When it comes to halftime show performances, opinion is the biggest factor as to why the show was good or not. People on social media platforms like “Instagram” and “X” have voiced their positive and negative opinions of the latest halftime performance from Kendrick Lamar at this past Super Bowl. 

From social media posts, a lot of the conversation has been sparked from Lamar’s performance of his song, “Not Like Us.” In this song, controversy arose from the fact that the song was released as a diss track on Drake, a popular musician in the similar genre to Lamar, who has also released diss tracks on Lamar over this past year. There also seemed to be a deeper theme than just the performance at hand. The stage was set to look like a PlayStation controller, with the play action buttons of the circle, square, x and triangle, simulating a game being played of some sorts. In my opinion, from what I have watched on the screen and heard from the performance, the game being played is a game that was constructed by the government or those of higher power. 

Lamar’s performance sparks talks of where it sits in the list of all time halftime show performances. Maybe those that enjoy his music would add this performance to the top five list of shows, or maybe one that has never heard of Lamar would put it at the very bottom. Well, now it’s my turn. Here is my top 10 list of Super Bowl halftime show performances.

Just before we get into the list though, I have an honorable mention that was unable to make my top 10 list. Aerosmith with *NSYNC from Super Bowl XXXV in 2001 is a very good show, especially with the rock icons of Aerosmith. I was never able to see this performance since I was not yet born, but watching the videos from YouTube in the past and continuing to go back to the show, it looked like a fun show, something that was becoming the norm at these halftime shows around this time. 

All of my general information of the shows, like the Super Bowl year, who were guests are from the Wikipedia site that lists out the Super Bowl halftime performances to give the general information of them.

In my number 10 position is Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. At this rock heavy performance, Springsteen brought the American feeling vibes through his performance of “Glory Days” to end the show. Although this show is one of the shorter ones of the all time list as seen in the YouTube episode length and setlist along with it, the show still gives a great experience, especially to an audience that might not be familiar with his music since the show was a part of the 2009 Super Bowl. 

At number nine is the most recent performance from Lamar. This performance not only was entertaining to myself because of the song choices and the overall energy present in the performance, but it also gives a deeper meaning, which Lamar has been known for in his songs, music videos such as “squabble up” and “Not Like Us” and other live performances. The overall set was a little too spread out for me, as I like the stage rather than the set pieces. Bringing SZA out for two of their most popular songs together, “luther” from Lamar’s newest album “GNX” and “All the Stars” from the 2016 film “Black Panther.” Overall, I really enjoyed this halftime show, especially watching it with friends of mine who enjoy Lamar as much as I do.

Number eight continues to give love to the recent shows, being Rihanna with her performance in Scottsdale, Arizona. Speculation before the show even happened was what hooked me onto this performance from the start. Being the first halftime performance sponsored by Apple Music instead of Pepsi, many social media users thought this meant a big change in the halftime performance era, however, that was not really the case. I believed that Enimem was going to be in two halftime shows in a row after being a part of the Dr. Dre performance since he shares many popular tracks with Rihanna like “Love the Way You Lie” or “Monster.” However, Rihanna pulled off a solo performance incredibly well, notably while being pregnant at the time.

In an article titled “Rihanna revealed she’s pregnant again during Super Bowl halftime show, reps confirm” from NBC News, it was speculated that Rihanna would bring a guest. “Rihanna cradled her stomach during the performance, appearing to show off her baby bump. Giving birth in May of this past year, accepting the halftime performance duties at three months postpartum, she is believed to be a few months pregnant after donning the full red clothing with a baby bump showing!”

In the performance, I loved everything about it. The dancers, as well as the rising platforms throughout the entire thing gave way to a lot of very cool camera shots taken and some creative moments when they had the restrictiveness of Rihanna with her pregnancy. 

For the seventh spot in the halftime show list, The Weeknd in Tampa Bay is one of the best performances while using very little. Little set pieces used on the field and just using a bunch of dancers and cast members was very cool and something refreshingly different from everything that has been with major set designs and elaborate dance numbers. This just felt fun, creative and very popular. “Blinding Lights” is still one of the most streamed songs ever, and for good reason according to Spotify’s app and website in their most streamed songs section. I felt that the performance of that song and many others throughout the night were put on perfectly, although not as perfect as these top six.

At the six position is Beyonce’s lone performance with the appearance of Destiny’s Child during the show. I believe a lot of fans forget about this performance and the amount of rock elements it had. In my mind, I was not expecting Beyonce to do what she did, especially bringing out the other members of Destiny’s Child out with her and doing their songs of “Bootylicious” and “Independent Women.”

Starting my top five performances from the Super Bowl stage is Bruno Mars in 2014. Mars brought electricity to the game with performances of “Billionaire,” “Treasure” and “Locked out of Heaven.” Mars at this point in his career only had two albums out of the four he currently has, but this goes to show how much of a captivation Mars has on the global music world. Then, Mars did the unexpected and brought out the Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform “Give It Away,” which in my opinion might be one of the most electric scenes in Super Bowl performance history!

At number four, what started the popularity of big musical halftime shows is that of the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson. Before Jackson’s massive performance, the Super Bowl halftime used to be organized and sponsored by Disney, leading to marching band performances from different universities and professional groups, which was normal for college and high school football games, as it began in the Super Bowl as well. Jackson was then asked to perform some of his biggest hits when Radio City Production took over production rights. Jackson appeared at the Rose Bowl at the top of the scoreboard, then POOF! He appeared onto the stage and stood like a statue for a literal two total minutes according to the YouTube video performance. This created suspense and thrill for what was to come from the biggest musical artist at the time, which created a new standard for halftime show performances, which clearly has stuck around with it being in my number four spot.

For number three, bringing a song to life literally during the Super Bowl by pure chance is Prince. In Prince’s performance, while performing “Purple Rain,” it began to rain after the first verse of the song leading into the chorus, which for me makes his performance just so much better. Prince shreds a guitar, sings his soul out and gives an amazing performance of “Let’s Go Crazy,” my personal favorite Prince song.

At the number two slot, is the 50th Super Bowl performance, hosted by Coldplay with guest appearances from Beyonce and Mars. Beyonce and Mars appeared after they hosted two previous halftime performances, while Coldplay brought their typical flair and awe to the stage, captivating audiences time and time again. Beautiful performances of “Yellow,” “Viva La Vida” and “Paradise,” to then interlude into each other and the appearance of the guests. Beyonce came out to “Formation” and Mars to “Uptown Funk,” to perform a dance battle of sorts before closing out the show.

And finally, the best halftime show performance in my opinion, Super Bowl 56, which included Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Lamar in Los Angeles. This brought out some of the biggest songs to life, as Dr. Dre orchestrated the entire event with all the performers being under his record label and all having Dre to thank for their successes. 50 Cent appeared to perform “In Da Club” with Anderson Paak performing drums on “Lose Yourself” with Eminem and then rounding it all out with “Still D.R.E” really wrapped the show into a nice big bow. This performance sits at the top for me because of my reaction with those around me while watching it. This music is what my parents grew up with and what they taught to me and had never been really performed at the Super Bowl stage before.

As Super Bowl halftime shows begin to get bigger and bigger, it seems the most important thing to know is that they don’t cater to one person. They find the artist who wants the spotlight and they make the show themselves. Some shows people may enjoy more than others and for some they  won’t. For the future of the Super Bowl halftime shows, I have a few artists in mind to represent the big stage. Artists such as Post Malone and Dua Lipa I think are locks to at some point dawn the stage. I would love to see a country artist take control one year, whether it be a mash of multiple popular country artists or a single one like Luke Combs or Morgan Wallen. Many artists seem like they have enough for the big stage, so we shall see where the halftime performances go from here, but as a music fan and a football fan, I appreciate the amazing performances we have had and what we will continue to get.