Update 9:00 p.m.: We’re not getting a residency announcement yet, but the Beyhive did have something to buzz about during the Super Bowl. After the Beyoncé/Tony Hale collab of the century Verizon commercial, Knowles announced that Renaissance Act II was coming out in March. And it’s country, y’all. Will she yeehaw Sphere in the coming months? Will be get a pt. 2 of the “Telephone” music video shot in Vegas? Did Tony Hale get to listen to “Texas Hold ‘Em” before it was released? It’s too soon to tell.
Original story follows.
Could Beyoncé be gearing up to announce a residency at Las Vegas’s Sphere? After a series of cryptic teasers from Verizon, which was a sponsor of her Renaissance tour, fans are theorizing that Queen Bey might just be making an announcement via a Super Bowl commercial. Let’s take a look at all of the evidence.
Last November, The New York Post reported that Sphere had its sights set on Beyoncé to follow up U2’s stint opening up the new venue. According to that report, both Tina Knowles and Jay Z had taken separate tours of the space, but there was no mention of whether or not Blue Ivy checked it out — and we all know she’s the one calling the shots.
Then earlier this week, Verizon began teasing a Super Bowl commercial, with heaps of Beyoncé imagery…like Tony Hale. Alright, maybe Tony Hale doesn’t immediately bring Beyoncé to mind, but he is surrounded by lemons in the ad. “Hold up, she wants me to squeeze all these lemons by myself? This better work,” he says, before we hear a very brief snippet of a song that sounds a lot like, “MY HOUSE.” The lemons, and the phrase “Hold Up,” are surely references to Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, right?
And if that was too subtle, their second teaser makes the Beyoncé connection even more obvious, with Hale appearing alongside a silver horse. Unless you know of any other silver horses, it’s fair to assume that the statue is “Reneigh,” who appears on the album cover of Renaissance and became a staple of her tour. “Should we be in a Super Bowl commercial? Yay or Neigh?” Hale asks the horse.
And to top it all off, Verizon, which is already confirmed to be advertising on the Sphere throughout Super Bowl weekend, tweeted, “You don’t even know what’s coming,” just hours before the big game. Here’s hoping this Super Bowl commercial provides the answers we’re all looking for…specifically about what Beyoncé’s connection to Tony Hale is. Maybe she’ll add his name to “BREAK MY SOUL - THE QUEENS REMIX.”