I agree with trump on something. Rihanna's halftime show was pretty bad.

[Goodheart]

She's one of those musical stars whose material is better than her voice so I was never going to be blown away by her live performance in the first place, but that hydraulic lifting and lowering with boringly-costumed dancers didn't elevate her in the slightest. It was a snoozefest.

So, after all these Super Bowl halftime shows we're still left with:

1- Prince
2- Lady Gaga
3- Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Mary K. Blige, Kendrick Lamar

[idahoblue]

1. I agree it was boring.

But we loved it because we knew right wing heads would be spinning and exploding.

[Goodheart]

4. Well, yes, of course. :)

[Ocelot II]

2. Prince was the GOAT.

[FalloutShelter]

6. ABSOLUTELY!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. She did great, it was fine. There were reasons for the platforms and the level of energy she

expended. Also imagine having a top 3 and Beyonce isn't in it.

[emulatorloo]

13. Or coldplay or McCartney or springsteen, there have been many great halftime shows.

Big Rihanni fan here, I thought she was great. Wife only knows a few of her songs, but she absolutely loved it. She’s watched it multiple times since Sunday.

[FalloutShelter]

5. I agree...

I would , however, add Bruno Mars. He blew me away with his half-time show.

[tavernier]

10. Agree.

Amazing performer.

[lindysalsagal]

22. I like Bruno Mars.

[hlthe2b]

7. The emphasis on spectacle rather than performance is a turn-off for me.

But, I don't necessarily blame Rihanna for that. Ironically though it was her "set-up" on the entire field that crushed the turf, generated heat and moisture, and led to really precarious conditions on the turf for the second half. There were problems in the first half too, but it really got bad in the second. Again, not Rihanna's fault, but this argues for a more moderated halftime show in the future, IMO.

[Ocelot II]

8. I didn't see it so I can't comment, but I'm sure the reason for TFG's bad review

had nothing to do with her performance and everything to do with the fact that she doesn't like him and has said so very publicly. In 2018 she won a lawsuit prohibiting his campaign from playing her music at his rallies. So of course he slammed her show.

[emulatorloo]

11. +++

[brush]

9. Agreed. The acts you listed were great but how could you leave...

out Beyonce's show which generated re-creations all over the web of "Should've Put a Ring on it?"

And Bruno Mars also.

[whathehell]

12. Agreed.

Last edited Tue Feb 14, 2023, 12:41 PM - Edit history (1)

It looked like a bunch of people dancing around in Hazmat suits!

[Tommy Carcetti]

14. I thought it was pretty good.

Music wasn't bad, costumes were cool and I liked the choreography.

She kind of ruined pregnancy announcements for literally every other woman on earth, but whatever.

I caught some flack on this on another thread, but Prince's halftime show was very overrated. Half the songs he sang were covers. The only reason people actually remember it was because it was raining while he sang "Purple Rain."


Lady Gaga and the hip-hop artists from last year were okay. I don't know if they were the best. But they entertained.

Hard to say what was the best halftime show. Katy Perry's production and choreography were impressive. I also remember being impressed by Bruno Mars for some reason. My favorite performer per se was Tom Petty, although his show itself was pretty straight forward so people don't remember it.

If there has to be a "best" I'd probably go with Paul McCartney and getting the entire stadium to sing along with "Hey Jude." That was pretty damn cool.

[Rocknation]

18. This is why I remember the Prince show (SuperBowl 41, 2007)

Last edited Wed Feb 15, 2023, 11:00 AM - Edit history (1)

Rocknation

[LeftInTX]

24. Omg!

[RoadRunner]

15. I liked it

Would have rather had Shaggy, tho. Maybe next year.

[bigtree]

16. thing for me is

...I'm old and don't know one song that I can name (sure I've heard at least one).

I read the lyrics to that song, and it was repulsive to me, but I grew up in a generation of artists whose main thing was producing stuff that invoked similar reactions. I'm not in a position to judge music that I don't like. It's art, and subjective to the listeners' perspective and taste.

Moreover, when the right wing starts on these young folks, I feel it's my responsibility to just shut my mouth. I'm on a similar plane with Beyonce, experienced with wingers' obsession with the artist and her husband, and not actually a fan, but a longtime defender of the couple.

I'm welcoming Rhianna to my hall of famous musicians I admire and defend, but don't have a clue about their art.

update: version of 'Umbrella' right?

No clouds in my stones
Let it rain; I hydroplane into fame
Comin' down at the Dow Jones
When the clouds come, we gone
We Rocafella
We fly higher than weather
In G5's or better . . .

When the sun shines, we shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath that I'm a stick it out till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella . . .

These fancy things will never come in between
You're part of my entity, here for infinity
When the world has took its part
When the world has dealt its cards
If the hand is hard, together we'll mend your heart . . .

It's raining, raining
Ooh, baby, it's raining, raining . . .

-- Rhianna's Umbrella

[Rocknation]

17. Rihanna allegedly refused the gig at first, probably because she was pregnant

Last edited Wed Mar 1, 2023, 01:27 PM - Edit history (7)

which meant she couldn't dress sexy; dance effectively; or parlay it into promoting new material or upcoming appearances. On top of that, she didn't even actually sing: as Whitney Houston taught us in 1991, today's Super Bowl performers sing AND play to pre-recorded vocals, music, and probably crowd noise. Nor do they get paid -- the NFL only reimburses the production costs. Their compensation is supposed to be the global "exposure" -- thus the emphasis on video game visual theatrics and social media-dependent musical genres and performers.


Rocknation

[kimbutgar]

19. I agree last years was much better

Bruno Mars, and Prince were the best ones though.

[a kennedy]

20. I thought Bruno Mars was pretty good......

[LeftInTX]

25. Why do they use Roman numerals?

Grrhh..had to look the year up..
2014
Agree Bruno Mars is great.
I don't watch football etc

[RussBLib]

21. Rihanna's vocal range is very limited

...and all the songs sound the same. Same minor key, same range of notes, no words of any significance. iMHO, lyrics should have a touch of hope, a touch of the eternal, of the mysterious, to share a commonality with humanity. I didn't feel that at all.

In a word: boring. The hundreds of abominable snowman dancing was a little different. That was the best thing about it.

[lindysalsagal]

23. For football, and I'm not even a fan, I would think: bring on a great mainstream

rock and roll band with lots of cameras for up-close shots and leave it at that. The attempts to "do something earth-shatteringly new" usually are laughable. Just get a good, real rock band and let them enjoy their hits that everyone likes. That's enough. It's an enormous football stadium, so, the setting limits all the theatrical stuff.

[Oneironaut]

26. Didn't see this one, but, Super Bowl HT shows seem to be very mediocre lately.

Of course, I find a lot of new music to be bland and annoying, so that might be why.

[Paladin]

27. Rihanna's show wasn't all that great.

But I've seen worse.