Will Bey Perform “Formation” At The Super Bowl?

The Internet was already psyched for her upcoming Super Bowl performance — but Beyoncé's new "Formation" single and video, which she released Saturday, has officially caused the world to freak out. (Seriously. Have a look at Twitter. No one has been able to keep their chill, and I cannot blame them at all.) Not only is it new Beyoncé, but both the video and the song are hugely powerful, filled with gorgeous, politically charged imagery, a lot of swagger, and lyrics expressing her anger and power. Now, the fact that the release comes a day before the Super Bowl has led some to speculate whether Beyoncé will perform the new song at the Super Bowl halftime performance.

Of course, Bey won't be the only one performing: Coldplay are the main event, at least technically, and they'll also be joined by Bruno Mars. It's the 50th Super Bowl, and so I imagine we are in for a pretty spectacular halftime performance. Coldplay has said that they wanted to incorporate Bruno Mars and Beyoncé, who have both performed in recent Super Bowls, to honor the event's past. I imagine that Coldplay and Bey will perform the song that they recently performed together on Coldplay's latest album, "Hymn for the Weekend." But, now that Bey has a whole new track of her own, will it make the cut at the Super Bowl?

Because of the timing, it makes sense that people might expect "Formation" to make an appearance during the Super Bowl. Additionally, there had been rumors from numerous outlets before the release that Bey would be debuting new music at the Super Bowl. Also, it's worth noting that the song, in some ways, seems appropriate for the Super Bowl with its celebration of Bey's southern roots; the Panthers, from North Carolina, are playing, after all, and Bey is from Texas.

However, the song is definitely a subversive celebration of the South, and I wonder if it's more political than what's usually allowed at the Super Bowl. While it might seem that "Formation" was released to coincide with the halftime show, it's worth noting that it also coincides with the announcement that the platform upon which it was released, Jay-Z's Tidal, will donate $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter and other racial justice charities — considering the content of the lyrics, it would make sense that the song might be less for the Super Bowl and more because of that. With her assertion in the lyrics of "Formation" that she "might just be a black Bill Gates in the making," (she's not wrong) it seems like Beyoncé might have even bigger plans than the Super Bowl.

Image: Beyoncé/YouTube