LIVE: The best reactions to the Super Bowl halftime show
The league’s choice of performer is highly anticipated and widely covered. And for a certain segment of viewers, the halftime show is more entertaining than the game itself.
From the good to the bad and everything in between, here’s a quick look at the history of halftime performances at the Super Bowl, including the best and worst acts all time and a complete list of every halftime show spanning 1967 to 2020.
MORE: Why are Shakira, Jennifer Lopez performing the halftime show?
Who is performing during halftime at Super Bowl 2020?
Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in 2020.
Super Bowl 54 will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Best Super Bowl halftime performances
Prince, Super Bowl XLI
Not only did Prince use four different live guitars during the performance, he did it all in the pouring rain in Miami.
Michael Jackson, Super Bowl XXVII
Jackson starts off this memorable show by jumping out from under the stage and standing silently for almost 90 seconds before any music starts. Many consider Jackson’s performance at Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena, Calif., to be the one that transformed the halftime show into the modern spectable we know today.
Beyoncé, Super Bowl XLVII
Having sang the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII in her home town of Houston, it was only a matter of time until the league asked Beyoncé to perform at halftime. The performance she gave also included a guest appearance from Destiny’s Child and was one for the ages.
Worst Super Bowl halftime performances
Coldplay, Super Bowl 50
With the 50th Super Bowl approaching, many were curious as to who the league would choose to perform at halftime. When Coldplay was announced, the public’s response was tepid. The addition of guests Beyoncé and Bruno Mars helped to try ease the public response, but it wasn’t enough.
The Black Eyed Peas, Super Bowl XLV
From the awful costumes to the auto-tuned singing voices to the cameos by Usher and Slash, it just wasn’t The Black Eyed Peas’ day in 2011.
“Be Bop Bamboozled,” Super Bowl XXIII
This performance was doomed from the start. From the awful open that introduced the world to an Elvis impersonator named “Elivs Presto,” to the name of the show “Be Bop Bamboozled” (we’re still trying to figure out how that was chosen), this performance is memorable because of how terrible it was. The use of 3-D effects did help anything either.
