Blue Ivy Steals The Show In "Formation"

Beyonce's latest release, "Formation," is a music video that's powerful like few others before it. With vivid imagery of New Orleans scenery, from Bey sitting atop a sinking police car to entire homes submerged in water to a wall emblazoned with the line “Stop shooting us," the video has themes and messages that resonate strongly. What's surprising, though, is that two of the video's most powerful scenes include children. In the first, a young boy in a black hoodie dances before a line of shielded police officers, and in the second, midway through the video, Beyonce's four-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, dances in a veil beside two little girls about her age. While it's unclear who the kids with Blue in "Formation" actually are, the scene is all about Beyonce and Jay Z's young daughter.

"Formation" puts the focus on Blue Ivy like never before. Fans have seen and heard her as a toddler in tracks for both Bey and Jay, but now it seems, true to "Formation"'s message of female empowerment, that the torch is starting to be passed from one generation to the next. There is little doubt that Blue could one day reach her parents' levels of success. When asked about the Knowles-Carter child, friend of the family Gwyneth Paltrow told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live earlier this year that "She is a powerhouse. She is, like, the boss of everything. And she can do all of the choreography to Sia's "Chandelier" video, even though she's just three years old, and she's just super smart and I love her so much."

Blue's prowess makes sense — this is a child who's been primed for the spotlight since she was born. Just two days after her birth on Jan. 7, 2012, fans heard her cries sampled on Jay-Z's "Glory feat. B.I.C," following touching lyrics like, "The most amazing feeling I feel \ Words can't describe what I'm feeling for real \ Baby, I paint the sky blue \ My greatest creation was you." And at 23 months old, Blue was heard talking at the end of Beyonce's "Blue ft. Blue Ivy," and fans watched her frolic with her mother on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro in the accompanying music video.

Although Beyonce and Jay Z were initially reticent about sharing photos of their daughter with the public (posted pictures were mostly limited to shots of the back of her head), 2014 brought Blue's most significant pre-"Formation" appearance to date. That year, the toddler attended her mother's VMA performance, dancing on her father's lap in the audience, before getting carried onstage at the end of the 16-minute performance. After Jay handed his wife the MTV Michael Jackson Vanguard Award, declaring her "the greatest living entertainer," Blue could be heard saying "Mommy!" in a moment seen 'round the world.

And now there's her appearance in "Formation," one of her very best yet. How soon until a Blue-only track comes along?

Image: Giphy