The Super Bowl Halftime Show has been under a bit of a revamp since 2011 and not many have realized it: They've been featuring guest performers alongside headliners such as Madonna and Beyoncé more frequently. This comes after a stretch of six years where the show only featured one act onstage, such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Prince.
Why? Because before Macca took the stage in 2005, special guests at the halftime show had been a nightmare. The 2003 performance was a confusing mishmash of performers—Shania Twain accompanied by No Doubt and Sting—where the headliner played two songs to open and then disappeared. And of course 2004 was epic in its controversy—not for featuring Diddy and Kid Rock on the same stage—but because Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake coordinated for the latter to expose the former's breast in an unfortunate "wardrobe malfunction."
The NFL, figuring that singular acts couldn't possibly pull off shenanigans alone (or that most of the acts during that six-year stretch were over the age of 50 and therefore socially responsible), kept guests out of the picture for a while.
The question: Are we glad that guests have come back, or do we prefer a singular headliner grabbing the audience by the throat? Let's see how the guests of the last four games stack up:
2011: The Black Eyed Peas (plus Usher and Slash)
Things got confusing real quick when the first guest artist in years came onstage to join The Black Eyed Peas during its halftime show during 2011. It was Slash, best known as the guitarist for the Guns N' Roses and for his iconic top hat. He was wearing an tricked-out version of the headwear for his appearance however, one that matched the fluorescent and light-up outfits of the rest of those onstage. The flashing Christmas light hat set all fans of his previous act in a state of unease. And although we complain mightily about the current state of GNR, we'd rather hear Axl Rose singing "Sweet Child O' Mine" with a new guitarist than Slash playing "Sweet Child O' Mine" while Fergie sings it. Things were partially redeemed when Usher appeared to perform "OMG" with Will.i.am.
2012: Madonna (plus Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Cee Lo Green and LMFAO)
There were definite ups and downs to this lineup and we'll go ahead and knock out the downs: Cee Lo Green was definitely having a good run at the time of this show but he just doesn't fit into the strong female cast that Madonna had assembled (we'll get to that in a minute). "But what about LMFAO?" you ask. "They were male!" Right, but LMFAO shouldn't have been included during that halftime show or any halftime show ever. There was some serious talent onstage and then there was LMFAO. If you take that group seriously as Super Bowl entertainment or as a musical act in general, look at how long they existed. Anyway, the good news: Madge did a great job selecting Minaj and M.I.A. as her partners in crime. All three are talented women unafraid of courting controversy and being top dog. Of course, that kind of resulted in M.I.A. flipping the world the bird on TV and potentially leading the NFL to ban guests for another prolonged period but hey. In retrospect women should have been flipping off the NFL for years.
2013: Beyoncé (plus Destiny's Child)
Plenty of people give Jay Z credit for his entrepreneurial instinct away from his day job. But if anything proves that his wife Beyoncé knows a thing or two about making money, it's her approach to the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans. Unlike the acts in years past, she brought just one act, her former moneymaking machine Destiny's Child. Obviously, from a PR standpoint, this gave Bey the opportunity to have guests while still being front and center. It goes deeper than that however. Everyone knows that the Super Bowl Halftime Show is the world's biggest stage for a musician. That sort of attention often results in huge sales upticks for the performers featured. For example, Bruno Mars sold more than 300,000 copies of his album Unorthodox Jukebox in the wake of his performance during 2014, more than a year following the album's release. Beyoncé stood not only to see a boost to her own sales but also those of Destiny's Child's old records, which would result in kickbacks to her bank account as well.
2014: Bruno Mars (plus the Red Hot Chili Peppers)
There may have been some NFL guidelines set after Madonna's controversy-baiting performance (and it's no secret the league takes interest in the performance...it even tried to shake down prospective acts for cash before the 2015 event), as both Beyoncé and Bruno Mars opted for just one backing act (or were coerced into such a decision). Mars clearly had a good time at the event, based not only on his personal performance but also in his selection of a backing band: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, a group he acknowledged being a huge fan of. We like that the headliner controlled the creative process but he could have opted for an act that inspired collaboration a tad easier. That's why we're curious to see how Katy Perry handles the show tonight, based on her recruitment of capable shredder Lenny Kravitz and emcee Missy Elliott. Sounds like a menagerie that could work very well indeed.
