The Beyoncé Fan Who Became a Viral Meme After Homecoming Speaks Out

From Oprah Magazine

• Amidst all of the buzz around Beyoncé's Homecoming documentary that chronicled her 2018 Coachella performance was one viral moment: The look of awe on the face of fan and audience member Sydney Hardeman.

• Hardeman spoke to OprahMag.com about what it was like to go viral.
  

When then 18-year-old Sydney Hardeman went to Coachella last year to see Beyoncé-who was making history as the music festival's first-ever Black headliner-she had no idea that a year later, she would become a viral meme.

The new Netflix documentary Homecoming captures how the singer prepared for the now history-making show, including behind-the-scenes footage of grueling months of rehearsals-and, of course, her game-changing performance. During many concert scenes, the camera pans to enamored fans in the crowd wildly cheering for their favorite pop star. But four minutes into the doc, it was Hardeman who made headlines.

Now a freshman at St. Mary's University in Texas, the 19-year-old tells OprahMag.com she was watching the documentary at 2 A.M. Central Time (yes, as soon as the film hit Netflix, like many other Beyoncé fans) when she saw a zoomed in, black-and-white shot of herself looking up at Beyoncé with a pure look of astonishment on her face.

"I saw myself right away, and I was freaking out," Hardeman says. "I immediately got out my phone and recorded the screen. That’s the video I took on twitter that showed my reaction that...I guess kind of went viral!"

That video Hardeman posted on Twitter of herself reacting to...well, herself reacting, immediately went viral. The clip has 1.2 million views to date.

"My twitter notifications were going crazy-I had to turn them off!" she says. "People were calling me an icon and a queen and telling them that I inspired them. I got a lot of support. A lot of them said it was because I represented how they felt. It was just a face anyone would make seeing Beyoncé live in such a historical, magical moment."

The Allan, Texas native says she became a super Beyoncé fan over the years by listening to her music and watching her performances online. When Hardeman, her brother, plus two friends heard the singer would be headlining Coachella, they prepared to jump online as soon as presale tickets became available. In the spring of her senior year of high school, Hardeman and her crew flew from Dallas to California for weekend one of the festival.

"I do remember there being a camera near where we were, and they were filming a lot, so I wondered if I would make it into the documentary," Hardeman says. "But the way they really zoomed in and dramatized it was so surprising and funny."

Though Hardeman says there's no possible way she could ever pick a favorite Beyoncé song ("Believe me, I've tried over the years-I've even created March Madness-style brackets, and I just can't!"), she doesn't hesitate when asked what message she would send to the "Formation" singer if she could.

"Well first, I would want to thank her for even acknowledging my face," Hardeman says with a laugh. "And I would thank her for such an amazing show, and for allowing me to be a part of it. I've said it before and I'll say it again: She is the greatest performer of all time, and I stand by that statement. So it was an honor to just be a part of all of this."

For more ways to live your best life plus all things Oprah, sign up for our newsletter!