If you’re the kind of person who really watches and likes the Super Bowl for the halftime show, then you were in luck this year because 5 big hip-hop artists took the stage on 13th February at SoFi Stadium with the Los Angeles Rams taking on the Cincinnati Bengals. The 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, America’s favorite sporting event, featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.
Super Bowl halftime performers do not get paid. The NFL does cover the cost of the performance, though. For artists asked to perform at the Super Bowl during halftime, the publicity is more than enough “compensation.”
Highlights
Celebrity Appearances
Given the game’s location in Los Angeles, it was inevitable that some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry will be the attendees. Celebs like Dwanye “The Rock” Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Jay-Z and Beyonce, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, Sean Penn, Heidi Klum, Kate Hudson, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, and several others were seen.
Some even left quite an impression on the audiences, like Ryan Reynolds with fellow Hollywood funny man Will Ferrell, dressed in Canadian hockey attire. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were also seen dancing and grooving to the music.
A surprise performance from 50 Cent
As usual, surprise performances were kept under wraps until the very last moment. A slightly breathless-sounding 50 Cent was this year’s guest star, appearing after Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg opened the show with Still Dre and California Love. Fiddy performed In Da Club while surrounded by beautiful dancers, which perhaps explains why he looked rather distracted for most of it.
Kendrick Lamar works in his own political statement
Ahead of the Super Bowl, widespread reports emerged that headliners Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Mary J Blige and Snoop Dogg were being heavily censored from making any political statements. According to the New York Post, Dre felt “disgustingly censored” by executives who didn’t want the performance to become a “divisive culture war moment”.
However, Lamar chose to perform Alright for his segment, which felt significant given the rumoured requests to keep politics out of the halftime show. Alright became an anthem against police brutality and racial injustice in 2015, after activists in Cleveland State University were filmed chanting it.
Here is why Eminem kneeled
The rapper also defied rumoured instructions from the NFL to keep politics out of the halftime show, kneeling at the end of his performance of Lose Yourself for one minute. The form of protest by kneeling was brought to the NFL by Colin Kaepernick, who first began sitting silently on benches during the national anthem, at the start of the 2016 season on 26 August.
While many praised Eminem for doing so, others pointed out how Kaepernick, a Black man, continues to be blacklisted for his protests against racial injustice, while Eminem, who is white, was able to take the knee on that same platform.
Mickey Guyton performs the US national anthem
In a historic moment, a spectacular rendition of the US national anthem was performed by country music singer Mickey Guyton. Guyton has broken down a number of barriers in her industry over the past year, including sporting an Afro during her empowering performance of Love My Hair at the CMAs.
“It’s Black History Month, and a Black country singer gets to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Wow,” she told the New York Post. “This is a huge moment for me. It’s a huge moment for black people. And I want to represent that in the best possible way that I can.”
Deaf rappers
Two deaf rappers, Sean Forbes and Warren “WaWa” Snipe, reportedly performed alongside the headliners — making it the first time that sign language interpreters were included in the halftime show. “My goal is to get out there, show what we can do, and have fun. And I want to open the door for other deaf performers,” Sean previously said.
Trailers that were released
Hollywood studios have realized that having so many viewers at once is the perfect opportunity to start debuting trailers for the biggest films and television shows in the months ahead. This year’s Super Bowl showcased trailers of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Moon Knight, Jurassic World: Dominion, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Jordan Peele’s third film, Nope, that will be his follow-up project to the wildly successful horror films Get Out and Us.
There was also a promo featuring several upcoming movies on Netflix including Enola Holmes 2, The Gray Man, The School of Good and Evil, and Knives Out 2. However, the bulk of the footage is spent on next month’s sci-fi film, The Adam Project, which finds Ryan Reynolds’ Adam traveling back to the present to team up with his younger self for the adventure of a lifetime. The Adam Project premieres on March 11.
Here is a glimpse of what the hype was about:
The most epic, star-studded @Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show trailer is OUT! 📽️🌟
Watch these five music titans get ready for the #PepsiHalftime Show on Feb 13th. https://t.co/Zgesis0IWB pic.twitter.com/KiUqUjYZxi
— NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2022
