The halftime show is one of the most anticipated events of the super bowl. Every year, the NFL invites one of the year’s biggest and most popular singers to perform on that stage. This year, Maroon 5 had the opportunity to headline the halftime show. Their performance definitely got a lot of people talking, but probably not for reasons they had hoped.
The NFL has been known for it’s controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick and other players who began taking a knee during the national anthem as a way to draw attention to black oppression in our country. Many singers had turned down the offer to perform at the halftime show in support of Colin Kaepernick and because they did not want to get involved with the controversy. Maroon 5 finally accepted the offer but not without receiving some backlash.
As for the actual performance itself, I did not think it was bad, but at the same time I didn’t think it was great either. I personally really enjoy some of Maroon 5’s songs and you have to admit they have a lot of radio hits. They performed some of their most popular songs along side Travis Scott and Big Boi. While Adam Levine did a pretty good job with his vocals and Travis Scott and Big Boi did a great job hyping up the crowd, it did not seem to match well together. It felt like they just threw the artists on stage without trying to combine their different styles of music in a way that made sense. A few years ago, Beyonce, Bruno Mars and Coldplay joined together for, what I consider, one of the best halftime shows in recent years. They were able to achieve a seamless performance despite having very different style of music. That is one of the things that this year’s show lacked.
Overall, I didn’t think it was a terrible performance, but it definitely didn’t live up to the standard of previous years either. But was the blandness and average-ness of this performance actually what the NFL was trying to achieve? Some articles state that maybe the NFL wanted to make the halftime show as “anodyne” or uneventful as possible in order to counteract all of the controversy and gossip surrounding the NFL. If that was their goal, then this performance was definitely a victory.
Ashley’s Blog 
As someone who enjoys watching both football games and the Super Bowl halftime show, your blog post really interests me. I didn’t really realize there was still controversy over the players kneeling in the national anthem, beecause I don’t keep up with that type of thing. Thus, the side of your post that talked about the NFL trying to make a bland performance was surprising for me. I look forward to reading more of your blog in the future!
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Hey Ashley! As a big Maroon 5 fan I was definitely not that impressed with Adam Levine’s performance. I love their songs but it doesn’t seem like he is the best live performer anymore. It is interesting to think that the NFL might’ve wanted the halftime show to be uneventful. I think one of my favorite performances was for sure the one with Bruno Mars.
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I totally agree with this statement. Throughout the performance it just felt like it was missing something. As exciting as the actual game is, it is always entertaining to see what artists have to offer during the halftime shows, and for this one performance it just missed the mark.
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I watched the halftime show and agree with your view that it wasn’t great. In contrast to the one with Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and Coldplay, I think you are right that this year’s artists didn’t really have the same style of music. However, if true, I find the intentional uneventfulness of the show to be a strategic tactic.
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Although Maroon 5’s performance did not live up to many performances before, I still enjoyed seeing one of my favorite bands perform at the super bowl. It’s always nice seeing good artist receive recognition for there work despite this performance being subpar for a super bowl halftime show.
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