The halftime show for Super Bowl LVI was an impressive one, to put it simply.
The show was packed with a plethora of hip hop and R&B stars, featuring Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and even surprise appearances from 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak, who was on drums.
“All in all, everybody came in,” Dr. Dre said after the halftime show. “We were professional, everybody was on time, everybody really felt the magnitude of what that thing was and what we were going to be able to accomplish. It was a fantastic experience.”
Staying true to its setting, the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show put an emphasis on the Los Angeles area, displaying a satellite image of Compton, California on the floor underneath the performers’ feet. A lavish display of shiny faux storefronts and classic cars provided a stage for the performers to entertain one side of the crowd, but notably absent was any attention to the other side of the stadium.
Sure, Dr. Dre had a brief performance where dozens of dancing men popped up out of cardboard boxes, which did occur on the neglected side of the stadium, but other than that, the 35,000 people on that side of the stadium were treated to the joy of staring at the backs of the performers’ heads for twenty minutes (and in some cases couldn’t see them at all, when they were inside the white stage boxes. If they wanted to witness 50 Cent hanging from the ceiling and performing upside down, they were out of luck).
Regardless of that situation, it’s undeniable that the halftime show was a monumental performance that appealed to millions of spectators, with many such as LeBron James classifying it as the greatest halftime show in Super Bowl history, or at least in his lifetime.
OMG!!!!!!!!! WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!! THE GREATEST HALFTIME SHOW IVE EVER SEEN!!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 14, 2022
Snoop Dogg, who opened the show, prepared for his performance in typical Snoop Dogg fashion, as he was spotted smoking weed shortly before the show.
Warming up before going on stage for the Halftime Show. pic.twitter.com/dKs6AAzjK8
— Rafa Hernández-Brito (@ElalcaldeRafa) February 14, 2022
To round out the show, a bearded Eminem jumped atop the white stage and rapped snippets of a couple of his signature songs, before jumping up and kneeling down with the microphone in his left hand, and his right hand on his head. The kneel was reportedly a nod towards Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling during NFL games in protest of racial injustice, a move he was shunned by the NFL for.
The NFL has denied rumors that they were against Eminem making the gesture, and that they attempted to stop him from doing it, but to no avail. “We watched all elements of the show during multiple rehearsals this week, and were aware that Eminem was going to do that,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
The halftime show marked the midway point for the 56th edition of the big game, which saw the hometown Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20. It was the city of Los Angeles’ third sports championship in two years, as the Lakers and Dodgers both won their respective sports’ titles in 2020.
We, Dodgers and Rams should all do a joint parade together!!!! With a live concert afterwards to end it!! City of Champions 🏆🏆🏆💍💍💍. Congrats 🐏 once again!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 14, 2022
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For more Super Bowl LVI coverage, click here.
