Artists tend to try to not to overlap their new music releases, especially if they are the same genres. And Usher fans were furious when Beyoncé dropped new music on the heels of Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl performance and his own new music drop, “Coming Home.”
A tit-for-tat stirred up on social media between the R&B crooner’s fans and the BeyHive. This time the Hive might have a point, as Beyoncé’s two new singles — “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” — are in the country lane, and theoretically should not affect Usher’s streams.
But the attention Beyoncé drew with her new music overshadowed, reports Forbes, Usher’s impressive halftime show, his new album, merchandise, and his new tour announcement. Usher did have a major achievement — his star power helped the 58th annual NFL prom pull in 123.4 million viewers who watched in real time. Yet the buzz seems to be all Beyoncé’s.
Typically, when artists choose to forgo their sizable booking fees to perform during the Super Bowl, they anticipate a surge in their album sales. While the “My Way” artist did experience a bump in his sales, it was nowhere near the catapult in streams and sales that was expected. That went to Beyoncé, another child star-turned-superpower, who, some say, hijacked the Super Bowl moment with a gametime commercial and two new song drops.
Beyoncé, Cowgirl
But let’s look at the numbers. Beyoncé’s “16 Carriages” is No. 1 and “Texas Hold Em” is No. 2 on Apple Music country charts. She’s lower down — No. 33 — on the pop music charts. Usher’s album came in at No. 2 on Apple Music after Kanye West’s new album, “Vultures 1.” Beyoncé’s older music saw a major bump: Her 2016 single “Daddy Lessons” is up 370 percent in streams, according to Billboard. Not bad, but Usher’s old music actually saw a much higher jump.
According to Forbes, Spotify’s numbers reveal four of the songs he performed increased more than 1,000 percent in streams after Sunday night. Usher’s total streams on the platform soared by 550 percent in the United States after his Super Bowl performance. During the six-hour period from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. PT on Super Bowl Sunday, his 2005 hit “Caught Up,” which kicked off his halftime performance, saw a surge of 2,000 percent, representing Usher’s most significant percentage increase.
“U Don’t Have To Call,” saw an increase of 1,200 percent, while “Love In This Club (featuring Young Jeezy)” experienced a surge of 1,100 percent, and “Bad Girl” rose by 1,050 percent.
Mistress of Publicity
Still, stories about Beyoncé flooded the media, starting with the Super Bowl commercial. Telecommunications giant Verizon hired the “Renaissance” artist in an action-packed story about her trying to “break” its 5G network that aired during the game. She tries to do it as a robot, by performing a concert in space, then by using social media. When she realizes that she simply can’t win, she agrees to give the people what they want and says, “OK, they ready. Drop the new music.”
Immediately after the Super Bowl, the fans had two songs “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” which she released on all of her streaming services and download platforms.
So it seems while Beyoncé may be media’s queen, Usher is the winner at the numbers game.
