{"id":119241,"date":"2025-02-08T00:02:22","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T00:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/2025\/02\/08\/from-new-kids-on-the-block-to-kendrick-lamar-a-modern-super-bowl-halftime-history\/"},"modified":"2025-02-08T00:02:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T00:02:22","slug":"from-new-kids-on-the-block-to-kendrick-lamar-a-modern-super-bowl-halftime-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/2025\/02\/08\/from-new-kids-on-the-block-to-kendrick-lamar-a-modern-super-bowl-halftime-history\/","title":{"rendered":"From New Kids on the Block to Kendrick Lamar: A modern Super Bowl halftime history"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Steve Granitz\/WireImage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Kendrick Lamar<\/strong> takes the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, he’ll become the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the show, proving that the event has come a long way since its humble beginnings.<\/p>\n

The idea of having current big-name pop, rock or country stars perform during halftime only dates back to 1991, when\u00a0New Kids on the Block\u00a0<\/strong>did it. Before that, it was marching bands, older stars like\u00a0Chubby Checker<\/strong>\u00a0or the G-rated vocal troupe\u00a0Up with People<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But what\u00a0seemingly solidified the halftime show as a showcase for superstars was\u00a0Michael Jackson<\/strong>‘s\u00a01993 performance<\/strong><\/a>, featuring a huge inflatable globe and a choir of over\u00a03,000<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0local children. Thanks to Michael, for the first time ever ratings increased between halves during the game. From then on, stars and spectacle were the rule.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the show has been plagued by controversy, starting with 2004’s infamous “Nipplegate” incident with\u00a0Justin Timberlake\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Janet Jackson<\/strong>. That led the NFL to hire “safer” classic rock artists such as\u00a0Bruce Springsteen\u00a0<\/strong>as halftime performers. Pop stars returned in 2011 with the\u00a0Black Eyed Peas<\/strong>‘ performance.<\/p>\n

Controversies persist, though. During\u00a0Madonna<\/strong>‘s 2012 performance, one of her guests, rapper\u00a0M.I.A.<\/strong>, flipped off the crowd. And in 2016,\u00a0Beyonc\u00e9\u00a0<\/strong>was criticized for having backup dancers dressed in outfits reminiscent of the Black Panther political party.<\/p>\n

In 2019, many fans felt that\u00a0Maroon 5<\/strong>,\u00a0Big Boi\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Travis Scott\u00a0<\/strong>should have declined to perform, due to the NFL’s alleged treatment of\u00a0Colin Kaepernick<\/strong>. In fact, Rihanna<\/strong> declined to do the show that year for that very reason, but returned as the halftime headliner in 2023.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look back at who’s done the halftime show since 1991:<\/p>\n

1991 — New Kids on the Block
1992 — Gloria Estefan
1993 — Michael Jackson, performing with 3,500 children
1994 — Country stars Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Wynonna Judd and Naomi Judd
1995 — Patti LaBelle, Miami Sound Machine and Tony Bennett
1996 — Diana Ross
1997 — ZZ Top, James Brown, the Blues Brothers featuring Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman and James Belushi
1998 — Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, The Temptations, Queen Latifah
1999 — Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
2000 — Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton
2001 — Aerosmith, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Nelly, Mary J. Blige
2002 — U2
2003 — Shania Twain, No Doubt, Sting
2004 — Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Kid Rock, P. Diddy
2005 — Paul McCartney
2006 — The Rolling Stones
2007 — Prince
2008 — Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
2009 — Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
2010 — The Who
2011 — Black Eyed Peas
2012 — Madonna
2013 — Beyonc\u00e9 (and Destiny’s Child, briefly)
2014 — Bruno Mars feat. Red Hot Chili Peppers
2015 — Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott
2016 — Coldplay, Beyonc\u00e9 and Bruno Mars
2017 — Lady Gaga
2018 — Justin Timberlake
2019 — Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi
2020 — Jennifer Lopez and Shakira
2021 — The Weeknd
2022 — Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg with 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak
2023 — Rihanna
2024 — Usher
2025 — Kendrick Lamar<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve Granitz\/WireImage When Kendrick Lamar takes the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, he’ll become the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the show, proving that the event has come a long way since its humble beginnings. The idea of having current big-name pop, rock or countryRead More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[425,426,427],"tags":[701,702,227,527,700,490,528,276,703,648],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}