List of Super Bowl halftime shows
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Halftime shows are common during many American football games. Entertainment during the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), is one of the more lavish of these performances and is usually very widely watched on television in the United States.
Background
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During most of the Super Bowl's first decade (starting on January 15, 1967), the halftime show featured a college marching band. The show's second decade featured a more varied show, often featuring drill teams and other performance ensembles; the group Up with People produced and starred in four of the performances. Starting in the 1990s, to counter other networks' efforts to counterprogram the game,[1] the show was headlined by popular music acts each year, including New Kids on the Block, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Clint Black, Patti LaBelle, and Tony Bennett.
Starting with Super Bowl XXXII, commercial sponsors presented the halftime show; within five years, the tradition of having a theme—begun with Super Bowl III—ended, replaced by major music productions by arena rock bands and other high-profile acts. However, following the 1992 Super Bowl halftime broadcast, which was successfully challenged in viewership by a Fox broadcast of an episode of In Living Color, the NFL opted to include the use of popular culture spectacles annually.[2][3] In the six years immediately following an incident at Super Bowl XXXVIII where Justin Timberlake exposed one of Janet Jackson's breasts in an alleged "wardrobe malfunction", all of the halftime shows consisted of a performance by one artist or group, with the musicians in that era primarily being rock artists from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These shows were considered "family friendly" and the time in which they took place has been described as "the age of reactionary halftime shows".[4]
Since Super Bowl XLV, the halftime show has returned to featuring popular contemporary musicians, with the typical format featuring a single headline artist collaborating with a small number of guest acts.
The NFL does not pay the halftime show performers an appearance fee, though it covers all expenses for the performers and their entourage of band members, management, technical crew, security personnel, family, and friends.[5] The Super Bowl XXVII halftime show with Michael Jackson provided an exception, as the NFL and Frito-Lay agreed to make a donation and provide commercial time for Jackson's Heal the World Foundation.[6][7][8] According to Nielsen SoundScan data, the halftime performers regularly experience significant spikes in weekly album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure.[9] For Super Bowl XLIX, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that league officials asked representatives of potential acts if they would be willing to provide financial compensation to the NFL in exchange for their appearance, in the form of either an up-front fee, or a cut of revenue from concert performances made after the Super Bowl. While these reports were denied by an NFL spokeswoman, the request had, according to the Journal, received a "chilly" response from those involved.[10][11]
The process of deciding a headline performer for the Super Bowl halftime show is disputed.[12] According to The Charlotte Observer, it begins with a panel that includes the National Football League's (NFL) director of entertainment, members of its production company, and the halftime show's director and producer. A short list of potential performers is created and given to the Super Bowl's host city, who makes the final decision.[13] However, members of its host committee claimed that a headline performer is solely picked by the league, and they are notified on who was chosen in the same manner as the general public.[14]
On August 13, 2019, the NFL announced a partnership with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and his entertainment company Roc Nation to be named the league's live music entertainment strategist.[15] In that role, Jay-Z and his firm became co-producers and consultants of the Super Bowl halftime show, allowing them to be involved in selecting music for NFL usage and choosing entertainers to perform in televised promotional spots throughout the season.[16] "We really wanted to start to focus on leading to culture," Seth Dudowsky, the league's head of music, explained. "Whether that's the culture of the city, what's happening in culture at large and then focusing on it so that what we're doing feels culturally relevant and using that platform for artists to be able to be themselves and show their art on stage. We want them to feel empowered."[17]
Viewership
According to Billboard Magazine[18], these are the highest-viewed Super Bowl halftime shows:
1 Kendrick Lamar in 2025 (133.5 million viewers) 2 Michael Jackson in 1993 (133.4 million viewers) 3 Usher in 2024 (129.3 million viewers)[19] 4 Bad Bunny in 2026 (128.2 million viewers)
"Nielsen did not measure any of the YouTube live stream viewership for 2026's halftime show. Of the linear networks that carried the Super Bowl, the only one Nielsen measures is broadcast network "[20]
Via NBC and NBC Sports, the total social-media consumption of the 2026 halftime show featuring Bad Bunny set a record with 4.157 global billion views in the first 24 hours, a 137-percent increase over the 2025 halftime show.[21]
The social media figures for 2026 include fans, owned platforms, broadcast partners and influencers. The NFL said more than 55% of all social views came from international markets.[20]
Spanish Broadcast
Super Bowl XLVIII included the first Spanish-language broadcast for a Super Bowl and halftime show.[19]
"Bad Bunny’s presence may also have increased the Spanish-language audience in the US. Telemundo averaged 3.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl Spanish-language broadcast in the United States. The Super Bowl has been televised in Spanish in the US since 2014. The audience peaked during the half-time show, averaging 4.8 million viewers – also making it the most-watched Super Bowl half-time in Spanish-language history in the US."[20]
History
The following is a list of the performers, producers, themes, and sponsors for each Super Bowl game's show. This list does not include national anthem performers, which are listed in the article List of national anthem performers at the Super Bowl.
1960s
| Super Bowl | Date | Location | Theme | Performer(s) | Producer | Setlist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | January 15, 1967 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, California) |
N/a |
|
Tommy Walker | (The University of Arizona Symphonic Marching Band)
|
[22][23][24][25] |
| II | January 14, 1968 | Miami Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida) |
N/a | Grambling State University Marching Band | N/a | N/a | [citation needed] |
| III | January 12, 1969 | Miami Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida) |
America Thanks |
|
N/a | N/a | [22] |
1970s
| Super Bowl | Date | Location | Theme | Performer(s) | Producer | Sponsor | Setlist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | January 11, 1970 | Tulane Stadium (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
Tribute to Mardi Gras | N/a | N/a | [22] | ||
| V |
January 17, 1971 | Miami Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida) |
N/a | Southeast Missouri State Marching Band Anita Bryant Up With People |
N/a | N/a | N/a | [22][26][27][28] |
| VI | January 16, 1972 | Tulane Stadium (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
Salute to Louis Armstrong |
|
Jim Skinner | N/a |
|
[22][29] |
| VII | January 14, 1973 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, California) |
Happiness Is | Tommy Walker | N/a | (partial)
|
[22][30][31] | |
| VIII | January 13, 1974 | Rice Stadium (Houston, Texas) |
A Musical America |
|
Jim Skinner | N/a | N/a | [22] |
| IX | January 12, 1975 | Tulane Stadium (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
Tribute to Duke Ellington | Mercer Ellington & Grambling State University Marching Bands | Jim Skinner | N/a | N/a | [22][24] |
| X (show) |
January 18, 1976 | Miami Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida) |
200 Years and Just a Baby: A Tribute to America's Bicentennial | Up with People | N/a | N/a |
|
[22][32][33] |
| XI | January 9, 1977 | Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) |
It's a Small World | Los Angeles Unified All-City Band with the New Mouseketeers & Audience card stunt | The Walt Disney Company | N/a |
|
[22] |
| XII | January 15, 1978 | Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
From Paris to Paris of America |
|
N/a | N/a | N/a | [22] |
| XIII | January 21, 1979 | Miami Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida) |
Salute to Caribbean |
|
Bob Jani | Carnival | N/a | [22] |
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Super Bowl | Date | Location | Headliner(s) | Special guest(s) | Director | Producer | Sponsor | Setlist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIV (show)[c][75] |
February 2, 2020 | Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) |
Hamish Hamilton |
|
Pepsi |
|
[76][77][78] | ||
| LV (show) |
February 7, 2021 | Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) |
The Weeknd | N/a | Hamish Hamilton |
|
Pepsi |
|
[79] |
| LVI (show)[d][e][80][81][82] |
February 13, 2022 | SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) |
50 Cent Anderson .Paak |
Hamish Hamilton |
|
Pepsi |
|
[83] | |
| LVII (show) |
February 12, 2023 | State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) |
Rihanna | N/a | Hamish Hamilton |
|
Apple Music |
|
[84][85] |
| LVIII (show) |
February 11, 2024 | Allegiant Stadium (Paradise, Nevada) |
Usher | Alicia Keys Jermaine Dupri H.E.R. will.i.am Lil Jon Ludacris Sonic Boom of the South |
Hamish Hamilton |
|
Apple Music |
|
[86][87][88] |
| LIX (show)[f][89] |
February 9, 2025 | Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
Kendrick Lamar | Samuel L. Jackson SZA Serena Williams Mustard |
Hamish Hamilton |
|
Apple Music |
|
[90][91] |
| LX (show) |
February 8, 2026 | Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California) |
Bad Bunny | Hamish Hamilton |
|
Apple Music |
|
[40][92] |
Acts who have performed multiple shows
Apart from marching bands, the following acts have performed multiple halftime shows:
| Acts | Total number of shows | Shows as headliner | Shows as guest performer/ non-headliner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up With People | 5 | X (1976); XIV (1980); XVI (1982); XX (1986) | V (1971) |
| Al Hirt | 4 | N/a | I (1967); IV (1970); VI (1972); XII (1978) |
| Justin Timberlake | 3 | XXXV (2001) —as a member of NSYNC; XXXVIII (2004); LII (2018) | N/a |
| Gloria Estefan | 2 | XXXIII (1999) | XXVI (1992) |
| Beyonce | 2 | XLVII (2013) | 50 (2016) |
| Mary J. Blige | 2 | LVI (2022) | XXXV (2001) |
| Bad Bunny | 2 | LX (2026) | LIV (2020) |
| Carol Channing | 2 | N/a | IV (1970); VI (1972) |
| Pete Fountain | 2 | N/a | XII (1978); XXIV (1990) |
| Lady Gaga | 2 | LI (2017) | LX (2026) |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | LVI (2022); LIX (2025) | N/a |
| Bruno Mars | 2 | XLVIII (2014) | 50 (2016) |
| Nelly | 2 | XXXVIII (2004) | XXXV (2001) |
| Usher | 2 | LVIII (2024) | XLV (2011) |
| will.i.am | 2 | XLV (2011) —as a member of the Black Eyed Peas | LVIII (2024) |
Achievements
- Super Bowl XXVI was the first time halftime counterprogramming drew significant audience away from the game, pulling 22 million viewers, prompting NFL to acknowledge the dated format of the show and the need to address changing audiences the following year.
- The Super Bowl LI halftime show starring Lady Gaga was the most nominated Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy Awards history, winning one (Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special) out of its record six nominations.
- Based on online metrics, TicketSource revealed that the Super Bowl LIV halftime show starring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez was the "world's most popular" halftime show to date.
- The Super Bowl LVI halftime show starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar is the most viewed Super Bowl halftime show on YouTube with more than 322 million views on the official NFL YouTube channel alone.
- It was also the first Super Bowl halftime show to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
- The Super Bowl LIX halftime show starring Kendrick Lamar is the most watched Super Bowl halftime show, with a TV audience of more than 133.5 million viewers.
