Super Bowl LVI halftime show

The Super Bowl LVI halftime show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, was the halftime entertainment of Super Bowl LVI, which took place on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The show was headlined by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, and included guest appearances by 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak.[1] It was the first Super Bowl halftime show to be centered entirely around hip hop music,[2] as well as the last halftime show to be sponsored by Pepsi, with Apple Music taking over the sponsorship beginning with Super Bowl LVII.[3][4] The show was televised nationally in the U.S. by NBC.

Super Bowl LVI halftime show
Part of Super Bowl LVI
Date February 13, 2022
Location Inglewood, California, U.S.
Venue SoFi Stadium
Headliner Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar
Special guests 50 Cent, Anderson .Paak
Sponsor Pepsi
Director Hamish Hamilton
Producer Jesse Collins, Roc Nation
Super Bowl halftime show chronology
LV
(2021)
LVI
(2022)
LVII
(2023)

The performance was met with critical acclaim and was the first Super Bowl halftime show to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).[5] The show also won the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special and Outstanding Music Direction.[6][7]

Background edit

On May 15, 2021, in an interview with Yahoo!, Snoop Dogg expressed interest in performing at the halftime show with other hip hop artists such as Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem.[8]

On September 30, 2021, Pepsi and Roc Nation announced that Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar would headline the show. Blige previously performed at the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show in 2001. The halftime show was produced by Jesse Collins and Roc Nation, and was directed by Hamish Hamilton, who has directed each Super Bowl halftime show for twelve years.[9] Deaf rappers Sean Forbes and Warren "WAWA" Snipe performed as American Sign Language interpreters.[10]

Reception edit

The halftime show received critical acclaim as critics praised the lineup and setlist.[11][12] Some mentioned that the performance was crafted to induce nostalgia among Generation X and Millennial audiences.[13][14][15]

Steven McIntosh of BBC News wrote that the timing was balanced enough to allow each artist to perform their biggest songs, concluding "The show had been a success, and they knew it. It might have taken a long time to get here, but after a performance like this, nobody could now Forget About Dre."[16]

A list in Rolling Stone by Rob Sheffield praised the performance as an "old-school West Coast rap history lesson" and ranked it the fourth-best Super Bowl halftime show of all time, behind those by Beyoncé, U2 and Prince. He wrote that Kendrick Lamar deserved his own full-length performance, and named Eminem taking a knee as the highlight.[17]

Kevin E G Perry of The Independent gave the show four stars out of five. Commenting on criticism relating to Dr. Dre's history of violence against women, Perry concluded "No performance could wash that blemish from his reputation, but tonight's hit-packed performance did demonstrate the range and longevity of Dre's influence as a rapper and producer". Perry was also thankful that rumors of the return of the controversial 2012 Tupac hologram were not true.[18]

In a review for The New York Times, Jon Caramanica commented that rumors of Eminem being barred from kneeling "had the feel of a pre-manufactured controversy"; as an NFL spokesperson confirmed that the gesture was authorized, Caramanica asked "Is it still protest if it's been signed off on and approved?"[19]

Sam Wolfson of The Guardian gave the show five stars out of five.[20]

The Federal Communications Commission received 33 complaints regarding the show's content, an unusually low number (compared to 1,300 for the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, 50 for the Super Bowl LIII halftime show and 540,000 for the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show).[21]

Awards and nominations edit

Award Date of ceremony Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Primetime Emmy Awards September 3 and 4, 2022 Outstanding Variety Special (Live) Shawn Carter, Desiree Perez, Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon, Dave Meyers, Aaron B. Cooke, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent Won [22]
[23]
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special Hamish Hamilton Nominated
Outstanding Music Direction Adam Blackstone Won
Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special Bruce Rodgers, Shelley Rodgers, and Maria Garcia Won
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special Thomas Holmes, Alex Guessard, Dave Natale, Tom Pesa, Christian Schrader, and Pablo Munguia Nominated

Commercial impact edit

The show had an average of 103.4 million viewers in the 8:15–8:30 pm ET slot, up 7 percent from the previous year's halftime show by the Weeknd.[11][24] The viewership for the halftime show was higher than the game itself, which was viewed by an average of 101.1 million television viewers.[11][25]

Following the performance, streams of Dr. Dre's music rose by 185 percent on Spotify. Two of the songs that he performed, "The Next Episode" and "Still D.R.E." from his 1999 album 2001, experienced increases in streaming of 270 percent and 245 percent, respectively. In the end of the week, the album jumped back to the top 10 in Billboard 200 with 30,500 units sold, a 220% increase.[26]

Also on Spotify, Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" saw an increase of 520 percent, while streams of Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" rose 250 percent.[27][28]

The following day, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" entered the top 10 of the U.S. Spotify chart for the first time ever.[29][30] At the end of that week, Eminem's Curtain Call jumped 118 spots to the top 10 on Billboard 200, for the first time since March 11, 2006, at number eight, selling 31,000 units (256% increase). In the United Kingdom, the album jumped back into the Top 10 at number eight.[31][32]

Documentary edit

The creation and preparations for the halftime show was featured in the documentary The Show: California Love. The documentary, which was produced by the halftime show sponsor Pepsi's in-house content studio and Boardwalk Pictures, aired on Showtime on December 23, 2022.[33]

Set list edit

  1. "The Next Episode" (Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg); featured a brief instrumental sample of "Nuthin' but a G Thang"
  2. "California Love" (Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg)
  3. "In da Club" (50 Cent)
  4. "Family Affair" (Mary J. Blige)
  5. "No More Drama" (Mary J. Blige); featured a brief instrumental sample of "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears
  6. "M.A.A.D City" (Kendrick Lamar)
  7. "Alright" (Kendrick Lamar)
  8. "Forgot About Dre" (Eminem and Kendrick Lamar)
  9. "Lose Yourself" (Eminem with Anderson .Paak on drums)
  10. "I Ain't Mad at Cha" (instrumental) (Dr. Dre) (Played as a tribute to Tupac Shakur)
  11. "Still D.R.E." (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent with Anderson .Paak on drums)

References edit

  1. ^ "Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Set To Be A 90s Lovefest". CNN. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Tannenbaum, Rob (February 10, 2022). "How Hip-Hop Inched Its Way to the Super Bowl Halftime Stage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  3. ^ Gould, Andrew (May 24, 2022). "Pepsi No Longer Sponsoring Halftime Show: NFL World Reacts". The Spun.
  4. ^ "Apple Music takes over SB halftime sponsorship". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 23, 2022. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Rice, Lynette (September 4, 2022). "The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Makes History; Wins Emmy For Outstanding Variety Special". Deadline. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  6. ^ "The 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show Earns 5 Emmy Nominations". NBC Insider Official Site. July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Grein, Paul (September 4, 2022). "Super Bowl Halftime Show, Adele, 'The Beatles: Get Back' & Other Big Winners at 2022 Creative Arts Emmys". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  8. ^ "Snoop Dogg Eyes Super Bowl Halftime Show with Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar & Eminem". Rap-up.com. May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "Five Epic Hitmakers Unite for PEPSI Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show". NFL.com. September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  10. ^ McCollum, Brian (February 4, 2022). "Deaf Detroit rapper Sean Forbes to perform with Eminem, Dre, Snoop at Super Bowl halftime". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c Patten, Dominic (February 15, 2022). "Super Bowl Total Viewership Tops 112 Million For NBC & NFL With L.A. Rams' Hometown Win – Update". Deadline. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  12. ^ Delbyck, Colby (February 13, 2022). "Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg Lead Super Bowl Halftime Show Packed With Hip-hop Legends". HuffPost. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Poniewozik, James (February 14, 2022). "At the Super Bowl, Nostalgia's the Only Game". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Sung, Morgan (February 13, 2022). "Super Bowl halftime show taps into millennial nostalgia". NBC News. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Jamieson, Amber (February 13, 2022). "Eminem, Mary J. Blige, And Surprise Guest 50 Cent? The 2022 Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Was Pure Early 2000s Nostalgia". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  16. ^ McIntosh, Steven (February 14, 2022). "Super Bowl: Dr Dre and Eminem pack in the hits at half-time show". BBC News. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Sheffield, Rob (February 14, 2022). "Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  18. ^ Perry, Kevin E G (February 14, 2022). "Super Bowl 2022 halftime review: Dr Dre oversees performance from hip-hop royalty". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  19. ^ Caramanica, Jon (February 13, 2022). "Rap Takes Over Super Bowl Halftime, Balancing Celebration and Protest". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  20. ^ Wolfson, Sam (February 14, 2022). "Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J Blige's half-time show – an all-timer". The Guardian. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  21. ^ Lejeune, Tristan (March 1, 2022). "Super Bowl halftime show draws 33 FCC complaints — compared to 1,300 in 2020". The Hill. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  22. ^ "The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  23. ^ Moreau, Jordan (July 12, 2022). "Emmys 2022: Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  24. ^ Hsu, Tiffany (February 15, 2022). "The Super Bowl drew 112 million viewers, the most in five years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  25. ^ "How many people watched Super Bowl 56? Full 2022 ratings for Rams vs. Bengals show Detroit outperforms LA". www.sportingnews.com. February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  26. ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 20, 2022). "'Encanto' Soundtrack Spends Sixth Week Atop Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  27. ^ Brown, Preezy (February 15, 2022). "Dr. Dre's Spotify Streams Increase By 185% After Super Bowl Halftime Performance". VIBE.com. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  28. ^ "Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' tops Spotify's Super Bowl song list". The Drum. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  29. ^ "Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg & Kendrick Lamar's Streams Explode Following Super Bowl Show". HipHopDX. February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  30. ^ Dellatto, Marisa. "Music Performed During Halftime Show Climbing Up Spotify, iTunes Charts". Forbes. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  31. ^ "Frank Turner claims his first ever UK Number 1 album with FTHC". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  32. ^ Lane, Lexi (February 17, 2022). "Eminem Breaks Historic Hip-Hop Record After Charting For 500 Weeks In The UK". uDiscover Music. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  33. ^ "The Show: California Love".