A post-Super Bowl tradition that has become as predictable as the Gatorade shower and the going-to-Disney-World ad, this year's half-time star Beyoncé already announced her world tour first thing this morning, including a July 18 date at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster and the arena's box office starting Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. for $252, $127, $87 and $47. Pre-sale offers are available via www.beyonce.com.
Dubbed the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour -- a nod to her marriage to rap mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter --the trek kicks off April 15 in Serbia and comes to North America starting June 28 in Los Angeles. Its final show, for now, is Aug. 3 at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., home to the Brooklyn Nets basketball team which counts Beyonce's husband as one of its owners. This will be her first time at Xcel Energy Center, but she has played Target Center in Minneapolis as recently as 2009.
Reaction to Beyoncé's fiery half-time performance was generally favorable, with all eyes not already transfixed on her skimpy leather outfit locked onto her mouth to notice that her microphone was indeed plugged in for much of the performance. Her performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Presidential Inauguration was confirmed to be lip-synced last week.
She brought back her old group Destiny's Child to the field in New Orleans (see the footage below), but there is no word of them joining her on tour. At least one Super Bowl partner will be backing her on the road, though: Half-time sponsor Pepsi is also her tour's co-sponsor, a partnership that has earned the singer criticism from advocates against child obesity.
