Going into Super Bowl LVIII, music fans knew to keep their eyes on Usher and Taylor Swift. But no one expected Beyoncé to enter the conversation, much less her become the center of it.
The pop star was the focus of a Verizon commercial during the second half of the game that seemed fairly typical: a giant star teaming up with a company to promote its services in a fun way. In this case, the operator questioned the reliability of her network while Beyoncé attempted to “break the Internet” in an increasingly ridiculous number of endeavors, from running for president to traveling into space.
The efforts, of course, failed, but at the end of the commercial, Beyoncé says “Okay, they’re ready. Put away the new music.”
That puzzling phrase was no joke. It was a statement. Once the commercial ended, the first two singles for Beyoncé’s new album were released, and the release date for the album, Renaissance Act 2, was revealed to be March 29.
The songs “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” suggest that the album will have a country flavor.
And fans seem to be all caught up on the news.
I support Beyoncé making country music even though I don’t like country music: pic.twitter.com/HOXPycx5wt
— Paigey🥢 (@PaigeChristieUK) February 12, 2024
“Usher was so good”
“Oh my God, Usher killed him”
“Ate the Super Bowl halftime show”Beyoncé: pic.twitter.com/3hQvEWVnox
— Sing God (@chantgod) February 12, 2024
Only Queen Beyoncé can release an album to break the internet and pretend like nothing is happening🤭 pic.twitter.com/wgKgjgBRbn
— 👑Supreme Queen Bey👑 (@QueenBeyoncesp) February 12, 2024
While Usher may have headlined the Apple-sponsored halftime show, it was Beyoncé who topped the Apple Songs sales charts on Monday, with “16 Carriages” at No. 1 and “Texas Hold ‘Em” at No. number two. Usher came in at number three with “Yes!” (However, Usher’s new album was the best-selling on that list.)