The Super Bowl halftime show wasn’t always an A-list affair. While the biggest stars in music have exclusively taken the iconic stage in recent years, the halftime show began as a much smaller event.
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Super Bowl I took place on Jan. 15, 1967, and saw the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
In between the halves, fans were entertained by The Three Stooges, as well as the marching bands from the University of Arizona and Grambling State University.
The tradition of having college marching bands perform at halftime lasted for years. In the 70s, the NFL began assigning a theme to the halftime show.
There was a “Salute to Louis Armstrong” in 1972, which featured Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt, and the U.S. Marine Corps Drill Team. Then, in 1976, the theme was “200 Years and Just a Baby,” which was a tribute to America’s Bicentennial.
1980s themes included “A Salute to the 60s and Motown” in ’82, “A World of Children’s Dreams” in ’85, and “Something Grand,” featuring grand pianos, the Rockettes, and Chubby Checker in ’88.
The Modern Day Super Bowl Halftime Show
Things became more celebrity-focused in the 90s. New Kids on the Block performed in 1991. They were followed by Gloria Estefan, Brian Boitano, and Dorothy Hamill the next year.
When Michael Jackson took the stage in 1993, he set the new precedent for that star power that would take the Super Bowl stage.
Country all-stars Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Wynonna Judd, and Naomi Judd performed the next year, and were followed in the decade by stars including Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Boyz II Men, and Gloria Estefan.
The NFL officially did away with halftime themes in 2002 when U2 took the stage. From there, it was a who’s who of music’s biggest names. From Sting to Paul McCartney to The Rolling Stones in the early aughts, to Madonna and Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake the following decade, there was no star too big for the Super Bowl stage.
When Jay-Z’s Roc Nation began producing the halftime show in 2020, more focus was put on diversity. Since then, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, The Weeknd, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Usher, and Kendrick Lamar have taken the stage.
For Super Bowl LX, Bad Bunny has been tapped to perform. As is typically the case in recent years, not every fan has celebrated the choice. In fact, a circulating petition calling for the Puerto Rican star to be replaced by George Strait has amassed more than 50,000 signatures.
Despite this, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has stood by his choice to have the most-streamed artist in the world at the 2026 event. Super Bowl LX will take place Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images
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