It’s no secret that Beyonce is a true perfectionist. “One thing about me is that I practice until my feet bleed,” she said at yesterday’s Super Bowl press conference, where she sang an a cappella rendition of the National Anthem in an effort to silence the critics who blasted her for singing along to a backing track at President Obama’s inauguration last month.
So it’s no surprise that she has reportedly been rehearsing for her upcoming Super Bowl Halftime show performance since last October, when it was first announced that she would be taking the stage at one of the biggest events this year
The Super Bowl Halftime Show is usually watched by around 100 million people, the biggest live viewing audience in the entire history of Beyonce’s career. So to prepare for that, the singer has put in over 3 months of training to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Super Bowl XLVII goes down this Sunday (Feb 3), when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Baltimore Ravens for this year’s NFL title, and when the game pauses for halftime, Beyonce will surely be ready for the biggest performance of her career.
Meanwhile, there are reports floating around that Beyonce has been making “diva-like demands” for her family during their stay in New Orleans.
A report from British tabloid The Daily Star claims that in addition to demands for her husband Jay-Z to have $6,000 in expensive cigars and alcohol, she also lists in her rider that she wants her 1-year-old daughter Blue Ivy’s $20,000 cedar bed be shipped from their home in New York to the Mercedes-Benz Sueprdome in NOLA. And she wants a make-shift nursery to be constructed there, decorated with rose-scented candles, and kept at a constant temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
“She’s by far one of the most difficult celebrities we’ve ever dealt with,” an anonymous source allegedly complained. “The list is as long as my arm. She may be a superstar, but this day is about football not her.”
But NFL’s Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy denies those made-up reports, saying that Beyonce and her team haven’t been “difficult” to work with at all.
“Beyonce and her team have been great to work with throughout this process,” McCarthy said, according to the Kansas City Star. “We have enjoyed her creativity, vision and spirit in putting on a great show that is truly a Super Bowl performance,” he added.
Us Weekly also quoted sources that noted that Beyonce has been “incredibly gracious” during rehearsals, even personally thanking every single one of the hundreds and hundreds of people who are helping with her big performance.
Additional reports regarding Beyonce’s upcoming Super Bowl performance note that the singer will not be paid for it. An NFL spokesperson confirmed that the NFL traditionally doesn’t pay artists who do the Halftime Show, but they do pay up to $600,000 for production costs.
So even though Beyonce will be performing for free (which really isn’t a big deal, considering you can’t even pay for that type of exposure), everyone else on her team — including her band, backup dancers, technical crew, etc. — will be paid for their time, and any additional production costs will be covered by her new $50 million partnership with Pepsi.
Other than a few behind the scenes videos and photos posted on Tumblr and Instagram, Beyonce and her people are keeping the details about her much-anticipated halftime performance under wraps, but rumors suggest that her former Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams will join her on stage.
Further corroborating those claims is a special note on the website for the musical “Fela!” — which stars Michelle Williams — that states that Williams will not be appearing in the show in the days leading up to and including the Super Bowl (Jan 31 – Feb 3).
When Beyonce was asked about a possible one-off Destiny’s Child reunion at her Super Bowl press conference yesterday, she said, “I don’t know. I can’t really give you any details. I’m sorry!” — which really means, “YES” in celebrity terms.
So based on the fact that Beyonce is on the hush about it, and Michelle is taking time off from her musical, there’s a 99.99% chance that the other two Destiny’s children will be joining their leader on stage this Sunday in New Orleans.
And just in case you were wondering, NO. Beyonce will NOT be lip-synching during her nearly 15-minute performance. At her press conference yesterday, she adamantly stated:
“I will absolutely be singing live [at the Super Bowl]. I am well rehearsed. This is what I was born to do.”
Since we know you absolutely can’t wait for Beyonce’s big Super Bowl performance, check out some behind the scenes footage below to hold you over until Sunday night:
