Beyoncé is not coming to the Super
Bowl empty-handed. On Saturday afternoon, the singer released a new
single, “Formation,”
along with a music video that invokes Hurricane Katrina and fierce black pride
(“I like my negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils,” Beyoncé sings, referring to
her Southern heritage and superstar work ethic). She is scheduled to join
Coldplay, the Super Bowl headliners, during halftime at the game Sunday in
Santa Clara, Calif. As has become Beyoncé’s habit, “Formation” was announced
simultaneously on her Instagram account and official website with little warning. The
song and video are also streaming on Tidal, the music service owned by the
singer’s husband, Jay Z; the site is offering a free download of the track in
exchange for an email address. The high-profile release follows an up-and-down
week for Tidal after the service released Rihanna’s “Anti” early because of an online leak.
The song, written with Swae Lee of the rap duo Rae Sremmurd, marks Beyoncé’s
first major release since the industry-rattling surprise drop of her
self-titled album in December 2013. On “Formation,” the singer addresses not
only race, but rumors about her celebrity (“Y’all haters corny with that
Illuminati mess”); there are two cuts of the video — one of which opens with a
parental advisory warning for explicit language — featuring a cameo by her
daughter with Jay Z, Blue Ivy. The Louisiana-centric track also features spoken
interludes from the New Orleans bounce artist Big Freedia and the late YouTube
personality Messy Mya, who was murdered there in 2010. “Earned all this
money but they never take the country out me,” Beyoncé half-raps over a minimal
beat, produced by Mike WiLL Made-It and Apluss, which breaks into a blown-out
marching band stomp. “I got hot sauce in my bag — swag.”
The video was directed
by Melina Matsoukas, who previously worked with Beyoncé on the clip for “Pretty
Hurts”; she also won a Grammy for directing Rihanna’s “We Found Love” video.
The video’s release did not come without controversy, however. Not long after
it was put online, the filmmakers Abteen Bagheri and Chris Black took to
Twitter and claimed “Formation” used footage from “That B.E.A.T.,” their 2013
documentary about New Orleans bounce, without permission. “They stole it,” said
Mr. Black, who produced “That B.E.A.T.,” of the B-roll footage of the New
Orleans music scene. “We were there for a week and hung out with the people and
immersed ourselves in the culture. We put a lot into it ourselves.” He
explained that Beyoncé’s team had initially requested to license the footage,
which was commissioned by Nokia and Sundance, late last month and said that Feb.
1 was the deadline for a decision. Mr. Bagheri, the documentary’s director,
said on Twitter that he was asked for approval as well, but had denied the
request.
In a statement to EW,
however, a representative for Beyoncé said the footage was licensed properly:
“The documentary footage was used with permission and licensed from the owner
of the footage. They were given proper compensation. The footage was provided
to us by the filmmaker’s production company. The filmmaker is listed in the
credits for additional photography direction. We are thankful that they granted
us permission.” Ms. Matsoukas also responded on Twitter, thanking Mr. Bagheri for
“the beautiful NOLA footage,” which helped “to make #FORMATION whole.” In a rare interview
ahead of her Super Bowl performance, Beyoncé spoke to CBS about her previous appearance
on the Super Bowl stage in New Orleans in 2013. “I knew I had to
make the best of the moment and I wanted it to be something iconic and
something that people will never forget,” she said in the interview, which aired
on Saturday. Bruno Mars has also confirmed in a post on his Instagram that he
will be making an appearance during the halftime show.
