Halftime shows are a tradition during
American football games at all levels of competition. Entertainment during the
Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the
National Football League (NFL), represents a fundamental link to
pop culture, which helps broaden the television audience and nationwide interest.
Background
During most of the Super Bowl's first decade (starting on January 15, 1967), the halftime show featured a college
marching band. The show's second decade featured a more varied show, often featuring
drill teams and other performance ensembles; the group
Up with People produced and starred in four of the performances. The middle of the third decade, in an effort to counter other networks' efforts to
counterprogram the game,[1] saw the introduction of popular music acts, starting with
Michael Jackson in 1993, including
New Kids on the Block,
Gloria Estefan,
Clint Black,
Patti LaBelle, and
Tony Bennett.
Starting with Super Bowl XXXII, commercial sponsors presented the halftime show; within five years, the tradition of having a theme—begun with Super Bowl III—ended, replaced by major music productions by
arena rock bands and other high-profile acts. In the six years immediately following an
incident at
Super Bowl XXXVIII where
Justin Timberlake exposed one of
Janet Jackson's breasts in an alleged "
wardrobe malfunction", all of the halftime shows consisted of a performance by one artist or group, with the musicians in that era primarily being rock artists from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These shows were considered "family friendly" and the time in which they took place has been described as "the age of reactionary halftime shows".[2]
Since
Super Bowl XLV, the halftime show has returned to featuring popular contemporary musicians, with the typical format featuring a single headline artist collaborating with a small number of guest acts.
The NFL does not pay the halftime show performers an appearance fee, though it covers all expenses for the performers and their entourage of band members, management, technical crew, security personnel, family, and friends.[3] The
Super Bowl XXVII halftime show with Michael Jackson provided an exception, as the NFL and
Frito-Lay agreed to make a donation and provide commercial time for Jackson's
Heal the World Foundation.[4][5][6] According to
Nielsen SoundScan data, the halftime performers regularly experience significant spikes in weekly album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure.[7] For
Super Bowl XLIX, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that league officials asked representatives of potential acts if they would be willing to provide
financial compensation to the NFL in exchange for their appearance, in the form of either an up-front fee, or a cut of revenue from concert performances made after the Super Bowl. While these reports were denied by an NFL spokeswoman, the request had, according to the Journal, received a "chilly" response from those involved.[8][9]
History
The following is a list of the performers, producers, themes, and sponsors for each Super Bowl game's show. This list does not include national anthem performers, which are listed in the article
List of national anthem performers at the Super Bowl. Names in bold are headline performers.
"
Fix You"/"
Up&Up" (Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars) (contains elements of "
Midnight", "Independent Women Part I", "Just the Way You Are", "Purple Rain", and "Beautiful Day")
For
the Rolling Stones, the stage was in the form of the group's iconic tongue logo (
John Pasche's design first used in 1971 on their Sticky Fingers album). It was the largest stage ever assembled for a Super Bowl halftime show, with 28 separate pieces assembled in five minutes by a 600-member volunteer stage crew. The group performed three songs: "
Start Me Up", "
Rough Justice", and "
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". The show was viewed by 89.9 million people, more than the audiences for the Oscars, Grammys and Emmy Awards combined.[67] In the wake of the
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy with
Janet Jackson and
Justin Timberlake, ABC and the NFL imposed a five-second delay and censored lyrics considered too sexually explicit in the first two songs by briefly turning off
Mick Jagger's microphone—censoring to which the group had previously agreed.[68]
However, the choice of the Rolling Stones sparked controversy in the Detroit community because the band did not represent the
traditional Detroit "
Motown Sound", and no artists from the area were included.[69]
Halftime shows are a tradition during
American football games at all levels of competition. Entertainment during the
Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the
National Football League (NFL), represents a fundamental link to
pop culture, which helps broaden the television audience and nationwide interest.
Background
During most of the Super Bowl's first decade (starting on January 15, 1967), the halftime show featured a college
marching band. The show's second decade featured a more varied show, often featuring
drill teams and other performance ensembles; the group
Up with People produced and starred in four of the performances. The middle of the third decade, in an effort to counter other networks' efforts to
counterprogram the game,[1] saw the introduction of popular music acts, starting with
Michael Jackson in 1993, including
New Kids on the Block,
Gloria Estefan,
Clint Black,
Patti LaBelle, and
Tony Bennett.
Starting with Super Bowl XXXII, commercial sponsors presented the halftime show; within five years, the tradition of having a theme—begun with Super Bowl III—ended, replaced by major music productions by
arena rock bands and other high-profile acts. In the six years immediately following an
incident at
Super Bowl XXXVIII where
Justin Timberlake exposed one of
Janet Jackson's breasts in an alleged "
wardrobe malfunction", all of the halftime shows consisted of a performance by one artist or group, with the musicians in that era primarily being rock artists from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These shows were considered "family friendly" and the time in which they took place has been described as "the age of reactionary halftime shows".[2]
Since
Super Bowl XLV, the halftime show has returned to featuring popular contemporary musicians, with the typical format featuring a single headline artist collaborating with a small number of guest acts.
The NFL does not pay the halftime show performers an appearance fee, though it covers all expenses for the performers and their entourage of band members, management, technical crew, security personnel, family, and friends.[3] The
Super Bowl XXVII halftime show with Michael Jackson provided an exception, as the NFL and
Frito-Lay agreed to make a donation and provide commercial time for Jackson's
Heal the World Foundation.[4][5][6] According to
Nielsen SoundScan data, the halftime performers regularly experience significant spikes in weekly album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure.[7] For
Super Bowl XLIX, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that league officials asked representatives of potential acts if they would be willing to provide
financial compensation to the NFL in exchange for their appearance, in the form of either an up-front fee, or a cut of revenue from concert performances made after the Super Bowl. While these reports were denied by an NFL spokeswoman, the request had, according to the Journal, received a "chilly" response from those involved.[8][9]
History
The following is a list of the performers, producers, themes, and sponsors for each Super Bowl game's show. This list does not include national anthem performers, which are listed in the article
List of national anthem performers at the Super Bowl. Names in bold are headline performers.
"
Fix You"/"
Up&Up" (Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars) (contains elements of "
Midnight", "Independent Women Part I", "Just the Way You Are", "Purple Rain", and "Beautiful Day")
For
the Rolling Stones, the stage was in the form of the group's iconic tongue logo (
John Pasche's design first used in 1971 on their Sticky Fingers album). It was the largest stage ever assembled for a Super Bowl halftime show, with 28 separate pieces assembled in five minutes by a 600-member volunteer stage crew. The group performed three songs: "
Start Me Up", "
Rough Justice", and "
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". The show was viewed by 89.9 million people, more than the audiences for the Oscars, Grammys and Emmy Awards combined.[67] In the wake of the
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy with
Janet Jackson and
Justin Timberlake, ABC and the NFL imposed a five-second delay and censored lyrics considered too sexually explicit in the first two songs by briefly turning off
Mick Jagger's microphone—censoring to which the group had previously agreed.[68]
However, the choice of the Rolling Stones sparked controversy in the Detroit community because the band did not represent the
traditional Detroit "
Motown Sound", and no artists from the area were included.[69]