The Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show was predictably disappointing. The headliner was Coldplay. The featured stars were Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. Therein lies the first mistake of the halftime show.
It's common sense that the special guest performers should never overshadow the main performer. Super Bowl 49 had Katy Perry and Missy Elliot. No one really remembers Katy's performance. We all remember the shark and some remember the metallic lion. Which is a shame, because she really put on a show. Kay Perry is a largely universal star who was instantly upstaged by the return of a legend. But that qualified as a good show because the headliner, Katy Perry, gave such an awesome performance it was like a two for one concert rather than an embarrassing upstaging. It's like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana on the same ticket, or paying to see Taylor Swift and getting Mick Jagger as a surprise guest. Katy Perry with Missy Elliot was an awesome show. Sadly, that was not the case with Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars.
I am not a fan of Coldplay. I don't dislike them, but I have never heard a Coldplay song before the Super Bowl. From what I gather, people either love Coldplay or hate them. Unlike with Beyoncé, there is no in between. Some love Beyoncé, some hate her, and others are neutral because they can only handle her to a certain point in her career. A friend of mine referred to Beyoncé as the Kevin Bacon of the music industry. She's everywhere and really needs to learn that it's okay to say no. And then there was Bruno Mars. Everyone loves Bruno Mars.
Although I know nothing of Coldplay other than their new video and their Super Bowl performance, I dare say that it was flawless. Every note sounded right. The lead singer was on point. I loved the beautiful flowers. But what I did not like is how rushed the Coldplay performance was. Mind you, I am not a fan and after hearing the songs, I won't be anytime soon. But my children were enjoying the show. I really feel that we would have gotten more out of the performance if Beyoncé only showed up as the Hindu / Indian goddess who's image she was appropriating in the music video. But instead, she came out blaringly loud, promoting her new single. Someone really dropped the ball there. Two of the three artists are promoting a new single released within a week of each other. They really should not have both been at that the same venue. At the very least, Coldplay should have had more stage time and transitioned into the single with Beyoncé. From there Beyoncé could transition into her new single and then lead into Bruno Mars. What happened instead was Bruno Mars showed up at the end of Coldplay's act and shut it down. The stadium as well as my living room erupted in cheers and dance. No one can sit still when Bruno Mars is dancing. There he was, singing a song that is about a year old, leading into an MC Hammer song that is about 20 years old, and managing to make us all ignore the two artists that were promoting new singles.
Beyoncé's performance is one of the most overrated halftime performances I have ever seen. How long is she going to continue to do the same dance moves before her fans demand to see something new? I could predict her every move. Swing the hair, drop it low, pop it, twerk it, dry hump it, pose. She's been doing the same moves since she was Crazy in Love. And can someone please beg her to take off the onesies and roll up that rogue stocking? The Super Bowl is a family friendly event and there she was being sexually inappropriate on my flat screen tv, causing my children to have to leave the room until the halftime show was over. That should not happen. Then there is all this hype about her making her performance political. Not one single word she uttered was political. The song Formation has absolutely positively nothing to do with Black Lives Matter or the Black Panther Party. So why, did she decide to concoct a routine with dancers dressed as Black Panthers? She proved to the world how out of touch she truly is with her own people. How could she possibly think it was okay to sexualize the image of Black Panther women, who's main goal was to remove the sexual stereotypes and reaffirm their intellectual equality? Her performance was disappointing on so many levels. She literally and figuratively fell flat on her ass.
I really hope the producers of Super Bowl 51 take a moment to remember that politics have no place in sports. I hope they take time to remember that there are children watching the show with their parents and shouldn't have to be ushered out of the room when the halftime show begins. We have reached the point where we only watch the halftime show to see what controversy will unfold.
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