Beyoncé Is America’s Top-Trending Star This Week
With her Cowboy Carter tour officially underway, Beyoncé is not just filling stadiums—she’s also taking over the internet. According to Google’s latest trend report, Bey is the top-trending person in the U.S. this week, with a 110% surge in searches. Over the past 24 hours, she was also the most-searched artist nationwide. Her country-inspired album Cowboy Carter, already a Grammy winner, was the No. 1 trending album in the country. Meanwhile, searches for “Beyoncé tickets” jumped 250% in the past week alone.
The buzz comes as Beyoncé wraps up a five-night run at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. She’s slated for two more shows in L.A. on May 7 and May 9 before heading to Chicago for three nights at Soldier Field beginning May 15. The tour will also hit Europe in June, with performances in the UK and France.
Sphere Drama: Bey Swaps Tour Visuals After Legal Pushback
Beyoncé made headlines not just for her voice but for a sudden shift in her tour visuals. During her Cowboy Carter set, a giant, animated version of Beyoncé was originally shown holding Las Vegas’ iconic Sphere in her hands. But after receiving a cease-and-desist from the venue’s owner, that visual was pulled.
@theneighborhoodtalk TNHT Staff: @AntoineBLVCK —- Neighbors, is this petty?! According to The New York Post, Beyoncé and her production company, Parkwood Entertainment, have reportedly been hit with a cease and desist from the CEO of Madison Square Garden, James Dolan’s attorney. They claim Bey used imagery of ‘The Las Vegas Sphere’ during her Cowboy Carter Tour without permission. — Per reports, Kathleen McCarthy, an attorney for Dolan’s Sphere Entertainment Group, has accused Beyoncé and her team of manipulating images of The Sphere without proper consent. — The allegations stem from a video shown during Bey’s Cowboy Carter Tour. In the footage, a larger-than-life Beyoncé appears on the Jumbotron, towering over buildings in what looks like the Las Vegas skyline. She then picks up The Sphere, stares into it, pokes it, and walks away. — Reps for The Sphere say that following the video, fans began speculating that Beyoncé might wrap her tour with a residency at the venue—but that doesn’t seem to be the case. McCarthy claimed Beyoncé has never physically visited The Sphere and accused her of “impermissible use and violation” of the company’s intellectual property rights. — “SEG was never asked, and the prominent appearance and manipulation of SEG’s Sphere venue in the video is unauthorized,” McCarthy wrote in the letter. — The company has given Beyoncé and her team until Monday to cease all use of The Sphere. If they fail to comply, SEG says it reserves the right to take further legal action. #beyonce #cowboycartertour ♬ original sound – TheNeighborhoodTalk
The New York Post broke the news on May 2, publishing a letter from Sphere Entertainment Group that stated the venue was “never asked” for permission to be featured and that the image’s use and manipulation were “unauthorized.” Beyoncé doesn’t have a scheduled tour stop at the Sphere.
In response, the visuals were updated to feature Allegiant Stadium — Beyoncé’s actual Las Vegas tour stop on July 25. Her team at Parkwood Entertainment posted the revised clip on Instagram with the caption, “What happens in Vegas starts with a bang.”
Next Stops: L.A., Chicago, and Then Europe
Beyoncé’s next two shows in Los Angeles promise more viral moments, updated visuals, and Cowboy Carter anthems. After that, she heads to Chicago’s Soldier Field for a three-night run before taking her tour international. Whether it’s new looks, live surprises, or stadium-size statements, Beyoncé is once again proving she’s the standard.
