The Extraordinary Evolution of Super Bowl -Halftime Shows

The selection of artists for the first 10 years of rest shows was filled with marching bands and jazz artists with only sporadic performances of real celebrities. Occasionally a number of extra dramatic flourishes would be thrown, such as men who fly on Jetpacks in 1967 or a short re -enactment in 1970 from the Battle of New Orleans, but the scope of these productions was small compared to what rest would later become.

Towards the end of the seventies, with viewers for the Super Bowl almost double what it had been 10 years earlier, the half-time shows of the marching band-oriented university football model began to shift the half-time shows. In their place came a series of musical reviews in variety show style with themes such as “A Salute to the 60s and Motown” and “Beat of the Future.” This was the heyday of Up With People, a non-profit organization with a painful-earnest message of Harmonie through the power of music.

Producers also started weaving gimmicky functions in shows to cheer up things. All 105,000 people present in the Super Bowl of 1983 received colorful cards, so that they could participate in the theme ‘Kaleidosupercope’ of that year. Chubby Checker, depicted above, played in the “Something Grand” review in addition to 88 Grand Piano players in 1988. The “Be Bop BambooZled” show of the following year, led by a LIP-Synchronizing Elvis Presley-Imitator, was the first network broadcast in 3D.

This period is often considered the low point for the tranquility of Super Bowl – the San Francisco Chronicle described the 3D Extravaganza of 1989 as a “horrible stitch to entertainment.” That left NFL broadcasters vulnerable to competitors who offered something more attractive than a medley of cheese -like hits. Fox, a young competitor of the Big Three Networks at the time, seized this opportunity in 1992 by carrying out a live episode of the Sketch Comedy Show “in Living Color” in direct competition with the official Half -Time show that is broadcast on CBS. More than 20 million people coordinated and the CBS robbed of about one fifth of his audience for the main broadcast. Fox’s Gambit was a “big wake-up call” for the big networks, who knew they had to make serious changes to love viewers to reach to the remote control.

The Super Bowl – Halftime Show changed forever when Michael Jackson – literally – burst on stage to launch his iconic performance in the Rose Bowl in 1993. After spending the previous decade, coming up with extensive tricks to infuse excitement in Frackluster spectacles, the NFL had resolved its calm confusing by doing something incredibly easy – doing the most captivating pop star what he did best.

Instead of bleeding viewers as soon as the players left the field, the audience actually grew with more than 10 million people during the break. According to Neilsen, the 1993 resting time show is only one of the 20 most viewed American television broadcasts of all time, only surpassed by recent Super Bowls, big news events and the M*a*s*H final.

The exciting performance of the King of Pop sent a clear message that stars are a must-have for every half-time show. However, it took a few years before the competition completely shook its impetus compared to Campy Theatrics. The following years include concerts from people like Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera and Stevie Wonder. But they also contain an adventure with an Indiana Jones theme that is designed to promote a new ride in Disneyland and a “Blues Brothers Bash” with Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman.

By the start of the Millennium, the formula for success was well established. The gimmicks had disappeared and the peace was all the way about having the biggest stars of the day their biggest hits on the largest stage in the country. The competition may have been held in this approach for an indefinite period of time, were it not for Janet Jackson’s wardrobe disruption in 2004, which caused a national scandal and led to bring announcers to book less risky acts to head their rest time.

After the drama that erupted in response to Jackson’s wardrobe failure, Super Bowl -Halftimes underwent a remarkable shift to a brand of artist who had less chance of inspiring bad press. That meant digging in the past.

Between 2005 and 2010, the half-time shows contained rock bands that, despite their peak in popularity, were always huge acts in themselves. This safer era started with Paul McCartney and then went on to the Rolling Stones the following year before he finally played the WHO, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. The remarkable exception to this trend was Prince, who is a controversy during his career and gave what is generally considered one of the greatest rest performance ever in 2007.

The nostalgia rock period lasted only a few years. It was not long before the list of older bands that could justify such huge spotlights, and the interest among younger viewers had decreased considerably.

In 2011, the Black Eyed Peas were brought to start a “generation shift” for the rest time of Super Bowl. After years of classical rock acts that were more attractive to older Americans, the NFL was back on booking artists who were at the top of the charts. Although the performance of the group usually received matte assessments, they started a decade of pop -ddominance.

The involvement of our culture in resting time shows also changed dramatically during this period. Thanks to the rise of social media, the show was not just about the performance. It was also food for moments and memes that spread far beyond the audience watching TV. This was the era of the formation of Beyonce, the left shark of Katy Perry, the dive of Lady Gaga, a shirtless usher and the weekly lost in a maze of lights.

It is too early to label the current era, but so far the trend suggests that it can be remembered if the years in which hip hop was ordered.

Nostalgia was once again in the middle of the rest period of Super Bowl in 2022. This time, however, they were hip -hop legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem on stage instead of classic rock stars. For the next two years, Rihanna and Usher, whose hits stretch the line between hip hop and doll.

Now it’s Kendrick Lamar’s turn. Only a week after winning five Grammy’s, the biggest star of Rap will set up a show that – whatever happens – will feel as if it comes from a different universe than the modest, traditional resting time shows that used to fill time between quarters of the most important sporting event in America.