CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) — Coldplay headlined at Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show, but all eyes were on R&B super star Beyonce, who gyrated her way through her latest single “Formation” – a power anthem to race and feminism that made a surprise debut on Saturday.
The music video features powerful images of a flooded New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It also depicts graffiti that reads “stop shooting us,” suggestive of the Black Lives Matter movement, which emerged in the wake of killings of unarmed black men, several at the hands of police.
Prior to the game, some fans speculated on social media that Beyonce would deliver a politically charged performance.
But, partnered with Mars on the football field, the tone of the performance was lighter than the video. They subtly conveyed the themes of “Formation” with female dancers dressed in black shorts, crop tops and berets, in what was perceived as an homage to the black nationalist Black Panther Party movement of the 1960s and 70s.
On Twitter, the responses ran the gamut. “If Beyonce’s performance inspires you to wage a war against cops, then you need to get your head checked. STFU Giuliani,” said user Mr. Brightside, referring to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who told Fox News that it “was outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive.”
Another user, OMGkee, agreed, tweeting “NOTHING about Beyonce’s show targeted cops. It targeted a culture that needed an anthem.”
Jessica Price, perhaps more aligned with law enforcement, urged “Changing that channel when @Beyonce comes on for halftime. #BlueLivesMatter#BoycottBeyonce.”
An ad immediately following the show announced Beyonce’s “Formation” world tour beginning in April, her first major tour in three years.
Before wrapping up one of the signature moments of America’s biggest sporting event, Beyonce and Mars joined Coldplay frontman Chris Martin for a quick re-visit to “Uptown Funk!,” ending on Coldplay’s uplifting ballad “Fix You.” Images honored past halftime performers including Stevie Wonder, Black Eyed Peas and the late Michael Jackson, whose military-style wardrobe inspired Beyonce’s costume Sunday.
Even for music’s biggest stars, the Super Bowl halftime show is the largest stage of their careers, drawing more than 100 million viewers to the live event and lighting up social media.
This year’s halftime show garnered a total of 3.9 million tweets. Beyonce dominated the conversation on social media during the halftime performance, with 1.3 million tweets about the singer according to figures from Twitter. Coldplay followed with 774,000 tweets, while Mars garnered 341,000 tweets. The most-tweeted song was “Formation.”
Last year, Katy Perry garnered 3 million tweets during her halftime performance.
All three acts of this year’s performers quickly became top trends on Twitter, with sentiments towards Coldplay’s halftime show measuring overall positive, according to social media analytics firm Zoomph, with twice as many positive tweets than negative tweets.