The G.O.A.T. and W.O.A.T. Super Bowl Halftime Shows
Hi. You probably don’t know me. Without getting too into it, I’m a friend of the Punished Backlog team. The other day, as we were discussing our beloved Patriots heading to another Super Bowl, halftime got brought up. Rumors are that Maroon 5 may be putting on a tribute to SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, which lead to a controversial opinion within our ranks on the matter. One thing led to another, and I started telling everyone which halftime show was best, but it got too complicated and turned into a full-length article and now we’re here. Fun times.
So, yes. You’re getting my official power rankings of Super Bowl halftime shows. We’re going to include the year, the headliner(s), and any guest acts, going from worst to first. This list is completely subjective but I’m going to give my own reasons, so buckle up. Quality of performance, overall spectacle, and ability to make the show their own are all taken into account here.
To narrow the scope of this list, I cut it off at the turn of the century. Why? Well, because most halftime shows before this weren’t really all that much in terms of spectacle. It wasn’t until Michael Jackson changed the game in 1993 that full-on headliners got involved.
Full disclosure: I looked at the list and there are three shows I haven’t seen, mainly because I didn’t want to go back and spend another 45 minutes watching halftime shows I probably don’t really want to see anyway, so we’re giving them honorable mentions here:
- 2000: Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton, 80-person choir, Edward James Olmos (narrator): Yeah, I’m sorry. Maybe it’s nice. It really doesn’t fit the theme and I’m not watching this.
- 2003: Shania Twain, No Doubt, Sting: Interesting combo, was probably ok at best.
- 2004: Jessica Simpson, the Spirit of Houston from the University of Houston, and the Ocean of Soul of Texas Southern University marching bands, Janet Jackson, P. Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock and Justin Timberlake: You know, I’m actually surprised I’ve never watched this one (not for the reasons you think). Apparently it’s actually really good, but it’s also a sin so it’s eliminated anyway.
Ok, now onto the real list, starting with the worst of them all:
16) 2018: Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids(?), University of Minnesota Marching Band
This was overproduced, boring, and you couldn’t even hear anything. Who are the Tennessee Kids? And usually a marching band is always a safe play, but somehow I don’t remember them. They really got overshadowed by every other unnecessary thing from this halftime show. All I remember is that the sound didn’t work, JT wore an odd camo outfit, and they gave a tribute to a holographic Prince that his family supposedly didn’t want to happen. Upon rewatch, I remembered how awkward it began with him standing in some sort of club for his first song. I guess it was cool of Timberlake to go into the crowd at the end, but this is also 2018, so no one actually cared that he went except to get it on Snapchat. I’m also 95% sure he didn’t sing most of this show outside of some “ooo’s” he threw over the audio. This blew.
15) 2011: The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Slash, Dallas/Ft. Worth-area high school drill teams and dancers
So, in 2011, the NFL actually realized that they had a younger audience that they should appeal to. Smart! So, naturally, they went with a show that would appeal to only middle schoolers. Not so smart! Ah well, it is what it is. And I’m going to give credit where credit is due: The Black Eyed Peas kept it weird. And that’s ok in a show like this. The floor was nifty (even though part of it didn’t work), they came out of the sky dressed like characters from a crossover of Tron and Mad Max, and had some pretty big names come through in Slash and Usher. Now here’s the problem… The music was awful. It’s borderline so-bad-it’s-good, which makes it almost demand your attention, but every time it felt like something would turn it around, they took it back down a peg. We got a nice moment of “Where is the Love?” that transitioned into “The Time” but… this was the Peas’ version of it. And there was the self-edited “Boom Boom Pow” that was pretty messy. Oh, and someone thought it would be a good idea to let Fergie sing “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Really, it’s amazing this show did as much as it did to be rated this high. If not for the sheer absurdity of it all, it would be the worst halftime show on this list.
14) 2016: Coldplay, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Gustavo Dudamel, University of California Marching Band, and Youth Orchestra L.A.
Man, this one was an absolute roller coaster. I have a LOT of thoughts on this one. Awful start. Fake fans and overproduced camera work made it look like a bad music video. Martin kept bouncing around trying to capture the camera. Bad bad bad. And then out of nowhere BOOM Bruno shows up and starts jammin’ out to “Uptown Funk,” and then BAM Beyoncé is on the field debuting a brand new single, and then POW Bruno and Beyoncé are having a freakin’ dance off to “Uptown Funk” and WHOA they join up and are tearing the place down and holy crap this is so good and then… Chris Martin gets in as they finish the song and go right into some weird tribute to previous halftime shows. Not really a slight at Coldplay, but this was not a show that’s going to fire people up. Or at least it would have if they just let Bruno and Bey throw down for 15 minutes straight. That would’ve been amazing. Seriously, the rest of this halftime show was so bad compared to it that the NFL posted a video on their YouTube channel SPECIFICALLY for the sing-off. That’s how up and down this show was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9cUytejf1k
13) 2006: The Rolling Stones
So here we are. It’s 2006. The Rolling Stones are one of the greatest rock bands of all time. The NFL is entering its golden era of “bands your parents grew up listening to” phase of halftime shows. What could go wrong? Well, for starters, the Stones have one of the most immense catalogs of songs you could ask for. I could name off five on the spot I’d like them to rattle through. But here’s the problem: We only got three. One of them was “Start Me Up.” Great, a classic. The finale, as Jagger said, “Could’ve been played at Super Bowl I” as they broke into one of the greatest rock songs of all time. Good, there was no way they were getting out without playing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” But between them they played… “Rough Justice?” Not “Paint It Black,” or “Gimme Shelter,” or “Sympathy for the Devil?” You picked a song that Jagger had to introduce to everyone himself? You can do better, guys. You’re one of the all-time great rock bands. People didn’t come to hear a new single. They came to hear the classics. It put a damper on what could’ve been a great halftime show, and instead of getting what we wanted, the Stones threw an unnecessary curveball at us.
12) 2010: The Who
This one really ended an era. The league had been playing it safe since the Janet Jackson incident had happened and had only been hiring old dudes to perform. This was great until The Who-looked-like-your-grandpa’s-grandpa made a request and the league said sure ok cool. The music wasn’t even all that bad; the show just felt a little uninspired. Nothing creative, nothing new, just some old dudes coming out and playing their music. At the end of the day, that’s just fine, but it left a lot of people wanting more and the NFL attempting to honor that in future halftime shows with younger headliners. They did play on a colorful disc thing, which, until I rewatched it for this article, was all I really remembered about it besides that I didn’t remember anything about this show. Looking at it now, it’s really not that bad of a show; just bland. Maybe if this halftime show happened a few years earlier, it’d have been an absolute smash, but they had some big shoes to fill over the last few years. I’ll give them props for playing some great music that probably went underappreciated by many and impressed me a few years later.
11) 2005: Paul McCartney
Ah yes, 2005. The year the NFL played it safe. Coming off of the heels of Nipplegate, the league made sure there was no chance of controversy. So they went with none other than former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. And, well, he held up his end of the bargain. If I’m being honest, this led to a pretty forgettable halftime show. He played some Beatles classics in “Drive My Car” and “Get Back,” and then threw in “Live and Let Die.” Cool. Who cares. Play “Hey Jude.” We just want “Hey Jude.” Obviously, he was playing “Hey Jude,” and he was biding the time to get to “Hey Jude,” but it made for a pretty generic show up to that point. Once it got going, the stadium was rocking and everyone was singing along and having a great time. There just wasn’t anything cool about the rest of the show, really. Would’ve been cool if Ringo had been on the drums too, but you can’t get it all I guess. Whatever. If he’d started with “Hey Jude” and played it for 12 minutes straight I don’t think anyone would’ve complained. Good, safe, and for the most part a forgettable halftime show from a legend.
10) 2008: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
This will always be the show that I remember seeing come on, with middle school me asking “Who the hell is Tom Petty?” It finished with me saying “Who the hell wouldn’t love Tom Petty?” This was a great halftime show, if simple. Petty, more so than anyone else, rattled off a greatest hits show. “American Girl.” “I Won’t Back Down.” “Free Fallin’.” And, of course, the best song to bomb down a highway with your car’s top down: “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” He nailed the setlist. So what wasn’t to like? Well, he almost kept it a little too straightforward. They came in, played some great music, and got out. Great stuff. But in the Super Bowl, it pays to do something out of the ordinary. Really, that’s all that separates this halftime show from the rest of the list. It had some of the best music ever played at the Super Bowl. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t much more than a short concert.
9) 2012: Madonna, LMFAO, Cirque du Soleil, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Cee Lo Green, Andy Lewis, Avon High School Drumline, Center Grove High School Drumline, Fishers High School Drumline, Franklin Central High School Drumline, Southern University Dancing Dolls, 200-Person Choir consisting of Indianapolis locals
Madonna was an interesting choice for the Super Bowl, but for the most part it worked out. She came out with the authority of a queen, with a group of ancient soldiers carrying her as Cleopatra, and ran through some of her hits. This one wasn’t short of guest appearances, but even with all of them it worked out surprisingly well, especially for a collaboration on “Party Rock Anthem.” Cee Lo chipped in with a full choir to wrap things up on “Like a Prayer,” and Madonna vanished into the stage as it ended. It was a good halftime show, a little bit on the wild side, but nothing in particular really took it to the next level for me that made it stand out — except, maybe, the part where M.I.A. flipped the bird to the world…
8) 2014: Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers
I’m gonna be honest: I was skeptical about this one. Keep in mind that Bruno was still a little bit on the rise at this point. You know, you heard him on the top 40 radio stations, and he had talent, but he was not quite a superstar. This show changed it for me. If not for Michael Jackson’s 90-second pause before he started his show, Bruno may have had the coolest opening performance to date. He started the show in the middle of the field with a killer drum solo to start off “Locked out of Heaven” and really got to showcase all his talents here. “Runaway Baby” is an absolute banger, especially with Bruno’s dance as a silhouette. And he wrapped things up with a touching rendition of “Just the Way You Are” that included American soldiers saying hi to their families. There was one drawback — and I hesitate to even call it that — and it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The weird thing is, they didn’t really do anything wrong. They showed up in the latter half of the show and played “Give it Away.” Flea didn’t wear a shirt. The song worked thematically with Bruno. But it almost felt shoehorned in. And then they were gone. The Chili Peppers shouldn’t be a sideshow. They need a whole show just for them. And they unnecessarily cut into Bruno’s big moment. It wasn’t bad, but it was a little too forced to really work with the rest of the show. Otherwise, this is in my opinion one of the more underappreciated halftime shows. Maybe it’s because the game was so bad, but no one seemed to be talking about it. Regardless, Bruno stole the show for me that night and proved to the world why he’s a superstar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2i0Bc3f7jk
7) 2001: Aerosmith, N’SYNC, Brittney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Nelly, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock
I love this show. I absolutely love it. This was MTV’s crossover production at its finest. The show started off in a corny but funny pre-show clip, where Ben Stiller comes in to fire up “N’SYNCosmith” with Sandler and Rock. N’Sync and Aerosmith then tag-teamed some shortened versions of their songs, with the pop group singing their hits like “Bye Bye Bye” and Aerosmith focusing on new material rather than their old classics. It was great. But then came the moment that elevates this show. This was maybe the most ridiculous idea in Super Bowl halftime history, but it worked in every way. The two groups came together to perform “Walk This Way,” and it was absolutely insane. Brittney Spears showed up out of nowhere and nearly stole the show. MJ Blige randomly arrived to sing the chorus. And then Nelly ran on out of left field to rap before everyone came together for one last time to sing the chorus. It’s everything. So why is it only number seven? Well, the finale was spectacular, but the rest of the show was “just” great. The tag-teaming worked, but it was a little unclear where it was all going until they came together at the end. The rendition of “Walk This Way” was so perfectly so-crazy-it-actually-worked, though, that it elevated this halftime show to legendary status. That finale is what every halftime crossover performance should angle for, and why this show stands up to the test of time.
6) 2013: Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child
If there was ever a star meant for this stage, Beyoncé is the one. This halftime show was never going to disappoint. The show was so good, in fact, that it BROKE THE DAMN STADIUM! Queen Bey came out in shadows singing the opening of “Love on Top,” but didn’t linger on it and broke right into “Crazy in Love.” From there, we got some great dances to her hits, but the real wow moment was when Destiny’s Child had a surprise reunion on stage. The Super Bowl has seen a lot of crossovers and guests before, but this was a first full-on reunion. Not only that, but they threw down to “Single Ladies,” and then Beyoncé brought it all home with an incredible performance of “Halo.” One of the best things about it, though, was her genuine smile throughout the entire show. You could just tell how much she was loving this moment. It wasn’t a halftime show that reinvented the wheel, or one that took big risks, but it didn’t need to. Beyoncé went out there, kept it straight, did her thing, brought in the nostalgia, and of course, BROKE THE FREAKING CITY OF NEW ORLEANS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suIg9kTGBVI
5) 2009: Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band
Is there anyone else who could take the field the way Springsteen did? The Boss didn’t need a dramatic intro, fancy sets, or special guests. He came right out, looked right into the camera, and told all the people watching from home to put down their snacks and rock out for the next 12 minutes. From the opening of “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” he just completely owned the moment and showed everyone that he was having the time of his life. A crotch-slide into the camera capped things off, and he went straight into a mix of his hits and a new song. Of course he was playing “Born to Run,” and I questioned it as a second act at first, but he followed it up with a gospel choir backed “Working on a Dream” before he brought the house down with “Glory Days.” He made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want to leave, and to be honest, I’m not sure anyone really wanted him to. Every time “Boss Time” seemed like it was about to come to a close, he just kept playing. No one has owned the moment like someone on their couch would have like Springsteen did, earning him one of the best halftime shows in Super Bowl history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBXWXcQvMxk
4) 2015: Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott, Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band
Katy Perry may have put on the single best all-around halftime show the Super Bowl has ever seen. She shows up riding a massive Lion to “Roar,” had multiple set changes, appearances from Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot, and a finale that featured her flying around the stadium. Oh, and Left Shark was born! Seriously though, this was an amazing show and the production value paid off. It wasn’t just a show; it was a spectacle, and it did it without throwing in an overstuffed cast. She had plenty of time to rattle off a greatest hits setlist, with room to spare. Yeah, Kravitz was admittedly a weird choice, but his hard rock cover of “I Kissed a Girl” was actually kind of cool. And Missy made for a great supporting performance without taking away from the fact that it was Perry’s show. And it all built up to a spectacular finale, with Perry flying around the stadium to “Firework” and, um, fireworks. Given that this happened during what I believe to be the best Super Bowl of all time, it created a perfect performance to go with the game. It’s rare that the game and halftime show live up to each other, and this may just be the best pairing out there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD1QrIe–_Y
3) 2002: U2
U2 would stand out as one of the all-time great halftime shows on emotion alone, although one would wish that it never had to. U2, instead of holding a traditional show, opted for a tribute to those killed on September 11th just months before. Of course, it wasn’t all emotion. The music was pretty amazing, too. The show opened with a performance of “Beautiful Day,” electrifying the Superdome and reminding people that there is a beautiful world out there worth living for. They followed it up with a transition into “MLK” as a massive banner rose behind them. Projected onto it were the names of every person who lost their lives on that tragic day. And as the names rose into the sky, the powerful notes of “Where the Streets Have No Name” began to play, with Bono shouting to the world his support for America. It was a performance that showed respect. It gave hope. And at the very end, the lyrics of “I’ll go there with you, it’s all I can do” became “it’s all we can do” as Bono opened up his jacket to show an American flag sewn inside. Never before, and never since, has such a powerful moment happened at halftime. It was bigger than music. Bigger than football. U2, an Irish band, gave their support to a country that was recovering from immense pain, and, if only for a moment, brought the world together for a country that needed healing. Even all these years later, it’s impossible not to feel the emotions of this moment, and it remains one of the most iconic and powerful images from this great tradition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPHGOMXQyDQ
2) 2017: Lady Gaga
This was a halftime show that I enjoyed about as much as I could have during the first go-around (I was in a pretty loony state given that the Falcons were smacking the Patriots) and then completely forgot about in my euphoria following the game. It took me almost a year to rewatch this, and man was it worth a viewing. It seems like every few years now someone finds a way to one-up previous entrances, but they’re going to have to work real hard to beat this one. I mean, come on, she jumped off the freaking roof. How do you top that? And that was just the start of the show. Gaga kept it straight — no surprise guests were featured — because she didn’t need any distractions. She owned this show from start to finish, and even found a way to send a political message without having to force it. And this is before we even talk about the music. She rattled off her greatest hits with a full dance performance and a flaming stage, and it just got better as it went along. The pop hits suddenly died down into an emotional performance of “Million Reasons” which included a shoutout to her parents, and finally culminated in a spectacular performance of “Bad Romance.” It’s common that these shows save the best for last, but it’s rare to see them start off so dramatically and sustain the momentum to their climax in the way Lady Gaga did.
1) 2007: Prince, Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band
This one NEVER gets old. Man, this one was good. Started out simple; just a quick chorus of “We Will Rock You” and then Prince shows up on a stage shaped like his classic logo. Prince did it all. He rocked out to some of his classic hits, brought out a marching band for added effect, and threw in a few covers, including Bob Dylan’s (but really Hendrix’s) “All Along the Watchtower” and “Best of You” from the Foo Fighters. It was great. He was just jamming out and didn’t care if it was his song or anyone else’s. But there was one moment that separates this halftime show from all other Super Bowls. The finale. He was playing “Purple Rain.” Of course he was going to play “Purple Rain.” Everyone knew he was going to play “Purple Rain.” But here’s the kicker: the game was played outdoors in a torrential downpour. It was horrible conditions for a football game, let alone a concert. So what does Prince do? He asks if he can play his guitar, throws down the single most perfect song possible in that moment, has a silhouette of himself projected into the air, and got the entire stadium singing along to “Purple Rain” in that monster of a storm. The band’s presence was felt. Prince threw down the microphone as he handed it over to the fans. It was incredible. Most of these shows are just fine on TV. This performance stands out, though, because it makes you want to be there singing along with Prince, rain and all. This was already a great show. But finishing it off with “Purple Rain” in the pouring rain? Iconic.
