Beyoncé has encouraged fans to vote in the – I can’t believe I’m saying this – *visuals* for ‘Bodyguard’.
To coincide with the U.S. election, as well as “Beylloween”, the Grammy winner has paid homage to Pamela Anderson’s two most iconic characters: C.J. Parker in Baywatch and the title character in Barb Wire.
Dressed as the latter hero, Beyoncé fires a prop gun which reads, “Vote!” In an additional scene recreating Anderson’s legendary outfit at the 1999 VMA’s, Beyoncé pokes fun at fan demand for music videos as she attends the ‘No Visuals Award’.
Although the video abruptly ends after the second chorus, it notably marks the first visual (sort of) in Beyoncé’s planned trilogy of albums, which includes the widely-acclaimed Renaissance (2022) and Cowboy Carter (2024).
Understandably, fans lost their shit. “See how fun a music video could be? Now release them all,” one wrote, while another said: “Exactly what I needed to get through this election. Thank you, Bey.”
A third spoke for all of us as they commented: “Never thought we would get Cowboy Carter visuals BEFORE Renaissance.”
The Beyhive has continuously theorised that Beyoncé will release videos following the final chapter in her trilogy, which is speculated to be a rock album. However, she told GQ earlier this year that she wanted the music to “breathe on its own”.
“Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music. The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! “The music is enough,” she explained.
“The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film.”
The release of the ‘Bodyguard’ video arrives after Beyoncé declared her support for Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party.
At Harris’ campaign rally in her hometown of Houston (25 October), the pop icon told the crowd: “I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. Your freedom is your God-given right, your human right.”
Watch the music video/visual/ad for ‘Bodyguard’ below, and remember to vote!