The Super Bowl halftime show is one of the biggest stages in the world for a musician. There are precious few chances to perform in front of 100 million people.
A Super Bowl halftime show can guarantee a spot in the national conversation, whether for for your amazing performance or backup dancer in a goofy shark costume.
Note for readers: We've decided to focus on newer halftime shows build around modern musical acts. What else is there to say about weird, bad 1980s shows starring Elvis impersonators?
Favorite: Prince (2007)
The Colts took a break from beating the Bears in 2007 so Prince could rock the stadium. The Purple One lit up the event with “1999/Baby I’m a Star” and a medley of covers including “We Will Rock You” and “Proud Mary.” Finally, he nailed the finish with the iconic “Purple Rain.”
Least favorite: The Who (2010)
Even some fans of The Who were unhappy after their 2010 set. The broadcast had a delay between sound and visuals. The lineup was missing bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Pete Townshend had a wardrobe malfunction that showed off his gut. It could have been better.
Favorite: Beyonce and Destiny’s Child (2013)
Beyonce dazzled the Super Bowl halftime show with an a cappella rendition of “Love on Top.” She then performed “Crazy In Love” and “Baby Boy” before bringing on Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. The three did “Bootylicious,” “Independent Women Part 1” and “Single Ladies.”
Least favorite: The Black Eyed Peas (2011)
The Black Eyed Peas show was received poorly. Twitter reactions from the time are a showcase of snark from "Boom Boom Next" to "'I'm so 2008.' Fergie, 2011." As Sports Illustrated put it, "Between the almost complete lack of movement from the group and Fergie's off-key singing, the Black Eyed Peas failed to live up to the hype of the first under-50 Super Bowl halftime performers since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake."
Bonus: Maroon 5 (2019)
As of this writing the Super Bowl is still a week away. However, there is some trepidation about this year’s lineup of Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi.
"What should've been a celebration of the embarrassment of riches Atlanta has to offer will instead be headlined by Maroon 5, a band whose faceless pop hits are as far from the city's vibrant musical culture as seemingly possible," Maeve McDermott wrote in an well-argued piece for USA Today. "And the one Atlanta native the NFL could snag to perform, Big Boi, is seemingly attempting to keep his appearance as low-profile as possible, probably because of the toxic reception that greeted the halftime show's headliners."
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