Handout/Parkwood
Last night, the Kansas City Chiefs pulled off a narrow victory over the San Francisco 49ers to clinch their second consecutive Super Bowl win as Taylor Swift, surrounded by fellow celebrity friends, cheered jubilantly for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, from the sidelines. The viewership numbers will almost certainly reflect that a new record-setting amount of people tuned in to watch America’s star couple do their respective things, representing just the latest summit in Swift’s career.
Which is why Beyoncé’s brilliant decision to surprise-announce a new album, Part II, during a commercial break last night was so strategically effective, reinforcing the fact that the Renaissance songstress remains our most reliably surprising pop star.
Her rollout came in stages. As America watched, expecting that Swift would be the night’s biggest story, pop culture-wise, suddenly Bey appeared, demanding your attention; and in a goofy Verizon commercial, no less.