Madonna Super Bowl halftime show blog
Published: Sunday, February 05, 2012, 9:12 PM - Updated: Monday, February 06, 2012, 2:52 PM
If you've followed Madonna throughout her career, you're well aware of one thing regarding her Super Bowl performance: She's going to go all out to make it dazzling and unforgettable. If she's not the topic of conversation at water coolers around the world tomorrow, she's going to feel like she hasn't done her job.
But she's got only 12 or 13 minutes to make her mark: It's a challenge that some Super Bowl performers (like the Black Eyed Peas, last year) have failed to rise to.
In this space, I'll will be blogging about the halftime show, as it happens:
7:10 p.m.: The halftime show is still quite a long way away but announcer Al Michaels can already feel the excitement. He says he saw the rehearsal and it is "over the moon, off the charts."
7:25 p.m.: SPOLER ALERT -- Skip to next item if you want to be surprised but in case anyone hasn't seen it yet, here is the rumored set list:
• "Vogue"
• "Music" (with LMFAO)
• "Give Me All Your Luvin' " (with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.)
• "Like a Prayer" ( Cee Lo Green)
Since Minaj and M.I.A. are in the "Luvin' " video that makes total sense.
7:54 p.m.: First half is over but Bob Costas says it's going to take a while for them to get stage ready so don't expect Madonna immediately. People have been saying halftime is going to be 30 minutes overall so she's got to be out there 10 minutes from now at most, I think.
8:00 p.m.: Okay, we're starting now. Trojan gladiators and Madonna in some kind of grandiose gold getup. Lady Gaga would be envious. She's singing "Vogue."
8:03 p.m.: She's clearly lip-synching on the "Vogue" rap. I like the clashing-sword sound effects.
8:04 p.m.: "Music." Not much question she's lip-synching here too. Lots of really athletic dance moves though, by her and supporting cast as well.
8:05 p.m.: LMFAO out now. She jumps on one of the guys' shoulders and sits there, singing.
8:07 p.m.: Pom poms and cheerleaders for "Gimme All Your Luvin'" There's Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., as promised.
8:10 p.m.: Cee Lo comes out as Trojan warrior, with marching band. Just a bit of "Express Yourself" before "Like a Prayer."
8:11 p.m.: She and Cee Lo in black glittering robes singing "Like a Prayer" with gospel choir.
8:13 p.m.: Madonna disappears in a cloud of smoke as the words "World Peace" appear. It's over. On to commercials.
8:14 p.m.: Okay, here's my take. I wasn't thrilled about all the lip-synching, but visually, this was probably the most impressive Super Bowl halftime performance ever, and Madonna just emanated star power. She said she was nervous beforehand, but she looked comfortable onstage, and like she was enjoying herself. That she belonged there. In comparison, the Black Eyed Peas last year looked like awkward amateurs. The gospel "Like a Prayer" was a great choice to close -- an effective heart-to-heart moment after all the glitz.
8:29 p.m.: I have a feeling discussion over M.I.A. giving the middle finger and saying "don't give a s---" is going to dominate post-performance analysis, which is a shame. Is it another wardrobe-malfunction moment?
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