If Super Bowl Sunday isn’t one of the best days of the year, we don’t know what is. Between the football, the commercials, the food and the Puppy Bowl, there’s something for everyone.
But if you were looking forward to the musical talent side of the Super Bowl yesterday, you’re probably feeling pretty left out. With the pre-game and halftime shows, it’s possible the “entertainment” garnered more attention than the Green Bay Packers.
Sunday’s event attracted 106 million viewers, according to The Huffington Post, and showcased the best of the National Football League. Football has arguably become America’s favorite pastime, and the Super Bowl is practically the most comprehensive national holiday imaginable.
Americans always wait to see how big-name performers will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” to kick off events of this scale. Usually we hear long, over-sung versions of our national anthem that make us cringe. But on top of that, Christina Aguilera gave us something else to lament.
Without a doubt, Aguilera brought her own rendition of the national anthem to the stage Sunday. She somehow forgot the words, leaving out the "O'er the ramparts we watched" line altogether, instead saying “What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last gleaming.” We weren’t really sure why she was there in the first place, but at least this “fighter” stuck it out to finish the song.
As an entertainer who has performed for millions of people, it would be natural to assume that Aguilera could handle the pressure. As much as we wouldn’t want to hear Canadian-born Justin Bieber sing the national anthem, we have to think even he could have done it better.
And then, of course, there was the halftime show. We thought it was a good idea finally to have performers of our generation (for the first time since Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” seven years ago). But when the Black Eyed Peas attempted to get it started, we gotta feeling … a very different one.
It started with some crazy bunch of TRON-like people dancing around the stage, and then Fergie’s microphone wouldn’t work. Just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, the mic kicked in.
Things got more confusing when Slash rose from under the stage and Fergie started singing “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” as if the song was in desperate need of some “OMG” and flashing lights. When Usher came out, our suspicions were confirmed: Usher, the Black Eyed Peas and Guns N’ Roses do not go together.
The spectacle was almost so surreal that we expected (and hoped) to see Kanye West get up on stage and say, “Yo Fergie, I’ma let you finish, but Axl Rose had the best rendition of ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ of all time.”
After years of watching old performers, we thought this would be a welcome return to more modern show. Maybe next year we’ll finally be able to enjoy a show that doesn’t involve someone who throws their back out when they jump on stage.
