A super bowl game without halftime entertainment would be dull if not boring. For some time now, halftime shows have become a traditional hallmark during football games. From the 1980s, the twelve-minute break has featured renowned celebrities and popular recording artists. Undeniably, the halftime shows help to increase the artists’, as well as the super bowl games, popularity. Recently, organizers have faced the dilemma of choosing between either solo or group artists for the halftime shows. A careful analysis of the super bowl halftime shows reveals that both solo and group artists are vital for the sustained popularity of the super bowl games.
Halftime shows have become part of the super bowl games culture. From the 1960s all the way to the 1980s, halftime shows usually featured rock bands. However, as Sarah Hughes reports in the Dailymail, in the recent times the organizers shifted to using individual artists performing R & B, hip-hop and pop songs. Although this shift is quite unfathomable to some fans, it is necessary as it reflects the changing trends in the entertainment world. To a great extent, rock music was quite popular in the 60s, 70s and the 80s. Therefore, the use of rock bands in halftime shows during the 60s, 70s and the 80s was reasonable as it manifested the music preferences of the contemporary time. However, new genres of music have come up in the recent years, and it is only fair (to the super bowl fans) to switch the choice of performing artistes.
Superbowl games have their own theme, which can be blended well by any recording artist. Therefore, any group or solo artist with a commanding following can be used to perform during the halftime show. It is well understood that use of several artists (and bands) increases the appeal of the games because each artist has a musical heritage which blends well with celebrating the flavor of the super bowl games. As a consequence, super bowl matches held in the large cities are likely to feature group artistes because they blend well with the theme of the game. This is also true for solo artists who have a large base of fans, and may help to make the halftime show spectacular.
Nonetheless, when it comes to cutting costs, the super bowl organizers may favor the use of solo artists. Any event’s organizer has to look for a means of trimming their expenses and sometimes, the games organizers choose solo artists in order to manage their costs. Although the NFL does not usually pay artists an appearance fee, the organization covers expenses for the performers, their families and friends. If this factor is taken into consideration, it is easier to manage solo artistes compared to the costs incurred when managing group artists. The use of several artists is likely to shoot up NFL’s bills, and this is the last thing in the organizers mind. The premise behind the denial of an appearance fee to the artists is that the super bowl games give them a platform to market themselves. Moreover, there is a credible evidence to show that album sales for the performers are likely to increase following the exposure gained.
Super bowl halftime shows have an insurmountable task: they have to, please everyone without offending their audiences. This is an impossible without using a mixture of solo and group performances. Although is not possible to get the best out of every artist who performs during the short period, there is a potential of harnessing the artists energy to further the halftime entertainment. It would be impossible for the organizers to achieve this by concentrating on the use of either solo or group artistes only. The hype that goes with the sporting event can only be matched by the use of artistes with a commanding following- something which requires the use of both individual and several artists per show.
Some super bowl fans want to see more of the favorite artists hence it may be wise to make sure that the top artists perform individually during the halftime shows. The twelve-minute break is not enough to schedule many artists at the same time, which necessitates the use of a single artist per show. However, in some incidents it may be necessary to bring many artists per show together in an attempt to up the game’s ratings. With several artists lined up for the halftime show, super bowl organizers may be assured of a huge audience. This translates into massive revenues for slotting ads and commercials during the halftime live show performances. Although the halftime shows have been built on the rationale that some entertainment would spice up the super bowl game, television networks are keen on pushing their revenues through selling their ad space, and this is something which can be driven by performance of several artists per show.
As CNN notes in one of their articles, halftime shows are set to celebrate the exuberance of super bowl games and the infusion of both solo and group performances helps to shore up the support of American football. Both solo and group performances undoubtedly deliver super bowl enthusiasm. Therefore, it would be unwise to discontinue the current trend (of switching between solo and group performances) which delivers remarkable results. There is credible evidence to show that, at some point, more than 162 million viewers followed the games proceedings on TV due to the live performances.
In the recent years, the solo performances have been overshadowed by the Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004. During the show, some of her private parts were exposed. As a result of this, the CBS (which aired the live performance) was fined $ 550,000 by the FCC. The solo performances, which followed the Janet Jackson’s performance, have not been able to shake off the negative impact of that infamous performance. Before, the dust had settled on Janet Jackson’s Perfomance, another British pop rapper and mother of one (MIA) soon followed with another stunt. MIA was caught on camera flipping her middle finger and swearing to the camera.
Apart from the accidental nudity and nasty sideshows, halftime shows have always been spectacular. The super bowl event has become something of a pop acculturation in its own accord and attracts large audiences and commensurate revenues. This fete would be hard to maintain without flip-flopping between solo and group artists. However, time and cost factors may limit the halftime shows to just the use of solo artists. The producers’ idea is drawing audiences with the halftime shows even to the people who do not watch football. Therefore, the infusion of several artists may be necessary in helping to shore up support of the beautiful game.
Works Cited
CNN. Madonna to headline Super Bowl halftime show. 4 December 2011. 24 November 2012
Hughes, Sarah. Super Bowl half-time shows: the highs and lows, from Prince to Patti LaBelle. 5 December 2011. 24 November 2012
