Super Bowl: dramas, scandals and surprises in the halftime shows of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Shakira and JLo

February is considered one of the favorite months of the year in the world as it is celebrated Valentine’s Day, but for sports fans, it becomes the most awaited season. American football fans eagerly await this day, as the National Football League (NFL) concludes its season with a match that, in addition to the emotions that overflow on the field, is characterized by its halftime show, where only the most important artists of the moment appear.

The grand spectacle that caught the eye of millions of non-fan viewers to this event began with a tradition from New Kids On The Blockan American boyband that rocked the stands in the 1991 final. Until then, the closing event had featured live music thanks to college bands, so the pop group’s stellar turnout was a milestone in sporting events of the said nature.

Since then, great musicians like michael jacksonGloria Estefan, Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith, NSYNC, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Madonna and much more.

Each time, they generate a greater impact on viewers with their risky bets. Participating artists involve an arduous preparation process that goes from planning to their last second in the field, and although they planned out every detail with the help of their team, sometimes things didn’t go as planned.

It was in 2015 when the Californian singer-songwriter made an impression by appearing on the field of the University of Phoenix stadium mounted on a huge lion. Among the dancers, a colorful decor that changed according to the context of their songs and more animal costumes, Katy attracted 118.5 million viewers to follow her show -according Forbes– thus beating a Guinness audience record still valid today.

Even if in front of the cameras everything seemed successful, in reality it was different during the preparations. According to the interpreter during an interview she gave to the magazine She -where he was also on the cover in March 2015-, when they offered to appear in the Super Bowl XLIX she felt very excited because it meant a great opportunity to continue developing her music, but he did not imagine that he would invest about six months in the preparations.

“We have to train for a whole month. First we are in a dance studio because I do not always practice in a stadium (…) I have never been a dancer but in one way or another I have become one”, a- she said in her Super Bowl documentary.

What caught the eye is that Katy Perry used three different costumes during her presentation, all designed by Jeremy Scott, considered an expert in American fashion. According to the designer of the iconic pieces in an interview with Style.comthe dress that simulated flames of fire was born from some shoes she had made previously and they were perfect with Roar.

Scott revealed that the singer had 10 seconds between songs to be able to change, for this reason, he worked so that the pieces could be used on top of each other: “It was like a mamushka, we needed something that could hide something underneath. The first look was deleted and revealed a dress from Beach ball For california girlswas part of the scene with bullets and giant sharks.

Additionally, the team also had to consider the time it took to set up the sets. But that was not all, after the show some Internet users have pointed out that a dancer dressed as a shark would have spoiled the choreography of teenage dreamHowever, this was a confusion that has been left to posterity.

“There are established choreographies. There are also some in freestyle, you move and embody your character as a dancer. He wore a blue shark costume. There’s nothing great about it, so I played another character,” he said in an interview for National Public Radio.

Another performer who left an indelible mark on Super Bowl history is Lady Gaga, who with her signature vocal style flooded Houston’s NRG Stadium in 2017 as soon as she appeared at the top of the room with 300 drones which formed the flag of the United States. Using a harness, he goes on stage to begin his musical show composed of Poker Face, Born This Way, Just Dance and Telephone.

Although she managed to make her show one of the most watched, she couldn’t beat Katy Perry, taking second place with 117.5 million viewers. The masterful choreographies were the crown jewel, however, they were a problem that put the show in danger because, just hours before going on stage, the singer discovered some changes that had not been seen before, so He made him famous during his documentary Gaga five foot two.

He even had problems with his wardrobe: “It distracts me a lot that things don’t suit me. I can’t do this if everything is not in place, otherwise I just delete the errors (…) I repeat the whole show feeling like shit because everything is collapsing around me”.

Despite the stress behind the Super Bowl halftime, the New York singer-songwriter and her team managed to pull it all off. In fact, his efforts have been recognized by six Emmy nominations: “Special Class Program”, “Production Design”, “Lighting Design”, “Sound Mixing”, “Technical Direction” and “Music Direction”.

Among her accomplishments, Lady Gaga confessed that she regretted ending her show with an American football pass, since she was about to risk everything to include it:

“Playing in the Super Bowl was such an honor, so I don’t know why I made the foolish decision to try to catch a touchdown…I wanted to go up and down the stage because I thought it was was an interesting line-up. I was very excited to catch the ball, but we practiced four or five times and I couldn’t,” she told Jimmy Kimmel in an interview.

We got a professional quarterback to throw the ball to me. My sister designed a ball with diamonds that made it even heavier. It was funny because no one saw it but I landed on that cushioned, cushioned spot and I was like, “Did I catch it? I did it, I did it, the camera caught it and everyone saw it.”

It is very common for performers considered to be on an NFL show to have their own guests to collaborate where they remain the focus of the show. For this reason, When Jennifer Lopez was told she would be sharing the stage with Shakira, she thought it was disrespectfulnot because of working with his colleague, but because in a certain way they did not take into account the great individual trajectory of each one.

“It was an insult to think that they needed two Latinas to do the work that an artist did historically,” JLo said in his documentary. half time.

For this reason, before they could start planning their show, the Latin artists had to agree to participate together. According to the documentary launched by the interpreter of On the floor In this regard, when they agreed to work together, each put their ideas on the table and came to the conclusion to divide the time so that everyone could give their best, given their collaborations.

So it was that despite continuous clashes with the organization and final considerations on certain cages that were part of the set, Shakira and Jennifer jumped on stage in February 2020, driving the Latino community crazy, which constantly faces all kinds of releases in the United States. .

“I’m not interested in politics, I’m not that kind of person, but I live in the United States that I don’t recognize,” JLo explained of the context of her musical numbers. And it was that at that time the Latino community was suffering Decisions of President Donald Trump.

In the end, every artist who performed in the American football finals faced their process in their own way, some chose to show that they are world-class artists, while others took the opportunity to make their voices heard. the voice of vulnerable communities. . .

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