Who run the world? Beyonce, that's who

A show-stopping TV performance is hard to pull off. Just ask any popstar worth their salt. It takes time, dedication, commitment, ingenuity, money... the list goes on and on.

These days, it's so often a case of us having seen it all before, that it takes a lot to wow us. CGI movies in the cinema, incredible technology at our fingertips, and the likes of Lady Gaga pushing forward the boundaries of what is considered the norm for pop music. So when it comes to making the most of that all-important TV performance slot you've been given, you sure as hell had best work it to its best.

Take Beyonce's latest single, Run The World (Girls) - both critical and commercial success for it has been pretty mixed here in the UK. Personally, while being as divided as the next person when I first heard it, it came to grow immensely on me. But there's a magic to making a song click with people, and a performance like the one Beyonce delivered at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards is one such moment.

For starters, when your big moment in the spotlight comes attached with a two minute prelude stuffed full with some of the biggest names in the world, you know you're on to something special. Hell, this makes the X Factor intros look like small potatoes. Here, everyone's lining up to sing Beyonce's praises... Lady Gaga, Bono, Actual Michelle Obama! It is testament to Beyonce's all-encompassing appeal and mega-success that these celebs are so forthcoming with their kind words. 'High persuasion can build a nation,' sings Beyonce in the track's chorus, but Beyonce's own personal nation is already there, towering above everyone else. She doesn't need to persuade anyone, they're already converted - all this in regards to Beyonce, the persona of course; the jury's still out on the song...

So what does she go and do? Pull out a breathtaking routine featuring what seems like hundreds of dancers and a hi-tech graphic wall that turns her into some kind of video-game character. The genius on display here is palpable. Beyonce kicks butt, quite literally; sending her dancers sprawling onto the floor after decimating them with a red pole. Beyond amazing.

This is Beyonce's nation - her world, her dreams; made real for all of us. I don't know about you, but I want in.