Beyoncé releases new song day before Super Bowl appearance

Another Beyoncé surprise project has lit up social edia and caused a frenzy of excitement a day before the superstar’s planned Super Bowl performance.

Beyoncé released “Formation” on Saturday as a free download on her artist page for the streaming service, Tidal, which she co-owns with husband Jay Z, Rihanna and other artists. The song, along with a music video, was released as a gift to her fans and it can be downloaded without having a subscription to Tidal.

“Formation” is a gritty street anthem that, perhaps not coincidentally for Black History Month, has lyrics that express black pride with an exclamation point. One lyric: “I like my Negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils.”

And a cheeky line about her man’s sexual prowess earning him a trip to Red Lobster had the seafood chain a top trending topic on Twitter Saturday afternoon.

The video features a brief cameo from her daughter, Blue Ivy, who dances with a group of young girls.

Beyoncé will perform at the halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with Coldplay and Bruno Mars. Beyoncé headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2013 in New Orleans.

At the end of 2013 Beyoncé dropped the album “Beyoncé” unannounced on iTunes; it went platinum in days.

For the full song, you can download it exclusively at Tidal or watch the “Formation” video on YouTube via Rolling Stone magazine (caution, the video features some explicit lyrics).

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Beyoncé releases new song day before Super Bowl appearance."