Yes, yes, it’s true: Fans turned up the sound on Christmas Day as Beyoncé took the stage during halftime of the Houston Texans’ game against the Baltimore Raven.
The show marked the first time the artist performed music from her country album, “Cowboy Carter,” in front of a live audience. Beyoncé entered the stadium on a white horse performing “16 Carriages.”
The performance was streamed on Netflix, which hosted the two major NFL games over the holiday. Mariah Carey kicked off Netflix’s NFL Christmas doubleheader with a recorded performance of her holiday hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Netflix described the concert as the “Beyoncé Bowl” in a post on X. Several people who appear to be at the game posted photos on social media of light bands they said were distributed before the game.
In the month leading up to game day, Beyoncé mocked her performance in her hometown of Houston in several social media posts, which were promoted by the streaming giant.
In a video posted on Christmas Eve, the artist appeared to poke fun at streaming issues Netflix had during previous live events. Subsequently, Netflix account
“Cowboy Carter” was released on March 29 and debuted atop the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart as well as the Top Country albums chart. She is the first black woman to top the country albums chart.
It is also Beyoncé’s eighth consecutive studio album to reach No. 1 on the Hot 200 chart, according to Billboard. That means every solo album he’s released since leaving Destiny’s Child has topped the chart.
‘Cowboy Carter’ earned 11 Grammy nominations, including nominations for the coveted album of the year and record of the year awards.
Billboard named Beyoncé the biggest pop star of the 21st century, closely followed by Taylor Swift. The two women began global tours last year and attended their film premiere concerts, but Billboard noted that Beyoncé has “exemplified greatness in every way imaginable” since before Swift’s musical debut in 2006.
The artist broke the record for most titles certified by a female artist earlier this month, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
“Texas Hold Em,” the first single from his country album this year, went double platinum.
As a mother, Beyoncé also had a special memory from this year. She attended the premiere of Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” with her 12-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, who was chosen to voice Kiara.
Beyoncé, who voices Nala, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she found it difficult to concentrate because she got emotional hearing her daughter’s voice in the character.
“She did such a beautiful job and I can’t believe how natural she is,” the singer said. “And I’m so proud of you…and I’m proud that she represents so many young brown women around the world.”
