The Super Bowl Halftime Show has always been regarded in pop culture as one of the most amazing gigs in the music industry. Not only do artists get to perform their greatest hits for fifteen minutes with over 40% of the American population (100-150 million) watching, the event allows for fandoms and populations of people to bond over this one specific event whether it be sports enthusiasts, music lovers, people interested in business, or anybody else who feels the desire to be part of the biggest blockbuster and cultural event of the year. Soon after its debut in 1967, the Super Bowl Halftime show has attracted the biggest names in music even featuring artists such as Micheal Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Katie Perry, Prince, Madonna, and many other A-list celebrities and musicians. Throughout the years, expectations for the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime show have skyrocketed, causing pressure and anticipation for the next performers to top the previous ones – ironic considering how the now extravagant annual performance got its start.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show, despite becoming the over the top performances it is known for today, began as a small show to fill the time in between the parts of the football game and allow for a break for viewers. The first Super Bowl Halftime Show took place January 15th, 1967 during Super Bowl I with a performance from lower budget college marching bands such as the Arizona Symphonic marching band and the Grambling State University marching band. All of the performances followed the similar theme of American patriotism with the bands in formations resembling the liberty bell, and the outline of the country. The extent of the theatrics included the release of hundreds of pigeons, thousands of balloons, and even included several men on jetpacks launching into the air. However, the first real celebrity performance at the Super Bowl Halftime show was Carol Channing, a popular Broadway star who at the time was most notably known for her role in the 1964 Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!. The large-scale productions the show is known for today began in 1993 with a 12-15 minute long performance by Micheal Jackson taking the roles of the smaller artists and marching bands the show was previously known for. After this, to draw more viewers from around the country, Super Bowl performances largely followed the path laid by Micheal Jackson and fully abandoned the idea of each halftime show having a theme.
Today, the superbowl halftime performance is a highly anticipated event by many interested in music, sports, and pop culture. In fact, during the 2020 superbowl halftime show with celebrity performers Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Bad Bunny, the television viewership of the entire Super Bowl peaked with over 117,300,000 people. When the performance ended and the football game resumed, the game lost 5.2% of its viewership. Since Micheal Jackson’s performance in 1993, The NFL has put more effort into securing performances from A-list music performers. Most notably with performances from Prince (2007 Super Bowl XLI), Beyonce (2013 Super Bowl XLVII), Lady Gaga (2017 Super Bowl LI), Rihanna (2023 Super Bowl LVII), and most recently Usher at Super Bowl LVII.
This year the short performance will be highlighted by American rapper Kendrick Lamar with special guest SZA. The two will be touring together starting in March on their tour titled the Grand National Tour. The two stars have many hit songs together including the song “All the Stars “featured in the movie Black Panther, and their collaboration on the song “30 for 30.” Their highly anticipated performance will take place during halftime of Super Bowl LIX On February 9th at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The legacy of watching the Super Bowl is long standing amongst Hingham High school students with their New England patriots attending nine Super Bowls and winning over half of them in the last 22 years. Because of this, many Hingham High students have come to be familiarized with the event and therefore have watched and formulated opinions about the halftime show as well. Growing up in this environment has led to many of these students forming their thoughts and opinions about future halftime show performances and special guests. Maddie Everett, a sophomore at Hingham High has shared her opinions about this year’s performers and ones she hopes will perform in the following years proclaiming, “I am excited to see SZA perform this year but I also would like if Gracie Abrams performed someday.” Similarly, freshman Amelia Byrne has stated that she “would love to see Tyler the Creator perform at this event.”
No matter who wins the game of football, for just fifteen minutes, over the past 57 years, fans of both teams have been able to come together and bond over music with people that they may otherwise not have much in common with. No matter who the performer is, over 115 million people per year have been able to come together with their chips and guacamole, football jerseys, and team spirit to celebrate one of the most renowned and talked about performances in the United States.
