The Super Bowl Halftime Show often benefits from a great performance onstage. Sometimes. But knowing the much of the audio is prerecorded kind of takes some of the fun out of it. That's why more often than not our final verdict on the big game's big entertainment (especially in recent years) had revolved more around the stage-show than the music itself. Nothing is more important to a stage-show than a stage. Music Times went back and checked out the last ten Super Bowl performers and more importantly, what they were playing on, and ranked them accordingly. This isn't a ranking of the performances, but of the platform that held it. We're looking at Katy Perry to take it to the next level tonight.
10) Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (2009)
Bruce Springsteen will be damned if he's going to wear a costume and employ a gazillion dollars worth of special effects just because it's the Super Bowl. No, The Boss came to Raymond James Stadium dressed the same way he always does and performed the same way he has for decades: honestly and jubilantly. It was a great performance but unfortunately this particular ranking is looking for flash and pizzazz, not the barebones approach of Springsteen. A few fireworks and a small screen put this performance last on the list.
09) The Black Eyed Peas (2011)
We were somewhat surprised by how modest the approach of the Black Eyed Keys was, considering the collective's appreciation of all things flashy. The controversy for us was deciding whether the groups of dancers around the field, bedecked in fluorescent costumes and who formed arrows and other shapes, counted as part of the "stage." Ultimately we decided no, although that touch was the saving grace of the performance overall. The Peas only get points for being lowered onto the stage from above.
08) Paul McCartney (2005)
Paul McCartney was another act who put more thought into the performance than the presentation (and that's not a bad thing). His stage was a simple addition sign, with Macca stationed in the middle and videos being broadcast on the arms of the stage. Unfortunately this didn't allow the performer to wander out to different sides of the stage, although the setup deserves credit for giving essentially everyone on the field and in the arena the same exact view of the headliner.
07) The Who (2010)
The Who's approach to stage-manship was essentially the same as McCartney's but on a grander scale. The concept was even simpler, just a circle with the band positioned in the middle, while the outskirts of the platform was actually a skirt of video screens that pulsated with the rhythm of the music being played, or displayed text and other visual elements. One simple step that could have made this stage so much more appropriate: somehow working the arrow from the band's original logo, pointing off of the stage or otherwise.
06) Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (2008)
There was a brief stretch where several acts (generally classic rockers) features stages that resembled their respective logos, as The Who did. Petty's logo (a heart pierced by a Gibson Flying V) was a bit more exciting than the UK band's however. The Heartbreakers upped the ante by having a lit up Flying V "fly" across the playing field and ram into the heart at the center right as they began playing (it was all light tricks, but still a nice touch).
05) Prince (2007)
Prince also bought into the logo-shaped stage approach but as everyone knows, the symbol he once adopted as his title is a tad more exotically shaped than the average rock logo. Not only that but the musician made sure to wander every inch of it during his performance. One touch that we can't prove Prince didn't cause: pouring rain while he shredded and performed "Purple Rain." It was a shot better than any of the Hollywood camerawork from his '80s film of the same title. You can point to the typical weather in Miami but we're not ruling out that Prince called the Big Guy in the Sky and asked a favor.
04) The Rolling Stones (2006)
The first of (in chronological ordering) and the last of (on this list) the stages shaped like band logos. The Stones took to Ford Field on a giant semblance of their lips-and-tongue logo. What makes it better than the other self-promoting approaches featured on this countdown? The inside of the tongue housed a hundred or so fans within the stage itself, making for an exciting visual (and a great seat we imagine) when the band walked around the outskirts of the giant hyoglossus. The only downside: The folks in the middle were under a tongue-colored tarp for the first few minutes.
03) Madonna (2012)
This year marked a huge jump forward in the presentation of Halftime Show performances, as Madonna went big and extravagant. The stage itself was something we had seen before, host to plenty of visual effects going on underneath the performers themselves. More impressive was Madge's entry, where she was towed on a massive throne/float by men in Roman garb. The vehicle eventually attached to the main stage after she had already begun performing her opening number "Vogue."
02) Bruno Mars (2014)
Bruno Mars had one of the best entries we've ever seen, and that's counting Madonna's massive intro. The set unexpectedly began with Mars playing a drum solo on a plexiglass stage in the middle of the crowd. That mini-stage then began traveling backward along a track in between rows of fans, with Mars continuing his percussion onslaught throughout. The rest of the lights and effects kept the flashy performance going and we have to imagine that Mark Ronson wrote "Uptown Funk" with Mars in mind immediately after seeing this on TV.
01) Beyoncé (2013)
Beyoncé's performance in New Orleans began with an air of mystery, with plenty of fog and suspense worthy of a goddess. Suddenly a line of flames flew down the stage, creating a burning image of a man and woman face about to lock lips. The headliner appeared and our eyes didn't leave Bey for a moment. Of course it helped that at times we had as many as a dozen versions of the star to keep our eyes on. Both the stage and a large screen that emerged from it showed alternate versions of the performer doing equally sexy dance routines. For one brief moment, we believed that 11 other guys aside from Jay Z could have a chance at a Beyoncé. The performance was blamed by the NFL as a potential cause of the controversial power outage that occured at the Superdome during the third quarter.
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