After the diva dance-off between Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in 2020 and The Weeknd’s solo takeover in 2021, Tremendous Bowl 2022 rewrote the playbook for the halftime present.
This 12 months’s musical extravaganza — halfway via the sport between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals — featured a loaded lineup of hip-hop heavyweights: Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg. To not point out the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige.
It was a game-changing show of what the halftime present could possibly be all about. And thousands and thousands of viewers misplaced themselves within the second.
Whereas we’re nonetheless on a hip-hop excessive from this 12 months’s star-studded set, let’s go to the replay and look again at a number of the greatest — and worst — Tremendous Bowl halftime reveals of all time.
BEST:
PRINCE (2007)
When it poured throughout Prince’s efficiency of “Purple Rain” at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium — the place his aqua and orange ensemble matched the colours of the hometown staff — it appeared as if he had commanded the climate so as to add extra drama to the event. However the true magic got here in the best way he dominated the stage along with his personal hits, similar to “Let’s Go Loopy” and “Child I’m a Star,” in addition to covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival (“Proud Mary”), Bob Dylan (“All Alongside the Watchtower”) and Foo Fighters (“Better of You”). No particular friends vital.
MICHAEL JACKSON (1993)
The King of Pop modified the sport for Tremendous Bowl halftime reveals with the royal spectacle of his extravaganza on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. From the second he took the stage, holding a model pose for some 90 seconds, he thrilled us all with a triumphant set that included “Billie Jean,” “Black or White,” “We Are the World” and “Heal the World.”
BEYONCÉ (2013)
You may say that the arrival of Beyoncé 2.0 — the one who slays with further sizzling sauce in her bag — occurred when she was the musical headliner at Tremendous Bowl XLVII on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. From then on, she ascended to the throne vacated by the King of Pop as the best residing all-around entertainer on the planet. And she or he did all of it whereas staging a Destiny’s Child reunion that confirmed she may nonetheless be a staff participant, too.
JANET JACKSON, P. DIDDY, NELLY, KID ROCK, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (2004)
Definitely, it will go down as probably the most memorable Tremendous Bowl halftime present of all time. However there was rather more to this all-star blowout than the “Nipplegate” controversy that sacked CBS, producers, MTV and, most severely, Janet Jackson. Earlier than these previous few seconds of Timberlake’s “Rock Your Physique” that stopped the world, this was a reasonably unbeatable lineup. (BTW: Jackson followers are still waiting for that redemption invite.)
JENNIFER LOPEZ & SHAKIRA (2020)
The battle of the Latina divas was a fiercer face-off than the one between the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. Each the Bronx-born Lopez and the Colombian star Shakira introduced muy caliente stuff to Miami’s Laborious Rock Stadium in an electrical halftime present. After visitor appearances by Dangerous Bunny (with Shaki) and J Balvin (with J.Lo), the entire thing ended with an epic dance-off during which their hips most actually didn’t lie.
DR. DRE, EMINEM, MARY J. BLIGE, KENDRICK LAMAR, SNOOP DOGG (2022)
Positive, there have been different halftime reveals which were higher with regards to pure spectacle or musicianship. However the first actual hip-hop halftime present (sorry, Black Eyed Peas) turned the largest stage within the sport into one epic social gathering. The infectious vitality was lit from the second that Cali boys Dre and Snoop hit the stage at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to do “The Subsequent Episode.” And by the point Blige did “Family Affair,” it felt like a full-on household reunion. With such a stacked lineup, it was one lengthy spotlight reel — and, in the long run, an enormous victory for hip-hop.
WORST:
THE BLACK EYED PEAS, USHER, SLASH (2011)
It’s now fairly onerous to consider that the Black Eyed Peas had been ever huge — or good — sufficient to headline the Tremendous Bowl halftime. However even again in 2011, once they led the festivities at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Peas didn’t appear worthy of the gig. Completely nobody had that feeling.
PHIL COLLINS, CHRISTINA AGUILERA, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, TONI BRAXTON (2000)
This Disney-produced present, with a “Tapestry of Nations” theme, felt like one lengthy — and boring — industrial for the model. Certainly, it was mainly a plug for the Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration that was going down at Walt Disney World on the time. I imply, when Phil Collins sings his “Tarzan” track “Two Worlds” as a substitute of “Within the Air Tonight” — and even freaking “Sussudio” — you recognize that one thing has gone horribly improper.
GLORIA ESTEFAN, BRIAN BOITANO, DOROTHY HAMILL, US HOCKEY TEAM (1992)
Earlier than Michael Jackson got here alongside to soup up the Tremendous Bowl halftime, there have been some fairly lame lineups. This one was so weak that it misplaced main viewership to a reside particular episode of “In Living Color.” That includes determine skaters and hockey gamers in a Winter Olympics theme titled “Winter Magic,” it dared to even take consideration away from the one sport that ought to have existed on its huge sport day. No method that poor Gloria Estefan may salvage this mess with “Get on Your Toes.”
MAROON 5 (2019)
Adam Levine’s crew got dragged on social media for a efficiency that made us marvel how that they had ever been booked for the largest gig within the biz. (Nicely, apparently the likes of Rihanna and Cardi B had already turned it down.) By the point a heavily-tatted Levine went shirtless, it felt like a determined try to salvage a nap of a set. And — 15 years after Janet Jackson’s notorious wardrobe malfunction — his double-nipple show was referred to as out as a double customary.
