On Sunday, February 9, the Super Bowl began with both the Chiefs and the Eagles. But there is also another aspect of the Super Bowl that began as a tradition in 1967, which is the Super Bowl halftime show. Every year, the Super Bowl throws a show for the half time period to entertain audiences with new singers every year for the most important football game in the entire NFL season. This year, Kendrick Lamar was picked for the 59th Super Bowl, and he was a very popular pick. In 2024, Lamar was making song after song and hitting the charts like no other artist in the business and was a talented and entertaining pick for the Super Bowl. He created hidden messages within his performance and created interesting visual imagery for the audience, and had actor Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam and other artist SZA there to sing songs “Luther” and “All the Stars”.
The Super Bowl actually did not start out with having huge stars performing at their games. Originally, the Super Bowl, which did not have commercials back then and did not sponsor brands, started out by bringing college marching bands for the halftime show for its very first decade. And for the second decade, it featured a more varied show showing drill teams and also performance ensembles. It was not until the 1990’s when they started bringing out famous stars like Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett, New Kids on the Block, and several other artists. They would have one artist, and several guest appearances within the Super Bowl Halftime show to entertain the audience and also make sure to have the show be family friendly. A fun fact about the Halftime shows is that they do not pay their artists who play. All they do is cover all of the artist’s expenses for their shows, but the artists themselves never get paid. Their songs are promoted through the Super Bowl though, so indirectly the Super Bowl does pay them, but through promoting their musical in front of all of America.
Students in Hamburg really like the halftime show and really enjoyed the show. Jordan Cunkle, a sophomore, really loved the show and thought it was an amazing show. “I enjoyed Kendrick’s hidden meanings. I think through his performance he was making critiques of America and how everything in America is going downhill.” Jordan also really appreciated Kendrick’s singing and really loved the songs that he chose for the performance and thought that it has been the best Super Bowl halftime show in a long time.
To learn more about the Super Bowl halftime show and it’s history, go to: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/superbowl-halftime-show-history/#sb1
