Aside from releasing several albums throughout his career, Prince was also popularly known for his iconic performance at the Super Bown XLI halftime show in 2007, but little did fans know that his life was in danger that day due to heavy downpour; take a look at the story of how the musician and his team pulled off the legendary set.
As reported by The Ringer, executives of the National Football League wanted the singer to perform that year to save the halftime show after the shocking and ever-controversial performance of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake three years prior.
The "Purple Rain" hitmaker reportedly had dinner with executive, David Saltz, and gave him a private performance in his home. The NFL personality loved the concept and eventually booked the singer for the event officially.
Following this, Prince planned his setlist, stage design, and everything to make his performance stand out and perfect. However, there was one problem: on the day of the halftime show, a rainstorm was brewing above the football field on February 4, 2007, and everyone on his team was worried that something bad would happen.
Everyone on the production staff, including NFL executives, did their best in order for the performance to be successful and safe at the same time. They suggested for the pop star not to sing live, but he never listened to them and went on to deliver his performance.
Despite the bad weather, he said, "Can you make it rain harder?" (via Grunge)
A Man From The Lighting Crew Saves The Day
In a previous interview, executive producer Charles Coplin recalled that Prince's stage had many moving parts and the rain was not stopping, adding, "Supposedly part of the stage wheeled over a cable and severed the cable, and some very heroic guy had to plug in this cable in a pouring rainstorm and probably risk serious electrocution."
The man he was talking about was Tony Ward who worked as one of the lighting crew. The guy saved the day by taking his pliers and stripping the insulation off the three cables and he inserted them into a plug and held it the whole time Prince was performing in the rain in order for the lights to work.
"I'm glad I didn't know about that until afterward because that would've scared the hell out of me," executive Don Mischer added.
Fortunately, no one was hurt during that day and the singer was able to deliver the performance of a lifetime, which many critics and fans regarded as the best halftime show in the history of the Super Bowl.
This year, many fans are excited as Rihanna is set to perform at the halftime show of Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023, at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
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