By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — She’s among the most prolific entertainers around in today’s music world, but Beyonce continues to find new projects. Her latest made its debut Sunday night during the Video Music Awards presentation. But it’s not a new single or album. Instead, it’s a venture into the advertising world. Gatorade released a new commercial honoring Serena Williams with Beyonce providing the naration, The video, directed by Jake Nava — who helmed Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” video — was released as the tennis superstar begins her last trip to the U.S Open. Williams announced that she was “evolving away from tennis” earlier in August.
The extended version was released Monday. It highlights Williams’ career. The “Break my Soul” singer’s narration starts, “When the world writes her down in history, we’ll begin where she started. At love.”
It continues, “It’s a love that we’ll remember through the generations, a love that started a movement, a movement to always love exactly who you are and who you can be. To be so in love with your identity, that your very essence cannot be contained.”Beyonce’s voice continues as the video intercuts with young women participating in other sports and further highlights from Williams’ crowning moments.
The narration reads in a poetry-like fashion, “To be so in love with your identity, that your very essence can not be contained. To love that sound of your own voice and the way you move. To cherish every muscle and every curve your body exhibits. To feel like a queen, unapologetically, with the crown indefinitely. To always love being a proud Black woman, a parent, a dreamer. To always love being you – a whole you, the real you. To always love you.”
Under the video, titled “For Serena, With Love,” the sports drink company that has sponsored Williams since 2009, wrote, “Serena Williams has shown us the power of love – for yourself and everything you do. Her self-belief has been an inspiration to everyone, but especially young women of color. She has started a movement – to realize that you can do anything if you have self-love.”
Beyonce and Williams have a long history together: Beyonce and husband Jay-Z have attended many of her matches, Williams appeared in the “Sorry” video and joined Beyonce onstage at the “Lemonade” tour finale in 2016 (pictured above), and Beyonce wrote the song “Be Alive” for the Will Smith-starring Williams family biopic “King Richard.”
