Super Bowl XLVII will be held on February 3rd, 2013. The Super Bowl is typically one of the most watched television events of the year, as devoted football fans, casual observers, and non-fans alike tune in for the game, the commercials, and the half-time entertainment. Super Bowl half-time shows are usually star-studded, lavish productions. This year’s half-time show promises to be bigger than ever, as Beyoncé Knowles has been announced as this year’s performer. Rickey Kirshner is the executive producer, and Hamish Hamilton is the director.
Beyoncé is known to many for her groundbreaking work with Destiny’s Child and her chart-topping hits as a solo artist. She is also famous for her personal life, as her marriage to hip-hop superstar Jay-Z and the birth of their first child, Blue Ivy Carter were major pop culture events.
This is not Beyoncé’s first trip to the Super Bowl as a performer. In 2004, she performed the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII to rave reviews. Beyoncé has also performed as part of many high-profile events, including the Grammy Awards, the MTV Music Awards, and many benefit concerts.
Knowles is one of the most successful artists of all time, both with Destiny’s Child and as a solo artist. Destiny’s Child, with Knowles as one of two permanent members, sold over 50 million albums and won numerous Grammy Awards over a seven-year time span. Beyoncé‘s solo career started while she was a member of the group and became her primary focus after the group broke up in 2006. She has sold 13 million albums in the United States, with her worldwide album sales reaching over 75 million.
When Beyoncé’s appearance as the Super Bowl XLVII half-time performer was announced, many speculated that a reunion with her former bandmates in Destiny’s Child was a possibility. The Super Bowl is known for its surprise guest performances. At Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, Madonna recruited pop stars LMFAO, MIA, Nicki Minaj, and Cee Lo Green to perform with her. On January 11, Knowles’s reunion was Destiny’s Child was confirmed. It is highly anticipated that the group will perform “Nuclear,” a song from their recently released Love Songs album and the first new track from the group in six years. It has been confirmed that the half-time show is not a Destiny’s Child show but a Beyoncé performance with the rest of the band as guest performers. Rumors are circulating that Jay-Z, Knowles’s husband since 2008, will also appear as a surprise guest.
The NFL has been criticized in recent years for inviting performers to the half-time show that appealed to older audiences, but left younger audiences changing the channel. With the announcement of Beyoncé as this year’s performer, however, excitement for the show across all age groups is higher than it has been in years.
