Grade: B
As Beyonce took the stage during the Super Bowl half time show, estimated to be the most-watched TV program in American history, I felt a little weary.
It’d only been a few weeks since the country learned the former Destiny’s Child star-turned solo extraordinaire had lip-synced the national anthem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration in Washington D.C.
It was my opinion then, as it is now, that lip-syncing is an embarrassment to the profession. If you have excuses as to why you can’t perform live in front of the camera, don’t pretend you can by standing blankly in front of a microphone.
But that was then, and this was now. Beyonce appeared at the end of an elaborate stage, smoke billowing around her, the music pumping to 55 million TV sets and the adulation of crazed fans stormed the football field.
She looked unfazed by the controversy surrounding the inauguration performance. Her hand poised on her hip, coolly, seemed ready to break loose and shut up her critics and show that BG News columnist and editor what’s what: that she can sing, perform, dance and rock the biggest stage of her career, without the assistance of a prerecorded cheat.
Well.
Her dark, silhouette pierced the background display of pyrotechnics and lights, as she raised her microphone and belted lyrics from “Love on Top,” strutted to the front of the stage and jumped into “Crazy in Love.”
The first half of the song, more accurately. About a minute in, she relegated her microphone to her side, where it stayed for the remainder of the tune, choosing instead to display her renowned dancing.
At least this time, she wasn’t pretending to sing.
No reasonable person could say afterward the show wasn’t entertaining. The supporting dancers and musicians were impressive. The lights and visual display was simply incredible on high definition.
The camera angles shifted between a view in front of the stage and one directly above, as Beyonce’s choreography lined up perfectly with the camera rotation. She sang lying down horizontally on the stage for the above shots and otherwise gave her trademark phenomenal dance performance to the normal angles.
The show even featured a plot twist: Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child appeared from underneath the stage to join Beyonce for a montage of songs from over a decade ago.
The surprise reunion was executed brilliantly. The trio looked and performed together like the band had never broken up, singing and dancing closely in unison.
And in a tribute to perhaps what could have been, the three performed Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” The producers must have preferred that Beyonce retain the spotlight, as Williams and Rowland’s microphones were turned almost completely down during their brief solos.
For the remainder of the show, it was all Beyonce. With the stage black, the artist capped off her performance with “Halo,” shaking hands with those lucky enough to manage a front row spot.
“Thank you for this moment, God bless y’all,” she told an America impressed with her almost as much as they were the Ravens’ 15-point halftime lead.
The show definitely featured her talents, range and brilliant stage performance. It did not, in my eyes, necessarily erase the memory of the inauguration.
But it did reinforce her ability, even through long moments with the microphone at her side.
Even with the inauguration controversy, she demonstrated how much she deserved to be there. Her performance was a breath of halftime fresh air compared to Madonna and Black Eyed Peas of the last several years.
