People watch the Super Bowl for many reasons. Most are simply fans of the sport and love to watch the biggest sporting event of the year while others are there for one reason, the halftime show.
Prior to Carol Channing’s performance at Super Bowl IV, the halftime show was nothing more than a few marching bands. From that day on, however, it has grown into a modern day rock concert and each year getting bigger and more expensive than the last.
This year is set for Bruno Mars with a special appearance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers so I think we are all just about as excited as we have been in years.
But it could also fail and that is what we take a look at today, the worst halftime shows in Super Bowl history.
14 – XXIV – Pete Fountain, Irma Thomas,Doug Kershaw, Snoopy
What can I say? I am from New Orleans and even I was not too fond of this show. Pete Fountain was awesome. Irma Thomas too. In fact, the gigantic Riverboat they set up in the middle of the field was the single coolest thing I have ever seen in Super Bowl halftime shows. However, they spent the entire show celebrating Peanuts and the 40th Anniversary with odd Charlie Brown costumes and decorations. Can I ask, what does Charlie Brown and New Orleans have to do with each other?
13 – XXX – Diana Ross
Do you think this performance was over the top? If you haven’t seen it, then you should definetly spend the next ten minutes watching the video. The only reasons she does not find herself in the top ten is because the helicopter exit was one of the coolest things we have ever seen. It was just a bit much for the halftime show.
12 – XXXIII – Gloria Estefan, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Savion Glover, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
There is such a thing as too much. This was a perfect example of a Super Bowl halftime show with too much going on to enjoy it. At one point, Stevie Wonder and Gloria Estefan were singing together but could not move. There was about 3,492 people on stage and another 5,000 on the ground. It became a giant mess of people everywhere and it took away from the fantastic duet at the end between Estefan and Wonder.
11 – XLIV – The Who
Were you offended? Any fan of The Who should have been offended following that half ass performance by one of the greatest British rock groups of all time. Roger Daltry found a way to make us angry. He limped through the music as if he didn’t realize he was performing in front of 100 million people. One of my favorite songs of all-time is See Me, Feel Me and they stumbled through it like an alcoholic falling off the wagon.
10 – XXVI – Gloria Estefan w/ Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill
What. The. Hell. This performance makes the list simply for the costumes and décor. The creepy Disney music just made the entire thing seem awkward. Gloria Estefan did not even make it on stage until ten minutes into the whole thing. At first, I was happy to see my girl on stage but then she started singing the Disney songs and it was over. This was one of the first time people realized that the halftime show was important.
9 – XXIX – Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Tony Bennett, Arturo Sandoval, Miami Sound Machine
Disney must have had a new attraction because they were funding the halftime show this year. Sure enough, they were pushing the new Indiana Jones ride. Oh wait, Disney wasn’t done just yet. They then had Tony friggin Bennett and Patti LaBelle sing Can You Feel the Love Tonight from the Lion King. What?
8 – XXXVIII – Janet Jackson, JT, P Diddy, Kid Rock, Jessica Simpson, Nelly
Again, this was a show that could have been perfect if not for one stupid wardrobe malfunction and the addition of too many musicians. Janet Jackson knows how to perform but even she couldn’t recover from that incident. It was a shame because the entire show wasn’t as bad as the mistake they made in the end.
7 – XXXI – The Blues Brothers (with James Belushi) ZZ Top, James Brown
John Belushi passed away in 1982 and we were reminded of this every second of the performance. James Belushi might be John’s brother but he isn’t a great call to replace him as part of the Blues Brothers. In fact, we wanted it to end so that we could watch James Brown and ZZ Top kill it on stage, and they did. If they eliminated the Blues Brothers, this performance would have been in a different list.
6 – XXV – New Kids on the Block
What else can we say about Disney constantly forcing us to love their products? This was such a terrible halftime show that it wasn’t even aired live. Instead, ABC news chose to cover Operation Desert Storm during halftime. After watching the halftime show following the game, we can safely agree that they made the best decision.
5 – XLVI – Madonna, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Cee Lo Green, Andy Lewis
Madonna is one of the world’s biggest names. She is known from here to Yemen. However, there comes a time when retiring would not be the worse decision. Her age is beginning to show. As for the performance, well, entering like Cleopatra isn’t and then prancing around like a high school cheerleader, with poms poms, isn’t the coolest thing we have ever seen. But when the only thing people could talk about the next day was the guy that could dance on a wire, you know the performance belongs on this list.
4 – XXXIV – Tina Turner, Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton
Disney, Disney, Disney. Is there a better place to advertise your product than the Super Bowl? No. Is there a smarter way to do it? Yes. It was apparent thirty seconds into the performance what Disney was trying to accomplish and if Twitter was around, the rest of the world would have chimed in on the chaos. It wasn't even done at the Super Bowl, it had to be filmed in Orlando.
3 – XXXV – Aerosmith, 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Nelly
Thank you Steven Tyler. Thank you Aerosmith. Without you, this performance would have been number one. Britney Spears did a great job of trying to ruin a classic but Aerosmith found a way to keep it from utter chaos. As for 'N Sync, well, maybe they should stick to not running on stage because they sounded like they were out of breathe and it made the entire show seem chaotic. Justin Timberlake was also a savior but even he didn't have enough charisma to save this performance. By the end of it all, it was just a complete mess on the stage.
2 – XLV – Black Eyed Peas, Slash, Usher
Will.I.Am can’t sing. Fergie has pipes that rival Whitney Houston. The other two guys in Black Eyed Peas are easily the most waste of space in the history of Super Bowl halftime performances. The whole performance was just a crazy cluster of obnoxious music being performed by a band that is better in the studio. Fergie was amazing with Slash but that was about it.
1 – XXIII – Elvis Presto
What? Did I just watch an Elvis impersonator not perform a single Elvis song and instead do a magic card trick? The words I want to use to describe this tragedy of entertainment would get me removed from the media so I shall kept it shut for now and just let you decide.
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