Shaboozey + More Join Beyoncé for Electric NFL Halftime Show

Beyoncé threw a “real life boogie and a real life hoedown” in Houston, Texas, during her NFL Christmas Day halftime performance, and she brought a slew of Cowboy Carter collaborators along with her.

The highly anticipated performance slot — during the Houston Texans’ home game against the Baltimore Ravens — also marked the first time that Beyoncé brought songs from her country album to the stage.

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At just over 13 minutes long, her performance was a dazzling spread of selections from that project. The display included a massive cast of dancers and musicians dressed all in white as well as an array of props, from a denim-plastered pick-up truck to the majestic white horse that Beyoncé rode into the stadium.

• Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album came out in March of 2024.
• It was one of the most hotly anticipated and most discussed country albums of the year.
• The lead single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
• Cowboy Carter missed the nominees list at the 2024 CMA Awards, and significant controversy and conversation followed its exclusion.
• However, Beyoncé and the album earned 11 nominations at the upcoming Grammy Awards, making her the most-nominated artist at this year’s ceremony.

The surprise guests started showing up early. During her walkout from the backstage area, Beyoncé performed her reinterpretation of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” flanked by Tanner Adell, Reyna Roberts, Brittney Spencer and Tiera Kennedy, all of whom appear on the recorded version of the song.

From there, the hits just got bigger, flashier and more dazzling. Beyoncé performed “My House” — not a song off Cowboy Carter, but rather a standalone 2023 single she put out just before her country era — with an appearance from her daughter Blue Ivy, as well as a massive light display that spelled out “My House” over the stands of NRG Stadium.

Shaboozey emerged during the set, too. He is a collaborator on two Cowboy Carter tracks — “Riiverdance” and “Sweet Honey Buckiin” — and sang his portions of both as a medley during the halftime performance. Immediately afterward, Beyoncé moved her portion to the bed of a pickup truck, where Post Malone joined her for their duet, “Levii’s Jeans.”

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Dolly Parton wasn’t a performer at the show, but her voice did briefly ring out over stadium speakers before Beyoncé launched into her reinterpretation of “Jolene.”

Before she finished her set with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé took a minute to address the crowd, saying she was “so honored to be in Texas right now” and adding that it was only fitting that the live debut of her hit single happen in her home state.

The performance concluded with a hoedown, plenty of dancing and Beyoncé extending her hand in a finger gun as a banner reading “Bang” unfurled beneath her.

Some fans have speculated as to whether a Cowboy Carter-era tour could be in the works, after Beyoncé’s first live debut of the project’s songs. There’s still no official word in that department, though her halftime show will be available as a Netflix special soon, according to Variety.