3 best halftime shows in Super Bowl history
It's always seemed slightly insane that the biggest football game of the year has an abbreviated pop concert jammed into the middle of it. For 12 minutes, players take a break and one of the biggest pop stars on the planet shows off his or her stuff to a worldwide audience in excess of 100 million. Sometimes, the big stage produces truly memorable performances. Other times, we get the Black Eyed Peas.
Below, we run down a trio of halftime shows that stand above the rest.
3. Beyonce
Super Bowl XLVII, 2013
Beyonce hit the ground running in a dizzying medley that included dozens of backup dancers, too many hits to count, a long-awaited Destiny's Child reunion and a series of photos that would live in infamy. Never in the history of the big game has an artist performed with such intensity and mastery of her craft.
2. Michael Jackson
Super Bowl XXVII, 1993
Who else but the "King of Pop" could deliver the performance that created the template for the modern halftime spectacle? It began with lookalikes dancing in the upper corners of the Rose Bowl, continued with Jackson standing motionless on stage for more than a minute while the stadium erupted in a frenzy and - by the time it ended - was one of the most-watched television events in history.
1. Prince
Super Bowl XLI, 2007
Prince's unique brand of sexually-charged pop was a curious choice for the halftime show only three years removed from the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake "wardrobe malfunction" scandal, but it proved to be an inspired one. Prince's tour de force performance included three covers ("Proud Mary," "All Along the Watchtower" and "Best of You") and an unforgettable performance of "Purple Rain" in the driving Miami rain.