Beyoncé Knowles-Carter surprised her fans and the world with a new album announcement during the Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, but not everyone.
The singer and mogul, who has not released a solo album since 2019’s Renaissance, revealed the cover art and release date of her upcoming album, Renaissance Part II, in a commercial for Verizon that aired during the game.
Beyoncé has been accused of overshadowing Usher at the Super Bowl (Picture: Parkwood)
The ad, which was meant to showcase Verizon’s network capacity and reliability, featured Beyoncé trying to “break the internet” in various ways, such as playing the saxophone, creating a “Beyonc-AI robot”, dressing as Bar-bey (Barbie), running for president, and performing from space.
The announcement of new music from Beyoncé, one of the most influential and successful artists ever, sent her fans into a frenzy. However, it also drew some criticism from those who felt that she overshadowed the halftime show by Usher and his guests, which was widely praised for its energy, choreography, and musicality.
Usher, who is one of the best-selling artists of all time and has won eight Grammy Awards, performed some of his biggest hits, such as My Way, Caught Up, Yeah!, and OMG, and was joined by Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., Lil Jon, and Ludacris.
Some viewers took to social media to express their displeasure with Beyoncé’s timing, accusing her of stealing Usher’s thunder and disrespecting his achievement. Others defended Beyoncé, saying that she did not intend to overshadow Usher and that both artists deserved recognition and appreciation for their work.
Some also speculated that Beyoncé and Usher had coordinated their plans beforehand and that there was no bad blood between them.
Usher was the main act for the halftime performance (Picture: TODAY Sports via Reuters Con)
Beyoncé has not commented on the controversy, but she did post a photo of herself and her husband, Jay-Z, at the Super Bowl, wearing matching black outfits and sunglasses. She congratulated Usher on his performance, writing, “You killed it, Ush!” on her Instagram story.
Beyoncé’s new album, Renaissance Part II, is expected to be one of the year’s biggest releases and will feature collaborations with artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Drake, and Adele. The album will be available on all streaming platforms on February 28, 2024.
