If there’s one thing everyone likes, whether they like the NFL or not, it’s the Super Bowl halftime show.
There he concentrates, in the middle of a pitch in which 22 muscular men, sweaty and full of adrenaline and passion are leaving their lives, for 20 minutes a performance that will hardly be forgotten by anyone who sees it. For good or for bad.
Because not always, 56 editions that are held of the Super Bowl, have been successful with the artist, with the performance, or with both at the same time.
Of course, they have not all been as spectacular as those of today, in which a concert stage is assembled and dismantled in a matter of a few minutes, without anyone noticing, without anyone missing that the game continues. Just the right time. There have been many changes that have taken place over these almost six decades.
The beginnings of the Super Bowl show
Like any beginning of a story, there was a long way to go to polish the edges that were in this new sporting event that dragged millions of American fans. Because back then it was just an American sport. Nothing to do with the current globalism (beware! Not to be confused with globalism).
We had to wait until the 90s for the performances of bands from different universities or cities in the USA, or some other show with Disney characters, to give way to what was the embryo of what is today.
The birth of the intermission show
It was in 1991, in the XXV edition of the Super Bowl, when in the middle of a Disney show, with Alice, Snow White, Mickey and Minnie swarming around among hundreds of children, a world-famous New Kids On The Block made their appearance. Attention… It was two minutes badly counted that lasted his performance, with a reportable playback.
We had to wait a couple more years for that newborn child, with Gloria Estefan and her Conga in between, to become a man. Thus, without a break in continuity. It cannot be otherwise if the one who appears, not in the middle of the field, but at the top of the scoreboard of the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, appears the King of Pop: Michael Jackson. No one who has seen it has forgotten that performance of more than 12 minutes. Legendary.
Since then there have been 30 years of appearances by the most famous singers and groups on the world scene, such as Prince, Madonna, U2, Diana Ross, Aerosmith, Phill Collins, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Coldplay, Lady Gaga or The Who.
But there have also been not so much to everyone’s taste, such as The Weekend, Tom Petty, Bruno Mars or the top-notable of the last edition, the conglomerate of rappers Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, who bored the sheep more than Maroon 5.
All Super Bowl halftime shows
Edition |
Year |
Artists |
XXV |
1991 |
New Kids on the Block, Walt Disney Company, Warren Moon, 2,000 local kids |
XXVI |
1992 |
Gloria Estefan, University of Minnesota Marching Band |
XXVII |
1993 |
Michael Jackson |
XXVIII |
1994 |
Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, The Judds |
XXIX |
1995 |
Patti LaBelle, Tony Bennett, Arturo Sandoval, Miami Sound Machine, Teddy Pendergrass |
XXX |
1996 |
Diana Ross |
XXXI |
1997 |
The Blues Brothers, ZZ Top, James Brown |
XXXII |
1998 |
Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, The Temptations, Queen Latifah |
XXXIII |
1999 |
Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Savion Glover |
XXXIV |
2000 |
Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton |
XXXV |
2001 |
Aerosmith, NSYNC |
XXXVI |
2002 |
U2 |
XXXVII |
2003 |
Shania Twain, No Doubt |
XXXVIII |
2004 |
Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson, Nelly, Kid Rock |
XXXIX |
2005 |
Paul McCartney |
XL |
2006 |
The Rolling Stones |
XLI |
2007 |
Prince |
XLII |
2008 |
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
XLIII |
2009 |
Bruce Springsteen y la E Street Band |
XLIV |
2010 |
The Who |
XLV |
2011 |
The Black Eyed Peas |
XLVI |
2012 |
Madonna |
XLVII |
2013 |
Beyoncé |
XLVIII |
2014 |
Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers |
XLIX |
2015 |
Katy Perry |
L |
2016 |
Coldplay |
LI |
2017 |
Lady Gaga |
LII |
2018 |
Justin Timberlake |
LIII |
2019 |
Maroon 5 |
LIV |
2020 |
Shakira, Jennifer López |
LV |
2021 |
The Weeknd |
LVI |
2022 |
Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg |
LVII |
2023 |
Rihanna |
And this year: Rihanna
This will be the first time he has performed on the Super Bowl stage after having refused to be part of this show in the past, since 2019 he was on the agenda of the organizers, but said not in support of former San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick, who used to kneel when the national anthem of the United States was sung. and whom the league subsequently sanctioned.