Grammy Award-winning superstar Beyonce pokes a little fun at Netflix – and their fans – ahead of their big Christmas halftime performance.
On the eve of the “Ya-Ya” singer’s highly anticipated performance at the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans game, a new promo featuring the 43-year-old was released.
The promo includes a nod to the streaming issues that plagued the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson in November.
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Beyoncé jokes about live buffering issues in new Netflix promo
In the promotional clip, which Beyoncé shared on her social media profiles on Tuesday, a crowd cheers offscreen as the “Cowboy Carter” singer slowly comes into view.
The camera slowly pans up to capture the singer wearing a long floral scarf, high heels, a large black cowboy hat and sunglasses. She strums a banjo while seemingly performing her Billboard No. 1 hit “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
The lens comes into perfect view and Beyoncé takes off her sunglasses. As the camera zooms in on her face, the screen suddenly freezes and the infamous red buffer circle appears.
Before the image continues, the singer giggles slightly, which leads to her winking and smiling at the camera.
A graphic appears on the screen that says “Halftime Show, This Christmas, Houston, TX.”
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Beyoncé continued writing with the teaser Instagram: “Sending you great joy and love on this Cowboy Christmas Eve. See you tomorrow in my city HTX.”
Feel free to check it out above.
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Beyoncé’s Christmas Performance Includes Live Debut of “Cowboy Carter”
Originally released in March, Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé’s eighth studio album and her first country album. It has yet to be promoted beyond its three singles.
That will change on Christmas Day, when the singer’s halftime show, which the streaming giant first announced last month, will take place. This is their third partnership with the NFL, the first being their appearance at the 2013 Super Bowl.
In 2016, she joined Bruno Mars and Coldplay for their halftime lineup, where she caused controversy with a performance of “Formation.”
Since then, husband Jay-Z has reaffirmed his partnership with the sports organization for future halftime performances, including Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming Super Bowl LIX, which takes place in February 2025.
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Beyoncé’s NFL performance could be a preview of her upcoming tour
According to the Daily MailThe singer’s halftime performance could provide a taste of what fans could see on a rumored world tour in 2025.
An insider claims the “Single Ladies” superstar is planning to unveil a supposedly “spectacular” series of shows for “Cowboy Carter” and an as-yet-unknown sequel.
Although nothing has been confirmed, some of Beyoncé’s most die-hard followers believe that her current country phase and her embrace of disco and dance could be followed by a rock era with “Renaissance,” the singer’s 2022 album.
The insider also noted that the future project will be her “most unique” yet, with “extravagant” concerts to accompany the work.
Beyoncé and her camp have spoken out about all sorts of future projects.
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Similar to “Renaissance,” Beyoncé has not yet released any visuals for “Cowboy Carter.”
It’s now a new norm for the singer that no official visuals have yet been released for the “Cowboy Carter” singles.
The absence follows a similar gap on “Renaissance,” where she notably told fans during one of her concerts that she thought they were better “visuals” than she could handle.
In conversation with GQ In September, Beyoncé explained for the first time in her career her reasons for not focusing on music videos.
“I thought it was important for the world to focus on the voice in a time when we only see images,” she explained. “The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, explore and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own.”
A statement from Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s production company, also said that the singer hoped to make the music strong enough to do without visuals.
“(It gives) fans the opportunity to be limitless on their expansive listening journey,” it said, adding, “It’s another chance to be listeners rather than spectators while enjoying every gem of the immaculate production.”
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Why it’s important to see Beyoncé’s NFL Christmas halftime show early
Unlike most Netflix productions, the Ravens/Texans game is owned by the NFL.
Therefore, the streaming app only has one Three hour window after the initial broadcast to enable repeats.
However, if you want to catch Beyoncé tearing up the lawn, be sure to do so early!
The Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans game — and Beyoncé’s halftime performance — begins on Netflix at 4:30/1:30 PT on Christmas Day.
