In 1992 Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill ice skated on a giant snowflake, the USA Olympic hockey team held up sparklers for what seemed like a really, really long time, and Gloria Estefan rose onto the field on the Statue of Liberty?s head.
1993?s show with Michael Jackson marks the year the halftime started to become iconic. This opened with a bunch of MJ doubles popping up on all sides of the stadium before MJ himself pops out of center stage. He then stands frozen and in total silence while the crowd loses its shit for two straight minutes. Watching this is a master classs on stage presence and how to make an entrance. This performance was a game changer in Super Bowl ratings, and at the time was the most watched television event in history. Lady Gaga?s halftime show would go on to take that title in 2017.
Though the NFL does not pay anyone to perform on the show, Michael Jackson was an exception. In exchange for his performance, they agreed to make a large donation to his Heal The World Foundation, as well as give the foundation free commercial time. His performance reinvented the halftime show and helped create the over the top, pyrotechnics extravaganza that we know today. After this it was game on for every performer who followed to try and top it.
With this massive increase in viewers came a deliberate effort by the NFL to snag the biggest acts possible for the halftime. Boys II Men, Gloria Estefan, The Blues Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle and Tony Bennett were just a few of the performers to headline in the 1990?s. Diana Ross created another iconic moment this decade, when in 1996 she had a helicopter land on the field to fly her out for her grand exit. Only a true diva can pull that off.
The 2000?s brought us halftime shows with NSYNC, Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera, No Doubt, Sting, Britney Spears, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen & Shania Twain to name a few.
The two most memorable performances in this decade were the post 9/11, U2 show, as well as 2004?s now infamous performance featuring Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake (which we now refer to as ?nipplegate.?) Nipplegate marked the first time that the NFL had ever had any sort of scandal associated with its previously squeeky clean halftime show. The FCC received over 540,000 complaints, which led to CBS being fined $550,000.00 for the ?unplanned? wardrobe malfunction. All for less than 3 seconds of showing a woman?s nipple on TV, when no one would bat an eye over a man doing the same. The most significant impact of this was that the NFL didn?t hire another female halftime performer for seven years after the incident.
In the 2010?s we started to see the production design of Super Bowl halftime shows get even more innovative and flashy. Despite this, there were only a handful of unforgettable performances this decade. Beyonce took things to a whole new level in her 2013 show, with stage effects that raised the bar for all future performers. Her costume paid tribute to Michael Jackson?s iconic halftime performance 20 years prior. Lady Gaga took halftime technology to a new heights in 2017 by using 300 Intel shooting star drones and creating the effect of dropping in from the roof. Next to Michael Jackson, this was the best entrance in Super Bowl history. Madonna also made an impressive entrance being dragged in by 100 man slaves, as did Katy Perry in 2015 on her massive golden lion puppet.
Post Lady Gaga, the 2010?s halftime shows started to go downhill again with forgettable, medicore performances by Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5.
The first halftime of the 2020?s featured Shakira and JLO. I loved this one, especially for the message it sent about immigration. Apparently America hasn?t become much less squeamish about women?s bodies since 2004?s nipplegate, because this performance drew over 1,300 complaints to the FCC from people who thought the performance was overly sexual.
Despite its slow start, the Super Bowl halftime show has evolved into an iconic cultural moment, embedded into Americana. Reflecting on these performances gives us some insight as to where we were as a country each year. Both the halftime show and America have gone through many changes. Some years are better than others, but they will always be around and come back strong.
Click here for a detailed list of every Super Bowl halftime performance ever.