The Worst Super Bowl Halftime Shows of All Time

The Super Bowl is so much more than just a football game, which is why it always includes a high-profile halftime show. For many viewers, the halftime show is the bigger draw. More often than not, the artist selected to headline the halftime show puts on a great performance.

However, there have also been a few times when the pressure to do something spectacular has backfired and caused the halftime show to be a spectacular failure. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the worst Super Bowl halftime shows of all time.

The “Hall of Shame”: Top 5 Worst Performances

1. Maroon 5 (2019): After Rihanna and Cardi B declined invitations, the NFL had to settle for Maroon 5 headlining the 2019 Super Bowl. The band certainly doesn’t fit the vibes with the Super Bowl being played in Atlanta, even if Travis Scott and Big Boi showed up.

   There was also a weird SpongeBob bait-and-switch that made no sense. Adam Levine tried to salvage things by taking off his shirt, but in the end, that just made everything worse.

2. The Black Eyed Peas (2011): The NFL shot the moon with this halftime show, thinking a star-studded lineup would produce something memorable. Technically, that’s half right, because this halftime show was memorable, just not for the right reasons. For starters, nobody could figure out why the Black Eyed Peas were wearing those weird robot suits. Usher was there, but he looked like he knew he was in the middle of a trainwreck.

   Finally, the Fergie and Slash collaboration on “Sweet Child O’ Mine” made no sense musically and was a total failure.

3. Elvis Presto (1989): Even without the benefit of hindsight, who would think that an Elvis impersonator doing magic tricks was going to entertain anyone during a Super Bowl halftime show? It’s hard to think of a setting in which this would pass as entertainment, much less the Super Bowl.

   The only silver lining is that this mistake became a turning point for the Super Bowl halftime show, which began to invite musicians and pop stars to perform after a magician dressed as Elvis predictably fell flat.
   

4. Blues Brothers (1997): Years after this halftime show, we learned that Lorne Michaels didn’t think it was a funny idea. If only people had listened to him back then. In the late 90s, the Blues Brothers weren’t close to relevant, especially since John Belushi had been dead for over a decade. Did someone think that his brother Jim teaming up with Dan Akroyd could bring them back?

   Much of the audience watching probably didn’t know who they were, and bringing ZZ Top and an aging James Brown on stage to join them didn’t help.

   Naturally, the movie sequel they tried to promote with this performance failed at the box office.
   

5. Coldplay (2016): For the record, there’s nothing wrong with liking Coldplay. But that doesn’t make them a good fit for the Super Bowl. Covering “Purple Rain” was so far from Coldplay’s wheelhouse that it almost felt insulting to Prince.

   Likewise, Bruno Mars is far from a natural complement for Coldplay, causing the performance to take a turn for the worse. Not even a cameo from Beyoncé could save the day. If a show is even beyond Beyoncé being able to help, you know you’ve failed.

The “Indiana Jones” Disaster (1995)

This halftime show was a special type of failure that deserves a full explanation. First, Disney usurped the halftime to help promote an Indiana Jones ride that it was soon unveiling. That should have been the first sign that this was a bad idea.

It started with Patti LaBelle singing and then morphed into an “action sequence” in which Indiana Jones and his girlfriend capture the Lombardi Trophy. That transitioned into Tony Bennett singing, which made no sense, and was followed by another on-stage action sequence. The whole thing ended with Bennett and company singing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” which is from The Lion King, not Indiana Jones.

The whole thing was so random and confusing that it’s hard to believe that the performance was rehearsed without anyone realizing that it made no sense.

The “Nipplegate” Incident (2004)

The infamous “Nipplegate” incident belongs in its own category. It wasn’t necessarily a bad performance; it just didn’t go as planned.

The performance by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake is actually quite good, but nobody remembers that. People only remember the end when Timberlake tore off a part of Jackson’s outfit, revealing her right breast. It lasted for barely a second, yet it created a firestorm of controversy that went on for weeks. It sparked debates about censorship and public indecency, while also throwing Jackson and Timberlake into the fire. Jackson’s career was never the same, although Timberlake escaped the incident unscathed. In fact, his career was enhanced by his participation in such a controversial moment.

Ultimately, this is one of the most memorable Super Bowl halftime shows of all time, not necessarily for the right reasons. It’s also the reason why networks started doing a five-second delay during live events.

Why Do Some Halftime Shows Fail?

It’s hard to say why some halftime shows fail. Obviously, there is no secret formula for a successful one.

There is a monumental amount of pressure to deliver a great show, and artists and producers sometimes take creative risks that don’t always pay off. Logistically, it’s difficult to set up a stage for an epic performance in such a small window of time, and so the sound quality and other factors aren’t always as intended. Other times, it simply boils down to booking the wrong performer.

Not every halftime performer has been relevant to the audience or able to bring the right energy needed for the Super Bowl halftime show. In the end, there are a lot of things to get right for a successful halftime show, and if you miss on a few things, it’s easy for the performance to fail.

This Year’s Show: What to Expect from Bad Bunny (Super Bowl LX)

Bad Bunny is the headliner for the halftime performance during Super Bowl LX.

The “King of Latin Trap” is expected to bring a lot of energy and a festive vibe to the Super Bowl. There will be other performers joining Bad Bunny on stage, with rumors indicating that Cardi B could be among them. Of course, some believe the NFL took a risk by booking Bad Bunny, as he primarily sings in Spanish. That could potentially alienate some of the audience, similar to the cultural disconnect when the Black Eyed Peas performed in 2011.

To provide some musical balance during the Super Bowl, the NFL is having Green Day perform during the opening ceremony, giving the Super Bowl a more familiar face and an element of rock for the audience.