Ashley Everett, Beyoncé’s former dance captain and most familiar face you will ever meet at her shows, finally addressed her non-appearance in the Cowboy Carter Tour while still making her return in one of the year’s biggest shows: the Christmas Day Beyoncé Bowl Halftime Show.
In a recent interview conducted by host Aubree Danielle, Everett described the way in which Beyoncé’s people contacted her personally in order to return for the one-time NFL halftime show. “So they hit me up and they were like, um the team. Like she’s doing a Christmas performance and she wants her girl there! She just said that she wants Ashley,” Everett explained. “And I was like oh it’s so sweet thanks guys you know? Obviously it’s not that I don’t work with her and will never work with her again. I’m just not touring or doing long-term things that take me away from what I’ve built for myself. So for this short one-off gig, I was totally down. Let’s do it.”
Her statements confirm clearly that while she is no longer living the tour life, the connection Everett has with Beyoncé is real.
A Homecoming Christmas: Beyoncé Bowl
The Dec. 25th Halftime Show, soon enough lovingly nicknamed the “Beyoncé Bowl” by all, was more than a concert at an arena. It was a Christmas homecoming for Everett. “I couldn’t have imagined a better way to close out this year! Spending Christmas with my second family, @beyonce, felt just like home,” she later posted on Instagram. Everett has been a steady presence in Beyoncé’s life for nearly twenty years, from Single Ladies to Super Bowls, and that she is here tonight at this holiday concert is a full-circle celebration.
Sharing the Stage with Blue Ivy
The most emotional part of the evening was seeing Everett stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Beyonce’s 13-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. It was a very intimate moment for Everett, who had seen Blue develop from her first days onward through her current ascending stage presence.
“Performing my third halftime show with Beyoncé, this time alongside Blue, was such a full-circle moment,” she shared. “I was there when she was first introduced to the world, and now, to witness her shine on this stage? Proud aunty moment activated!”
