Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show presented by Pepsi
Baseball may still colloquially refer to itself as “America’s pastime,” but there’s no doubt that football, specifically NFL football, is officially “America’s game.” The 114.4 million U.S. viewers of last year’s Super Bowl confirm that.
That’s why it’s so absolutely befuddling that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (and perhaps more accurately, the Super Bowl planning and marketing arm of the organization) tabbed British rock band Coldplay to headline what has become the most high-profile 12-minute gig in the music business, the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Sports Fans, Meet Coldplay
Don’t know Coldplay? Since 2002, the band has been nominated for 31 Grammy awards, winning seven. Their alternative/pop rock style has also netted Billboard Music Awards for top band and top album across rock and alternative categories.
Their often mellow style of rock, however, isn’t for everyone. They were panned in this extremely politically incorrect bit in the Steve Carrell coming-of-age flick, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Recently the band has been criticized for being truly politically incorrect, or at least cliché, in their portrayal of Indian culture in their latest music video, Hymn for the Weekend.
Maybe this is the pot calling the kettle black, but there’s something just not right about a group of British rockers playing the Golden Anniversary gig that’s seen such legendary American artists grace the stage during America’s biggest party as Ella Fitzgerald, Chubby Checker, New Kids on the Block, Michael Jackson, Clint Black, Patti Labelle, Diana Ross, Boyz II Men, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Shania Twain, Janet Jackson, Prince, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and Beyonce. (Not to mention a whole slew of college and military bands from the days prior to when the Super Bowl became a co-opted opportunity to pimp a new album.)
Public Service Announcement: Coldplay’s new album, released in December, is now available on iTunes and Amazon.
International Flavor
Please don’t take me for a xenophobe. I was thrilled when The Rolling Stones rocked Ford Field more than 40 years after their first gig. I was ecstatic The Who, hands down my favorite British rockers not named John, Paul, George and Ringo, broke into Baba O’Riley at Sun Life Stadium. Paul (McCartney) played magnificently in his own well-deserved show. And what red-blooded man wouldn’t admit that he had no problem with Gloria Estefan being tabbed as the headliner (not once, but twice)?
Still, this is the 50th Super Bowl, pitting the face of the NFL as many have known it, Peyton Manning, against the face that the NFL has become and will be for years to come, Cam Newton. It seems that a game of such monumental import to the American sporting public would feature performers that represent the past and/or future of American music.
The NFL’s desired global expansion, albeit impractical, is not in question. The International Series has expanded since its inception in 2007 and there is legitimate longterm interest in taking the highest levels of America’s game abroad, not just for a European minor league. London has long been the primary target, although inroads are being made in Germany and Mexico, while Brazil remains on the list of possible future expansion destinations. So perhaps it’s fitting, if not at least unsurprising, that the headliner for the golden Super Bowl is a London-born ensemble. Nevertheless, it’s a bit of a disappointment that Beyonce and Bruno Mars (both Super Bowl reruns) will play supporting roles to the Britons for such a historic performance.
Our Picks
After a comprehensive poll of the skeleton crew at Mile High Sports not currently in Santa Clara covering the game (be sure to follow @MileHighSports on Twitter for up to the minute photos, videos and more), we’ve compiled a list of five acts we think would be better suited to play the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show presented by Pepsi. (You’re welcome, New Bern, N.C.)
Honorable Mention – The Black Keys
While they’ve become far more pop-sounding than their rhythm and blues roots would imply (thanks for nothing, Danger Mouse), The Black Keys still have more soul than just about any other rock musicians on the charts. Oh, and they just so happen to have some great guitar licks and toe-tapping rhythms, too. They’d bring some much needed edge to the party.
Guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney hail from Akron, Ohio, which would be nice for the folks of Akron and the greater Cleveland area, since it looks like once again their Cavaliers will play patsy to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. A Super Bowl appearance by their resident rock duo would be a nice consolation prize.
We all know the Browns won’t be making a Super Bowl appearance any time soon. This would be the next best thing for Ohio.
Plan B: Weezer has a new album forthcoming. They’re a far more poppy option, but soccer moms who were raised on “Buddy Holly” and “The Sweater Song” can reminisce while their daughters can scream about their co-headliners, Panic! at the Disco.
No 5. – Taylor Swift
Sure, maybe she’s lost a little luster over the past 12 months, and the grind of a national tour certainly could mean she’s burned out on performing in public, but this country starlet turned pop sensation has ruled the charts for the better part of the past two years.
She’s spunky and fun (and doesn’t like people taking her lightly), like Cam Newton, but she’s got Southern roots and an All-American look, like Manning.
Want a generation of tween girls to remember Super Bowl 50? Taylor’s your pick.
Plan B: Miley Cyrus. She’d have to tone down her act, so invite dad, Billy Ray, along to keep her in check and also bring in the country demographic.
No. 4 – Garth Brooks
Yes, it may be hard to believe, but The Judds have spent more time on the stage at the Super Bowl than the top-selling (pure) country artist of all-time. Shania Twain (2003) and Clint Black (1994) must have really bombed in the reviews and ratings to create such a gap through all these years.
The fine folks at the NFL had no way of knowing that it would be Broncos vs. Panthers in the Super Bowl when they booked Coldplay, but Brooks would be a huge hit among the primary viewing audience supporting the Panthers and the Peyton. Brooks could really make the fans go wild if he slipped in a quick refrain of “Rocky Top.”
To spice things up, Brooks could call in any number of more contemporary acts like Luke Bryan, Zac Brown Band or Florida-Georgia Line to reach that younger demo.
Plan B: George Strait. Country purists would say that Strait should get the to begin with, but the “King of Country” never had the pop appeal that Brooks did. Still, he’d put on one honky tonkin’ good show, even at 63.
No. 3 – Kanye West
If Roger Goodell really wants to modernize the Super Bowl, he’d invite the biggest name in hip hop to the party. (Sorry Drake, sell 10 million albums and then we’ll talk.) Kanye has not only a deep repertoire of songs to bring along, he’s also got one of the deepest contacts list in the business.
Yes, he’s controversial. Yes, he’s outspoken. Yes, he’s a risk on live television. Um, Roger? Do you watch your league’s games or its affiliated network? He’s the only thing missing.
Kanye is the modern NFL. Yes, he’s a producer at heart. But he’s also a talented lyricist, designer, businessman and philanthropist. He’s experienced heartache and legal trouble. He’s multimedia and omnipresent across social platforms. He’s not just like NFL players, he’s a mirror for the NFL itself.
Plus, Kanye has a new album coming out soon. So… plug away.
Plan B: Jay Z. Without Jay Z, there is no Kanye, so if the powers that be are too afraid to give West full control of the mic, give it to the paterfamilias of Roc Nation. Beyonce is already booked, so that’s a nice win-win for the family.
No. 2 – Metallica
This is the Golden Anniversary of the Super Bowl, is it not? Why not throw some heavy metal into the mix. The NFL already thinks enough of America’s hardest rockers to include them in the Super Bowl festivities – they’ll be playing “The Night Before” Super Bowl 50 over at AT&T Park – so it’s a little disappointing they didn’t get tabbed for the main event.
Just like the NFL has grown up from its players being allowed to smoke cigarettes on the sidelines, Metallica has had a similar evolution from the hard-living group that authored Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, they’ve gone political and legal, not to mention performing with classical pianists and played the Star Spangled Banner at the NBA Finals.
Could America finally be ready to embrace a heavy metal halftime show? The answer, is sad but true.
Plan B: Guns ‘N Roses. Slash has already played the Super Bowl (2011), and now that he’s back in the band, what better way to reignite and reunite the fan base than with a performance on the biggest stage imaginable.
No. 1 – Billy Joel
Before you knock us for picking an aging white guy that no one on Snapchat has ever heard of to headline the Super Bowl, consider this: The guy has a banner in the rafters at Madison Square Garden (he played 12 consecutive sold-out shows there on one tour), he’s the only artist to have played both Yankees and Shea Stadiums, not to mention hundreds, if not thousands of other venues in his career.
Billy Joel is the definition of live music in America and the fact that he’s never played a Super Bowl is an outright shame.
At 66, he’s getting up there in years, but still brings a great show. Why not surround him with legendary Super Bowl performers of the past (heck, even include Up With People) and make Super Bowl 50 a truly historic celebration of the nation’s game?
A show by The Piano Man may not shred like one from Metallica or drop beats like one from Kanye, but it would certainly be a more fitting way to send America’s biggest game into its 50s than a British alt-rock band.
