Super Bowl Half Time Show

[cubdog]

Predictable and blah. I only watched as I was a guest and didn't want to be rude.

cubdog

[skonopa]

Madonna is simply, the best there ever was... say what you want about elvis, michael Jackson or the beatles.

Madonna is the king, and she doesn't really show any signs of slowing down. Sure she doesn't movie like she used to, but when it comes to quality, shes the best there ever was.

Not in my book! She is not even CLOSE to being the "best there ever was". I'll put something like Nightwish up against Madonna any day of the week! Maybe compared to the likes of Briteny Spears or Justin Bieber, she is. I'll give you that.

I'm sorry you guys, but the truth is still the truth no matter how painful it is.

the super bowl had no right being graced with that quality of Madonnas show, but we all understand why she did it.

I'am sorry, but the real truth is that compared to many, much better artists, with REAL talent, Madonna just plain sucks these days. To bad the Superbowl had to sit through such dreck as was shown last night. The game itself was far more entertaining this time around, as far as I am concerned. It was getting to the point that I wish she would just "shut the F' up" and lets get back to the football action. But then again, look what we had to sit through last year as well (and talk about $#!++y half-time shows!).

Yeah, it was kinda fun to watch the visuals, even though I had the music muted out (actually was playing a CD of music that I much prefer over Madonna), but I am with the others on here. Why can't we just have a good, quality band get up there and play a kick-*** mini 4-song set? My only guess is that the typical viewer wants to see all the flash and pomp.

[Rivernuggets]

i only mention them because they are one of the few bands out there that get me all giggly like a school girl. it's sad that most people don't know they've been making great albums since 2001. :/

It's very cool to see them getting their long overdue spotlight though. many other options could exist for the half time show, it would just be nice to see a short music set done with style and not all the useless flash and pomp given to has-been artists.

I really like the Black Keys and have been a fan since 04. They also get me a little giddy.

They're a great band. I hopped on at Thickfreakness. Nickpicking a little here, but I enjoy The Big Come Up through Magic Potion moreso than their later material. But hey, their newer stuff is more fresh than a lot out there.

I liked the Halftime show's effects, but can do without lipsyncing in any 'live' performance. Heard on NPR that Madonna had been practicing/rehearsing since October. Huh......four months.

Remember when (I think it was) Aerosmith and Brittney Spears did the halftime show? Man.......

[Pete H]

Not a fan of hers at all, but as a general rule, singers are suppose to sing so any performer that lip syncs is a POS in my book. What if you sat down to watch the super bowl and there they were, both teams out on the field and the game begins, but no ball; but they still went through the motions and pretended that they had a ball ; give me a break, I turned it off until it was done and the game started back up. You know, maybe they should change it to flag football and no running allowed so nobody will ever get hurt and we should never have a live band play or sing ever again either cause there might be a mistake, cry me a freaking river "the best ever" are you kidding, get a life and why don't you show up to work and pretend to do your job and see how long you last.

I feel much better now and you can let me out of this jacket.[] Great freaking game; even with the mistakes.

[Rivernuggets]

I don't know a lot of Madonna's backcatalog, but the songs I did recognize weren't appropriate arena/sport fodder. Vogue and Like A Prayer is not related to a football scene. And the one where they kept chanting "Madonna". Does she need to hype herself?

Honestly, the effects and choreography was fun.

[mark1101]

It was all fake...........lip sync'd. Who even knows what Madonna's voice really sounds like? In fact, what year do you think last night's vocals were pre-recorded? Do you think she just made those recordings with her current voice for last night's super bowl? I bet not. Some engineer probably created that from an old performance when she could sorta still sing.

[Fjd]

It’s more of a ‘show’ than anything else. Given that the super bowl brings together one of the largest viewership of both football and non-football fans, I’m sure that the promoters considered that the demographics of people watching the super bowl these days has evolved and considered that it is now approximately 46% or so female. A greater than ever portion of people watching are fairly affluent.

Combine this with the fact that Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide over her career, I suspect that they figured the ‘fit’ would work out well. At least they had an artist with more record sales than overall television viewership. These days, even several of the commercials were geared more toward the female viewer in that 35 – 55 age bracket. Rather than ignoring well over 40 million or so segment of the demographics…..you probably get the idea.

Although I did enjoy it in a ‘mind candy’ kind of way, the show probably will not be considered with the ‘all-time best’ (my favorites are probably U2 in 2002 and many would probably agree that the audience was 'moved' while U2 performed 'Where the Streets have no Name' while the board behind them listed the names of all who were lost on 9/11, the Rolling Stones in 2006 and Bruce Springsteen in 2009 - RIP Clarence Clemons 1942-2011); however, she did cater to many age groups by doing some of her old songs plus including LMFAO, Nikki Minaj, MIA (and her middle finger), and this CeeLo character.

The half-time shows now probably reinforce that the days of ONLY slapstick, adolescent humor or muscle car chase ads are probably behind us[^o)]…..

RIP Clarence Clemons 1942-2011

[oldenough]

Great freaking game; even with the mistakes.

Game?.. What game?.. missed that, was it on between the ad's or the Madonna show?......[:|]

[oldenough]

Great freaking game; even with the mistakes.

Game?.. What game?.. missed that, was it on between the ad's or the Madonna show?......[:|]

[Edroom]

I thought the halftime show was "entertaining". A lot better than some of the truly pathetic attempts I have seen in the past.

Must get tough trying to outdo the year before again and again...

I was wondering how many millions of dollars it took to produce that?

Madonna is still kinda sexy, even old.

I don't own any of her recordings, but I think it appealed to most demographics, obviously an almost impossible thing to do. Funny thing, I knew the other "stars" sharing the spotlight were artists of some recognizable sort but I had no idea who they were.. Throw in some rappers to appeal to the "younger folks"!

[oscarsear]

Once it got started I was forced to finish airing it. Why, you may ask? Well because my 2 male dogs just seemed to really like the show or Madonna, I am uncertain what the attraction was. But they were riveted to the tube, both of them. Maybe it was the fancy outfits or the cheesy choreography? But deep in my heart methinx it was Madonna herself. My little Basset-hound/Dachshund mix was all googly eyed and he gave out a yip when she vanished into that vaporous cloud. And they both slept soundly last night. Go figure.

[TasDom]

I'm just glad there weren't any "wardrobe malfunctions" this year cause let's face it, she isn't "like a virgin" anymore!

[willland]

why does it have to be some huge production? why can't they just throw a kickass band up there (cough, the black keys) for a 4 song mini concert?no drama, no censoring nightmares, no poor lip singing or mix-match of has been artists.

Like Tom Petty a couple of years ago?[Y]

Bill

[Thaddeus Smith]

why does it have to be some huge production? why can't they just throw a kickass band up there (cough, the black keys) for a 4 song mini concert?no drama, no censoring nightmares, no poor lip singing or mix-match of has been artists.

Like Tom Petty a couple of years ago?

Bill

i said "kickass band" [6]

[willland]

i said "kickass band"

And that is defined how?

I just mentioned Tom Petty because they are a band with no fluff, they just have synergy and play the music.

Bill

[Fish]

Bill, most people understand Tom Petty has a real band and has a vast knowledge of music.They have forgot more than most flash in the pan bands will ever know.My grandson which is one also does not have a great appreciation of music, yet, but he will when he grows up.

As to the 1/2 time show, worst in my life so far.I must confess though I did not really watch it, nor did I want to, just the thought made me ill.

[Thaddeus Smith]

And that is defined how?

it cannot be defined, due to generational gaps.

[oldtimer]

why does it have to be some huge production? why can't they just throw a kickass band up there (cough, the black keys) for a 4 song mini concert?no drama, no censoring nightmares, no poor lip singing or mix-match of has been artists. it's sad when the kitten bowl half time show is more interesting to watch..

Why? I blame Disney. I think it was in the 70's when I saw an Orange Bowl halftime show that was some stupid Disney parade of lighted floats with canned music. It eventually snow-balled from there pushing out the traditional marching bands which, to the bandsmen, was a contest in itself for which side did a better show not just visually, but musically. Throw in more Disney money machine boy bands and modern mousekateers and the focus became more and more visual, less musical. This was of course complimented by non-Disney artists in a competition for the same moronic (and huge) dollars. Now it is people of that age group aided by the people who profited from that age group calling the shots for halftime entertainment. There are many artists today bucking that trend, but you won't see them at Super Bowl halftime any time soon.

[Audible Nectar]

With exception to an unexpected little birdie that showed up, I think the NFL got what it wanted out of the halftime show.

Some of you people don't understand why it has to be such a "production": Because it's the SUPER BOWL, and "MEGA" is the only way the Super Bowl does business. There are a VERY select few artists who can carry the day on such a show, that also have a wide appeal (both are required). They will never make everyone happy, nor will everything come off perfect....but the recent slate of halftime Super Bowl offerings is essentially what the NFL is looking for: the biggest name entertainers and the biggest accomplishable production.

Look at the bright side. It used to be a choral variety review type gig with an outfit known as "Up With People". When I attended my first Super Bowl (Bills/Giants - XXV) the only thing we cared about at the half was the Beer Line. If you were able to replay some of that stuff, you would be thanking whoever you think created you that Madonna and similar are doing the halftime shows now, because some of those old halftime shows were Homer Simpson stereotypical BAD.

Madonna's not my cup of tea, but the 5.1 Dolby Digital NBC feed does sound really good here, so the theater was getting a workout yesterday. I must say that the new HT upgrades do much to assuage my non-attendance, which was tempting, as ticket prices fell markedly Friday and Saturday.....

Good game, too (no rooting interest).

[oldtimer]

All good points Audible. It is a large promotional event as much as a game in other countries. Yet there are ways, and then there are other ways to have a mega-show at halftime. My basic point is that the balance between visual and audio has become too skewed to the visual at the expense of the audio. The Super Bowl is perhaps the largest illustration of the trend. Clearly there are target markets involved and I'm sure quite a few of us are out of that range.

As far as your bright side, the acts referenced were merely part of the transition I described. The large number of people became the show, not the music. Now we see the mega star along with a large number of people.