The Super Bowl halftime shows have provided the world with some of the greatest music moments ever. Here are 10 of the best:
1. U2
In February 2002 U2 performed at one of the more sombre Super Bowl halftime shows as the event took place just five months after the 9/11 attacks. After performing hits such as Beautiful Day and Where The Streets Have No Name, Bono ripped open his jacket revealing an American flag inside as a touching tribute to the victims of the attacks.
2. Madonna
In 2012 it was announced that the queen (no, not that queen) would be performing the Super Bowl halftime show. Yes, Madonna, the biggest selling female solo artist of all time would be taking to the stage.
On the night, she arrived on a gigantic throne, just to remind everyone of her title – and it only got better from there. Madge treated audiences to a huge medley of her biggest hits, four musical guests (LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, MIA and CeeLo Green) and ended the spectacle with a special rendition of Like A Prayer backed up by a massive choir. Despite the controversy surrounding MIA’s middle finger-gate, this halftime show went down in history as the most watched ever (Until Katy Perry came along three years later…)
3. Beyonce
Beyonce took the reigns of the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show in Atlanta and displayed some of her biggest hits with incredible choreography to match. The best moment came when her Destiny’s Child bandmates emerged through the floor (literally) and gave fans the ultimate throwback.
Shortly after the performance ended the stadium lost its power for almost an hour…Beyonce literally blew the lights off the place.
4. Paul McCartney
In 2005 the NFL selected Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney to perform the halftime show, the producers of the event told the press that McCartney was a ‘safe choice’ after the Janet Jackson ‘incident’ that occurred the year before. Sir Paul gave the audiences exactly what they wanted by singing hits such as Get Back and Live and Let Die before ending with everyone’s favourite Hey Jude.
5. Michael Jackson
Way back in 1992 the NFL announced that Michael Jackson would be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, this was the first time in history a solo act performed completely by themselves and was also the first time viewership of the halftime show actually rose during halftime – we’d expect nothing less from the king of pop.
6. The Rolling Stones
In 2006 The Rolling Stones performed in Detroit on a stage shaped like their iconic lips logo, the legendary band performed songs such as Rough Justice and the classic (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. The network airing the halftime show decided to delay the live broadcast by five seconds in order to prevent any potential swearing or wardrobe malfunctions.
7. Katy Perry
In 2015 it was pop princess Katy Perry’s turn to perform the halftime show, she kicked off by arriving on a huge golden tiger because, why not? Katy belted out almost all of her biggest hits and was joined by Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliot…and an awkwardly dancing shark.
8. Bruno Mars
When it was announced that Bruno Mars would be headlining the 2014 Super Bowl show many people worried he didn’t have enough spectacle around him in order to pull off an exciting show, especially after the Madonna and Beyonce shows in the two years prior. However Bruno proved everyone wrong when he brought the house down with a little help from the legendary Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
9. Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake
There are only two words that can perfectly sum up this performance…nip slip. Back in 2004 Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake were giving one hell of a performance when all of a sudden Janet had what became the most memorable wardrobe malfunction ever. To put it simply, her boob fell out. The malfunction was broadcast to 143.6 million viewers and the network airing it were fined – making this halftime show one of the most iconic, but probably not for the right reasons.
10. Prince
In 2007 the NFL surprised fans by announcing that Prince would be the halftime show headline act that year, and many people were worried his ‘erotically-charged’ performances might repeat some more unwanted nipple action. They needn’t have worried though because Prince gave us one of the best shows of all time.
He closed with the iconic Purple Rain which saw everyone waving their arms.
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