There are many reasons people tune in to their televisions on the first Sunday of February to watch the Super Bowl between two of the best NFL teams. The first reason is that it is considered un-American if you do not. Football fan or not, there is a pretty good chance you are going to be sitting there watching two teams play off against one another for the long awaited epic finale of the season.
The second reason why people watch the Super Bowl is the commercials. There are billions of dollars being spent on them, so they are most likely going to be pretty entertaining — or at least they should be. Finally, the most accepted third reason to be sitting on a couch for four hours instead of doing homework is for the halftime show.
For the better part of a decade, marching bands originally took to the field as a form of entertainment. It was only a few decades later that popular musicians started winning the time for their own performances. Some have been good choices, others have been a bit too memorable and others have simply shown the country a good time, bringing live music and epic performances to keep those eyes glued to the television.
Let's go back about ten years to 2000. Performing that year were Phil Collins, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Edward James Olmos, Enrique Iglesiasand an 80-person choir. The halftime show was produced by Disney, allowing for a Disney-esque theme throughout, including the song "Two Worlds" by Phil Collins, which also appears in the Disney classic "Tarzan"
The 2002 theme was for 9/11 victims and only starred one performer, U2. This was a change-up for the halftime show, as over the years the halftime show became more of an ensemble performance rather than a singular group performing.
The 2004 Super Bowl brought with it a memorable mishap that didn't leave the minds of thousands for a very long time. Janet Jackson was performing with Justin Timberlake and experienced what was later dubbed a wardrobe malfunction. Ironically, this occurred during the song "Rock Your Body." It is sufficient to say Janet rocked hers a little too hard.
Paul McCartney took the stage famously in 2005 for a memorable and moving performance, which included the song "Live and Let Die." 2006 followed in his famous footsteps with a performance by The Rolling Stones.
Most of the Super Bowls after that had a mixed array of new and old and it wasn't until 2011 when Usher, The Black Eyed Peas and Slash brought a full sweep in for the new. They performed a total of eight songs, which is a large amount when compared to other performances in the past. They also did a great job with it, keeping the party going with one of their most well-known songs, "I Gotta Feeling."
Personally, I think some of the choices in music haven't been as strong as they could have been. Some performers in the past gave weak performances or chose songs that failed to rally a full stadium of Super Bowl fans. However, this year didn't follow in those failed footsteps.
This year's performance brought both new and old names together. These famous names included Madonna, Cirque du Soleil, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., LMFAO and Cee Lo Green. The high school bands performing included Avon, Center Grove, Fishers and Franklin Central. The halftime show started off with a large army of Roman-like warriors moving across the stage. Madonna did a great job opening the show, bringing full attention to herself as an army of golden clad warriors walked the field.
Madonna was then revealed in the middle of it all dressed in a completely golden outfit with an extravagant crown on her head, singing the song "Vogue," which casually changed to into the song "Music" with LMFAO joining her on stage. They combined LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" with Madonna's song, making for an energized and crazy performance. Next to take the stage was Nicki Minaj with a group of chanting cheerleaders. She and Madonna performed "Give Me All Your Luvin" together and were then joined by M.I.A. It was then that the drumlines mounted the stage, beating to the song "Like a Prayer" with both Madonna and Cee Lo Green.
Madonna ended her combined performance by disappearing in a cloud of smoke, the words "World Peace" glittering in gold on the ground. She gave a great performance despite the fact that she had earlier claimed that she was the "most nervous she had ever been." Performing in front of millions can do that to you.
