthusiastically, a bit of double standards. I am completely on board with this country era of Beyoncé and predict a cover of a Dolly Parton song. How amazing would that be?

By the way, Taylor Swift was also there and I don't think she worried about the above for a second, because she was on the edge of her seat during the game, together with her bestie Blake Lively. This time she wasn't wearing red (the color of the Kansas City Chiefs), but Blake was. Interestingly, there were also many Republicans watching with sweaty palms after the Chiefs won; there was a rumor going around that Taylor Swift would take this moment to express her support for Joe Biden into the microphone. This did not happen (of course, it's a sports event in which she had no stake); she fell into the arms of her boyfriend Travis Kelce to congratulate him.

Other celebs who saw the Chiefs win were Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga, Elon Musk, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Kanye West, Khloé Kardashian, and Post Malone. The latter had the honor of singing the national anthem before the game.

Yes, it was another game full of spectacle, singing, celebrities, and oh yes, a sports event.