Who could forget The Boss sliding into the camera
or Lady Gaga doing a better job of receiving a pass than certain NFL athletes? These are
the moments during the super bowl halftime show no one will forget.
Katy Perry was at the height of her fame in 2015,
making it fitting for her to headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Perry entered the field
"Hunger Games" style, riding a giant tiger and wearing a dress adorned in flames. Lenny Kravitz,
who later joined her on stage, did not pay tribute to the film he co-starred in, unfortunately.
"No waving and smiling this time. I want you to look straight ahead as if
the audience in this whole event are beneath you."
Perry and Kravitz sang her hit song "I Kissed a Girl," and Missy Elliott hopped on stage to
perform a medley of her own hits, but it was a shark that stole the show. Accompanying Perry
on stage while she sang "Teenage Dream" and "California Gurls" were two shark mascots,
one of whom, now known as Left Shark, seemed to be performing their own choreography. Viewers fell in
love with Left Shark, and memes of the now-beloved mascot instantaneously circulated social media.
Bryan Gaw, the dancer responsible for blessing the world with such a moment,
opened up to NPR nearly three years later about the method to his magic.
"There's also what's called free-style choreography, or, like, you get to move
around or play your character as a dancer. I'm in a 7-foot blue shark costume. There's
no cool in that. So what's the other option? Well, I'm gonna play a different character."
Fans were thrilled to learn Beyoncé was booked as the headliner for the Super Bowl
halftime show in 2013. Queen Bey teased her performance in a pre-show interview, but was
careful not to give too much away. When asked if others would join her on stage, she replied,
"Maybe... I can't tell you any answers to that."
The public already speculated that two specific women would perform with her, and her coy answer
was enough to convince fans there would indeed be a Destiny's Child reunion at the Super Bowl.
The night of the show, she entertained the crowd with a medley of her hits and delivered
dazzling choreography. Needless to say, the set was superb from the start, but it hit
a new high when Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams jumped on stage. The three women
performed some of their group's hits and teamed up for a very special rendition of "Single Ladies."
A few years later, Queen Bey would grace the Super Bowl stage yet again.
During Coldplay's set, she delivered a mind-blowing rendition of "Formation,"
had a dance off with fellow star Bruno Mars, and caught herself mid-stumble.
After the September 11 attacks, the world changed. Institutions across the United
States felt the effects and many struggled in the aftermath, unsure how to address situations
and handle them with sensitivity and reverence for what had happened. When Super Bowl XXXVI
arrived a few months later, Irish rock band U2 used the halftime show to honor 9/11 victims.
The set began with a performance of their hit "Beautiful Day."
Several minutes into the show, a banner reading "September 11th 2001" unfurled, and the names
of the fallen were displayed as frontman Bono continued singing. The tribute continued well
into the show, and ended with Bono opening his jacket to reveal an American flag lining.
Bono discussed the touching performance in an interview,
"I was connected with the other audience. […] I
was trying to connect with people living in Queens, Texas, Chicago,
whatever. Anyone who had lost somebody. […] I felt we were honoring them, and I knew that was right."
British rock band The Rolling Stones have been playing music since what feels like
the beginning of time. Had the Super Bowl halftime show featured artists
in the '70s and '80s the way it does today, the Stones would have likely
dropped in at least once before 2006. Had they performed before 2006, though,
they might not have been able to pull off the most memorable part of their show: their stage.
One of the best things about playing the Super Bowl is that artists have major creative license
since the stage has to be built specifically for the performance. Many artists have taken
advantage of this throughout the years, but none have done it quite like The Rolling Stones.
Mick Jagger and company performed on a stage shaped like their famous tongue logo,
which allowed fans to be inside and outside the unique setup as the band
played a packed set that included "Start Me Up" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
Few performers are as dramatic as Lady Gaga, and she took her showmanship to new
heights for the Super Bowl halftime show. She started her performance on top of the stadium,
singing a patriotic mashup and reciting the end of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Then, she jumped off the ledge and was lowered to the stage to sing some of her own songs.
The stunning entrance was pre-recorded, but Gaga,
ever one to take risks, did perform the stunt herself for the recording. The rest
of the mini concert was theatrical as ever, and showcased Gaga's musicality and artistry.
Gaga looks back fondly on her performance, but there is one moment she regrets:
the second jump at the end of the show where she caught a touchdown pass.
"I don't know why I made a very silly decision to decide to try to catch a touchdown."
No list of Super Bowl halftime show performances would be complete without mentioning the most
infamous moment of them all: Nipplegate. You know the story,
but here's a quick recap for good measure: At the end of Janet Jackson's Super Bowl XXXVIII set,
guest star Justin Timberlake pulled part of her top off, revealing her entire breast.
The scrutiny Jackson received afterward was harsh and unwarranted. As Billboard recounted,
Jackson was disinvited from the Grammys the following week, and radio and television
stations stopped playing her music, which led to incredibly low sales of her latest album
compared to those of her previous albums. Although two parties were involved in the incident,
only one of their careers took a hit. Meanwhile, Timberlake's career not only soared,
but he was asked to perform at the Super Bowl again. Two years after the moment,
Jackson addressed the performance and the fallout on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
"All the emphasis was put on me, not on Justin."
The Weeknd, had a better 2021 than, well, probably anyone else on Earth. He released new music,
announced that his highly anticipated stadium tour would begin in summer 2022 after pandemic-related
postponements, dethroned Chubby Checker as the artist behind Billboard's number one song on
the Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chart, and essentially became the top musical artist in the
world. His unparalleled year began with one of the greatest Super Bowl halftime shows of all time.
Many Super Bowl halftime shows have featured multiple artists all crooning one or two of
their most recognizable tunes, but The Weeknd's only accomplices in his production were the choir
members, dancers, and orchestra members who served as backup to the artist. Between The
Weeknd running through a mirrored maze, singing and dancing to a mid-show fireworks display,
infiltrating the field with hundreds of dancers donning his signature red jacket,
and ending the show with another fireworks display, it was impossible to look away.
Before the big game, it was revealed The Weeknd invested $7 million of his
own money to create the halftime show he wanted. As he told the NFL Network,
"It was tough to bring the vision to life with what we had at the time. […] We didn't
really know what we were doing, we just knew that we'd have to be creative."
Of all the ways to kick off a performance, standing motionless seems like the least likely,
but that's exactly what Michael Jackson did to start his Super Bowl halftime show.
For over a minute, the King of Pop stood like a statue,
letting the crowd's energy build and build. Eventually, Jackson removed his sunglasses
and the music began. And with that, his halftime spectacular was off to the races.
To include the entire crowd in his performance, each person in the Rose Bowl stands was given a
prop to lift per his direction to create pictures of children while "We Are the World" played.
Children and choir members joined Jackson on stage to sing "Heal the World,"
and fireworks served as the show's crescendo. His jam-packed set also included "Jam,"
"Black or White," and "Billie Jean." According to The New York Times,
his halftime show was a bigger draw than the first half of the actual game.
It was a moment that totally changed the Super Bowl halftime show. As The
Hollywood Reporter reflected, before the King of Pop's set, the event was "mostly
an afterthought" and he helped shape it into the "communal pop extravaganza" it has become.
When it was announced that Prince would be headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2007,
the world knew it was in for an epic 12 minutes. Prince's performance was everything
a halftime show should be: loud, energetic, and full of his hits for fans to sing along.
His performance would've gone down in history regardless, but one element made
it unequivocally great: rain. Prince performed his entire set during the first rainfall in
the Super Bowl's history, and ended the show with a magical performance of his iconic song
"Purple Rain." Prince performing "Purple Rain" in the rain? It doesn't get much better than that.
"I think Prince is magic. I've always thought Prince was magic."
International superstars Shakira and Jennifer Lopez teamed up for a
tremendous Super Bowl halftime show in 2020. Shakira started things off
with a show-stopping medley of hits before stepping aside so J.Lo could do the same.
The incredible set featured cameos by J Balvin and Bad Bunny, dynamic staging,
and, of course, epic dancing. Eventually the two pop megastars joined forces on
the stage to sing Lopez's "Let's Get Loud" and Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)."
J.Lo and Shakira sharing the stage was a jaw-dropping moment for the history books,
but alas, there were some people who took issue with the dancing, believing some of
the moves to be too explicit. According to WFAA, the Federal Communications Commission was flooded
with complaints afterward. Regardless, it was an electric, memorable performance.
M.I.A.'s halftime appearance was certainly memorable,
but not necessarily for the right reasons. The British rapper joined Madonna and Nicki Minaj
for the Queen of Pop's performance of "Give Me All Your Luvin'," and ended her verse by
flipping off the camera as the lyrics told the audience exactly what she doesn't give.
M.I.A.'s choreography didn't sit well with the NFL, and per The Hollywood Reporter,
she was sued for $16.6 million and an apology. The suit was settled in arbitration,
so the terms weren't publicly released.
The rapper did speak out about the situation years later, telling Huck, quote, "The lawsuit
was so ridiculous." She also noted that her management encouraged her to sign an agreement
offered by the NFL, but she refused. We doubt we'll ever see her on the Super Bowl stage again.
When Bruno Mars headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2014, it was a kinetic,
hit-filled extravaganza that happened to feature a quick cameo by rock outfit the Red Hot Chili
Peppers. The Super Bowl has a long history of creating seemingly random collaborations for their
halftime show, and this was no exception. Both parties were entertaining to watch,
but the Red Hot Chili Peppers made headlines by not performing live.
Viewers noticed the rockers were playing unplugged guitars, leading them to
believe they were hearing a pre-recorded version of the song. Following the show,
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea posted a since-deleted letter on their website,
admitting to using pre-recorded music and explaining the situation,
"It was made clear to us that the vocals would be live,
but the bass, drums, and guitar would be pre-recorded."
Bruce Springsteen began the Super Bowl XLIII
halftime show with the E Street Band by telling the audience,
"I want you to step back from the guacamole dip. I want you to put the chicken fingers down,
and turn your television all the way up."
Springsteen and company entertained fans with their legendary songs,
and a few minutes into the show, the singer slid across the stage toward a camera,
all but crashing into the lens. Some viewers loved it, others hated it, but no one forgot it.
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