There is one entertainer whose name has been on the tip of every tongue since the beginning of this year – Beyonce! After taking a necessary hiatus last year to spend time with her newborn and prepare for the challenges that lay ahead, Mrs. Carter is back.
She hit the ground running with incredible momentum belting out The Star Spangled Banner at President Obama’s second inauguration. Although she was ridiculed and criticized for lip-syncing, any good publicist knows any press is good press. Beyonce took her critics head on and responded by singing the national anthem acapella at her next public appearance.
Next on the agenda for the sultry songstress was the most watched event on network television in the U.S. Super Bowl XLVII. Pepsi entered into a $50 million contract with the R&B pop diva including the half-time performance and other promotional activity for Pepsi Cola.
The Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans was charged with energy. Beyonce’s electric performance included pyrotechnics, digital graphics, surprise appearances by Destiny’s Child band mates Kelly Rowland and Michele Williams and, of course, the performer’s signature hair-tossing and hip-dropping dance moves.
As if that wasn’t enough, Beyonce debuted her self-directed documentary Life Is But A Dream on HBO and appeared as a guest on the Oprah’s Next Chapter series on the same night. Life Is But A Dream offered an intimate view of the starlet. Most people are familiar with the glitz and glamour of her numerous MTV Video Music Award, American Music Award and BET Award show-stopping performances and four solo studio albums, which have all been certified platinum records.
However, this was not the focus of the HBO special. Beyonce allowed viewers behind the scenes and behind closed doors, showcasing personal moments with her husband Sean “Jay-Z” Carter, whose track record is equally impressive.
The first born of Matthew and Tina Knowles expressed the stress of being managed by her father and fighting the losing battle of finding the balance between father-daughter time and manager-artist time. The struggle proved to be too much for Beyonce, and she made the decision to part with Matthew Knowles as her manager, straining their relationship for a time. The adage “time heals all wounds” appears to be true, at least in their case, as now their connection has been mended.
Mrs. Carter spoke candidly about the immeasurable sorrow of suffering a miscarriage. She described how the best therapy came from going into the studio and leaving everything on the track.
Beyonce’s gray skies turned blue – literally. Blue Ivy Carter was born Jan. 7, 2012. Her proud parents did not waste any time and sampled her “oohs and coos” on Jay-Z’s track “Glory,” a song dedicated to his daughter describing his and Beyonce’s fertility struggles. At 2 days old, Blue Ivy Carter (“B.I.C.” on the liner notes) is credited as being the youngest person ever to appear on a Billboard chart.
This spring Mrs. Carter and company will embark on a world tour starting in Paris and ending in Rio. Tickets went on sale Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. EST, and by noon that day Dallas, Houston and New York had sold out, according to Ticketmaster.
If the music industry recorded a calendar like the Chinese, it would be safe to say that this is the year of Beyonce.