Beyonce’s Publicity Blitz: 5 Things We Hope Don’t Go Wrong

It all leads up to February 3.

That’s the day when Beyonce will put on the half-time show of her life for the world to see. Oh, and there’s a football game too – something called Super Bowl XLVII. (Touchdown! Home run! Goal! Or, whatever…. it’s all about Beyonce’s half-time show.)

Then, there’s February 16. That’s the premiere of the HBO documentary that’s going to change the world. (Viewers will get to see daughter Blue Ivy’s sonogram!) Check out Yahoo! TV’s latest exclusive new look at the trailer, in which Beyonce talks about her constant internal battle over how much she reveals about herself (the inevitable day that a photo is tweeted out of Blue Ivy playing with Gwyneth’s kids, the Internet * might * explode).

As if the multi-talented superstar hadn’t already achieved world domination, 2013 is shaping up to be the year she cements her intent to reign for a very … long … time.

Most recently, Ms. B shared another pic of Blue Ivy on her popular Tumblr blog. In the photo, mom’s abs are perfectly outlined as she helps her adorable offspring learn to walk on the beach. And as the Beyonce publicity advent calendar “countdown” continues, there’s inevitably a new album release announcement coming any day now.

But how much is too much? And what could possibly go wrong? As we learned with Madonna’s run up to her own Super Bowl half-time show performance in 2012, “too much” can lead to a backlash. Here are 5 things we pray don’t go wrong for Bey in the next few months, in order of how much (for the sake of the fans), we hope they don’t occur.


5) She Overcomplicates the Half-Time Show:

Odds of happening: 10–1

When it comes to live TV, anything could happen. Case in point: M.I.A. flipping the bird during last year’s show and, of course, the Janet Jackson “Nipplegate” incident of 2004. When it comes to rating the entertainment during Super Bowl half-time shows, the old adage holds: less is more. The best shows of recent years (Paul McCartney, Prince, U2) have stuck to the big hits and not tried to cram in too many guest stars. The worst (The Black Eyed Peas, Janet/Diddy/Kid Rock/Justin/Nelly) have focused more on pyrotechnics than the music, and ultimately tried to do too much.

Beyonce’s Super Bowl half-time show could go either way. CBS’ website teases: “If Beyonce's performance at the Pepsi NFL Halftime Show features collaborations, it could likely include husband-rapper Jay-Z and her Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.”

So, we know who else is definitely showing up. No surprise on the immediate family – who isn’t getting excited over Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, and (the other) Michelle Williams?! But let’s hope Coldplay and Timberlake don’t end up in there, too. Keep it simple… play the big hits.

4) She Gets Caught Up in a Feud:
Odds of happening: 80–1

We’re not too worried about Beyonce ending up in a public fight with another celebrity, because we’ve never seen this behavior from her before. She always keeps it classy in the public eye. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean it’s not a pitfall to beware of. No one saw it coming for Madonna in March, when she got into a war on Twitter with Deadmau5 over casual use of drug terms (albeit, Madonna is much more prone to starting squabbles). If a war of words does break out, our money’s on Sasha Fierce. However, if a lesser celeb does come gunning for Beyonce in public, hopefully, she’ll continue to keep it cool and any response won’t play out on social media for the world to see.

3) She Overshares:


Odds of happening: 5–1

Hands down, this is the most likely trap that Beyonce could fall into. As huge fans of the superstar, we’re already concerned that we’re hearing too much about her. The GQ magazine cover is hot – so, so, so hot. Hopefully, it’s also exclusive. We don’t need to see her on the cover of every magazine in the next three months. It’s a rule of celebrity physics that the more you put out there about yourself, the less special each thing you put out becomes (see: Kardashian, Kim). Slow the pace, and keep the fans wanting just a little bit more. It’ll go a lot further.


2) She Doesn’t Share Enough:

Odds of happening: 20–1

We love everything about the aforementioned latest photo that Beyonce posted with Blue Ivy. It’s just the right dose of Bey – and it shows her at her most human. Keep it comin’, B! This is the sort of content that does well, because it’s genuine.

This type of content shouldn't be few and far between. What’s the perfect pace for posting something new on that fancy Tumblr blog? Certainly not every day, but don’t make it once a week either. We like “every 3 days,” while you’re in the publicity cycle (that cycle, probably lasting a full year… she’s also got the 3D CGI-animated film “Epic” coming out this Memorial Day weekend, in which she voices a lead character). Keep it coming in just the right amounts.

1) She Comes Out With Anything but AMAH-ZING New Music:


Odds of happening: 40–1

Although her last album, 2011’s 4, only achieved moderate commercial success in comparison to her first three albums, it still debuted at #1 on Billboard and was filled – start to finish – with GREAT music. Beyonce has certainly never put out a dud of an album, and there’s no real reason to think she’ll start doing so now… although critics have rated her second album, B’Day, her weakest.

New music is on its way any day now, with the leadoff single rumored to be called “Ratchet.” We know from the GQ article that she has “been working with Pharrell and Timbaland and Justin Timberlake and Dream.” Not a bad starting place. And now, Beyonce has motherhood as a topic to write about as well. That’s a whole new treasure trough of source material!

It’s very possible that Justin Timberlake’s new music coming on Sunday, will likely be in the form of a track (or, tracks) for Beyonce’s new album. And she announced yesterday that the upcoming Destiny’s Child album would be a Greatest Hits compilation with at least one new song. In fact, the new Destiny’s Child song, a very downtempo track reportedly called “Nuclear,” was just leaked today. There is no reason to think that Beyonce won’t come blasting out of the gates with new music of anything but “Single Ladies” proportions. Let’s just hope the album is as amazing from start to finish as “I Am… Sasha Fierce” and “Dangerously in Love.”

More Celebrity Features on Yahoo!:

Follow omg! on Twitter