One of the major non-football storylines centered around the Super Bowl is the halftime show. These days, the halftime show is one of the most exciting shows of the year and features some of the greatest performers of all time.
Last year, Rihanna took the stage at State Farm Stadium during Super Bowl LVII. Before that, five artists took the stage for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, California: Eminem, Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige played midway through the Rams’ win over the Bengals.
And now it’s Usher’s turn to headline the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Apple Music in Las Vegas (broadcast on CBS and Paramount+) on February 11.
For the artists who play the Super Bowl halftime show, they are entertaining an audience exponentially larger than anything they have ever encountered. But it wasn’t always like that.
So what were the shows like before they became must-watch TV? Remember that killer halftime show featuring the Rockettes, Chubby Checker and the 88 Grand Pianos in 1988? Remember the captivating “Be Bop Bamboozled” at the Orange Bowl in 1989? No, no, that’s not the case. Ditto Carol Channing (twice) or one of those four boring Up With People performances from the late 70s and early 80s.
The Super Bowl halftime show, pre-Michael Jackson, was an endless wasteland of college fanfares and maddening tributes, ranging from salutes to Hollywood (twice), to Motown, to the Big Band era , in the Caribbean, at Duke Ellington. We also had the New Kids on the Block (1991) who didn’t sing any of their biggest hits and Gloria Estefan (1992) who provided the soundtrack for Olympic figure skaters Dorothy Hamill and Brian Boitano’s “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” fame, because nothing says Minnesota Super Bowl like the lead singer of the Miami Sound Machine.
Then we had the King of Pop at the Rose Bowl in 1993 – and the Super Bowl halftime show was never the same.
Here is the full list of previous Super Bowl halftime artists and themes:
- 2024: Bailiff
- 2023: Rihanna
- 2022: Eminem, Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige
- 2021: The weekend
- 2020: Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Emme Muniz
- 2019: Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi
- 2018: Justin Timberlake, Children of Tennessee
- 2017: Lady Gaga
- 2016: Coldplay, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars
- 2015 : Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott
- 2014 : Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers
- 2013: Beyonce
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- 2012: Madonna
- 2011: The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Slash
- 2010: WHO
- 2009: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
- 2008: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- 2007: Prince and the Florida A&M Marching Band
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- 2006: The rolling stones
- 2005: Paul McCartney
- 2004 : Janet Jackson, Kid Rock, P. Diddy, Nelly and Justin Timberlake
- 2003: Shania Twain, Without Doubt and Sting
- 2002: U2
- 2001: “The Kings of Rock and Pop” with Aerosmith, ‘N’Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige and Nelly
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- 2000: “A Tapestry of Nations” with Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton and a choir of 80 people
- 1999: “Celebration of Soul, Salsa and Swing” with Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and tap dancer Savion Glover
- 1998: “A Tribute to the 40th Anniversary of Motown” Featuring Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah, Martha Reeves and The Temptations
- 1997 : “Blues Brothers Bash” with Dan Akroyd, John Goodman and James Belushi (also featuring “The Godfather of Soul” James Brown and ZZ Top)
- 1996: Diana Ross celebrates 30 years of the Super Bowl with special effects, pyrotechnics and stadium card stunts. The final featured Diana Ross being taken from the stadium by helicopter
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- 1995: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye” starring Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval, the Miami Sound Machine and stunts including firefighters and skydivers. The finale included audience participation with glow sticks
- 1994: “Rockin’ Country Sunday” with Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Wynonna and Naomi Judd. Finale included a flashlight waterfall
- 1993: “Heal the World” featuring Michael Jackson and 3,500 local children. The finale included a cascade of audience cards
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- 1992: “Winter Magic” featuring a tribute to the winter season and the Winter Olympics with Gloria Estefan, Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill
- 1991: “A little global salute to the 25th anniversary of the Super Bowl” with New Kids on the Block
- 1990 : “Salute to New Orleans” and 40th anniversary of the Peanuts characters, with trumpeter Pete Fountain, Doug Kershaw and Irma Thomas
- 1989: “Be Bop Bamboozled” with 3D effects
- 1988: “Something Grand” with 88 grand pianos, the Rockettes and Chubby Checker
- 1987: “Salute to Hollywood’s 100th Anniversary”
- 1986: “The rhythm of the future”
- 1985: “A world of children’s dreams”
- 1984: “Super Bowl XVIII Salute to the Superstars of the Silver Screen”
- 1983: “KaleidoSUPERscope” (a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds)
- 1982: “A tribute to the 60s and Motown”
- nineteen eighty one : “A Mardi Gras Festival”
- 1980: “A tribute to the Big Band era” with Up with People
- 1979: “Super Bowl XIII Carnival” Salute to the Caribbean with Ken Hamilton and various Caribbean bands
- 1978: “From Paris to American Paris” with Tyler Apache Belles, Pete Fountain and Al Hirt
- 1977: “It’s a Small World” features crowd participation for the first time with spectators waving colorful signs at just the right time
- 1976: “200 Years and Just a Baby” Tribute to America’s Bicentennial
- 1975: “Tribute to Duke Ellington” with Mercer Ellington and the Grambling State Band
- 1974: “A Musical America” with the University of Texas Band
- 1973: “Happiness is.” with the University of Michigan Marching Band and Woody Herman
- 1972: “Salute to Louis Armstrong” with Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt and the United States Marine Corps Drill Team
- 1971: Florida A&M Group
- 1970: Carole Channing
- 1969: “AmericaThanks” with the Florida A&M University band
- 1968: Grambling State Group
- 1967: University of Arizona and Grambling State Marching Bands
