The focus of the Super Bowl has evolved away from determining the best team in the NFL and is now largely used as a vehicle for promoting the new films of the year and the new car models, as well as a method for record labels to put their stars on arguably the largest stage in the world. This has lead to some killer once-in-a-lifetime performances and an equal number of head-scratchers.
With Green Day and Bad Bunny primed to elicit controversy and conversation, we look back at some of the best (and strangest) performances throughout the history of the Super Bowl. Who should bring home the trophy and who should be sidelined for the rest of the season?
Whitney Houston – Super Bowl XXV (1991)
No better way to kick things off than with arguably the best performance of The Star Spangled Banner since Woodstock. Whitney Houston belted out the definitive rendition of the National Anthem with power, grace, and reverence. Other notable performances of this tune at sporting events include Marvin Gaye at the NBA All-Star Game in 1983, Slash before the NHL Playoffs in 2014, and other Super Bowl openers from Diana Ross, Cher, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé (more on her later), but Whitney’s rendition stands above the rest.
Chubby Checker & 88 Pianos – Super Bowl XXII (1988)
If you like Chubby Checker and one piano, you’re going to like this one 88 times more. 44 Rockettes (with something like 88 legs on display…I didn’t count) are accompanied by 88 grand pianos roll through a medley of classic big band and swing tunes, until a bedazzled Chubby Checker comes out to sing 2 Live Crew’s “Me So Horny” (just kidding of course, he sings about The Twist for the ten thousandth time). Something Grand indeed.
Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson – Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004)
When talking about iconic moments in Super Bowl history, a few seconds from the 2004 broadcast may have the most slo-mo replays since Joe Theismann’s leg was wrung out and left in two pieces in 1985. The “what the heck just happened” feeling of when Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson manufactured(?) a dance move that coined the phrase “wardrobe malfunction” was the clip heard round the world. It was so omnipresent that it became the mother of invention for young developer Jawed Karim who tried to find video footage of the incident online but was frustrated by the wild west nature of video sharing. He and fellow PayPal alumni Chad Hurley and Steve Chen set out to develop a video-sharing platform which we all know now as YouTube. Never underestimate the power of a software developer and their innate desire to see a boob for a fraction of a second!
Michael Jackson – Super Bowl XXVII (1993)
Speaking of Jacksons… Michael Jackson was a pioneer of countless moments in music and pop culture HIStory, and it could be argued that he pioneered the concept of the Halftime Show as we know it today. Huge theatrics, explosions, a medley of hits, epic dance routines, costume changes, and armies of children (uh…moving on…) all became beloved staples of the modern show. The only thing that hasn’t fully been replicated is The King of Pop’s ability to simply stand stock still for the first third of his allotted twelve minutes.
Katy Perry and the Left Shark – Super Bowl XLIX (2015)
Someone else with notable dancing skills is Katy Perry. The star (alongside Missy Elliott and Lenny Kravitz) performed a medley of hits with elaborate sets, a giant gold lion with glowing eyes, a silver chess set, and about 217 costume changes. As it was happening, all of the choreography and musical star power was completely chewed apart by a fin-shaking left shark who stole the spotlight harder than Bruce the Shark did in 1975.
Kendrick Lamar – Super Bowl LIX (2025)
At a time of volatile race relations in America, Kendrick Lamar stepped up and (with the help of Uncle Samuel L. Jackson) presented a charged and visually compelling performance of several of his best-known songs. The colors and patterned choreography, the surprise Serena Williams crip walk, SZA’s two collaborations, and the audience reaction to “A-MINORRRR” all add up to a once-in-a-lifetime show.
U2 – Super Bowl XXXVI (2002)
The concept of doing a razzle-dazzle celebration just months after the horrific events of 9/11 was out of the question, so the NFL wisely asked one of the most earnest and anthemic acts of the time U2 to perform a medley and a tribute. The performance is both understated and triumphant, culminating with a huge wall with the names of the fallen presented upon it. At the end, the usually scene-stealing Bono opens his jacket to reveal the stars and stripes close to his heart. Into the arms of America.
Indiana Jones & The Temple of the Forbidden Eye – Super Bowl XXIX (1995)
Widely believed to be the most bonkers and misguided halftime show ever (and in the running for the weirdest thing ever seen by 83.4 million people), this Disneyland commercial for their mediocre Indiana Jones theme park ride has the bad guy stealing the Vince Lombardi Trophy and he is serenaded by Tony Bennett and Patti LaBelle, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, and the Miami Sound Machine. In the end, “Indiana Jones” punches some bald guys and saves the treasure in an over-choreographed routine. It is somehow weirdly racist, toothless, boring, and “car crash” compelling all at the same time. Near the beginning, the announcer says “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” and he should have gone with that feeling.
Beyoncé – Super Bowl XLVIIl (2013)
Beyoncé’s 2013 halftime show in New Orleans became legendary. She performed a high-energy medley of hits including a reunion with Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and a dance performance with a multiplicity of onscreen Beyoncés a decade before The Eras Tour took onstage screens to the next level. One of our true superstars in an electric performance.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – Super Bowl XXXIII (1999)
What hell hath Swingers wrought? Probably the most “time capsule” halftime show performance since the Up With People days was the tribute to soul, salsa and retro swing in 1999, kicked off by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Swing was the thing for about three months thanks to a Jon Favreau movie and a Gap khakis ad, and this moment captures that movement perfectly. The band hits, quits, and then people dance to Gloria Estefan and Stevie Wonder (who drove a car onto the field?). All jokes aside, a pretty compelling performance and a fun snapshot of our pre-Y2K society. Go Daddy-O!
Prince – Super Bowl XLI (2007)
There was never anybody on Earth like Prince, and this halftime show crushes like none before or after. Not only does he perform a medley of his hits, but he covers “Proud Mary,” “All Along the Watchtower” and in a surprise move plays the Foo Fighters song “The Best of You.” Closing the set with “Purple Rain” might have been a no-brainer, but when IT ACTUALLY STARTED RAINING DURING THE SONG, even the heavens were appreciative of the once-in-a-lifetime performance.
Obviously this is only a partial list. Which performances resonated with you?
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