The Super Bowl halftime show is a major non-football storyline centred around the Super Bowl. The 15-minute-long event unites people who love sports and music to form an exclusive celebration of American entertainment. Every year the Super Bowl presentation welcomes headliner musicians to deliver landmark musical shows.
The shows successfully combine all the elements of American sports entertainment, making the halftime show of the Super Bowl a historic display of American presentation. The show has developed into a platform enabling artists to display their talent to one of the largest television audiences in the world. This halftime routine exists throughout every level of American football starting from high school games up to college competitions.
The Humble Beginnings: History of Halftime Shows
Throughout the years the presentation at each Super Bowl halftime evolved into a remarkable change. In the year 1967 when the first Super Bowl began there was a tremendous difference between halftime shows compared to the extravagant displays we watch today. The opening Super Bowl show presented two marching bands performed with elegance and grace from Arizona and Grambling State universities as per Sports Illustrated. The NFL introduced novel forms of entertainment as the decade of the 1970s started. As an attempt to better entertain audiences the NFL introduced theatrical elements to their spectacles alongside dance performances. The entertainment presented in these events measured much lower than football halftime shows do today. The performances were majorly designed to keep the crowd in the stadium entertained rather than the global television audience.
A major event occurred at Super Bowl X in 1976 during the United States bicentennial celebrations. The introduction of "Up with People" at this show marked the first of many halftime performances throughout the mid-1980s at the Super Bowl as per Sports Illustrated). The advancement of halftime show entertainment reached its turning point when Michael Jackson took the stage in 1993. Michael Jackson ushered in a new chapter of modern stadium shows at the Super Bowl that continues until today.
Every Super Bowl halftime performer
| Super Bowl | Date | Performer |
| Super Bowl I | Jan. 15, 1967 | University of Arizona Marching Band, Grambling State Marching Band |
| Super Bowl II | Jan. 14, 1968 | Grambling State Marching Band |
| Super Bowl III | Jan. 12, 1969 | Florida A&M Band |
| Super Bowl IV | Jan. 11, 1970 | Carol Channing, Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen, Al Hirt, Marguerite Piazza, Southern Marching Band |
| Super Bowl V | Jan. 17, 1971 | Southeast Missouri State Marching Band, Up with People, Anita Bryant |
| Super Bowl VI | Jan. 16, 1972 | Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt, USAFA Cadet Chorale, U.S. Marine Corps Drill Team |
| Super Bowl VII | Jan. 14, 1973 | Michigan Marching Band, Andy Williams, Woody Herman |
| Super Bowl VIII | Jan. 13, 1974 | Texas Longhorns Band, Judy Mallett |
| Super Bowl IX | Jan. 12, 1975 | Mercer Ellington, Grambling State Marching Band |
| Super Bowl X | Jan. 18, 1976 | Up with People |
| Super Bowl XI | Jan. 9, 1977 | Los Angeles Unified All-City Band, New Mouseketeers |
| Super Bowl XII | Jan. 15, 1978 | Tyler Apache, The Apache Band, Belles Drill Team, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt |
| Super Bowl XIII | Jan. 21, 1979 | Ken Hamilton |
| Super Bowl XIV | Jan. 20, 1980 | Up with People, Grambling State Marching Band |
| Super Bowl XV | Jan. 25, 1981 | Southern Marching Band, Helen O'Connell |
| Super Bowl XVI | Jan. 24, 1982 | Up with People |
| Super Bowl XVII | Jan. 30, 1983 | Los Angeles Super Drill Team |
| Super Bowl XVIII | Jan. 22, 1984 | Florida Marching Band, Florida State Marching Band |
| Super Bowl XIX | Jan. 20, 1985 | Tops in Blue |
| Super Bowl XX | Jan. 26, 1986 | Up with People |
| Super Bowl XXI | Jan. 25, 1987 | Mickey Rooney, George Burns, Grambling State Marching Band, USC Marching Band, Disney Characters |
| Super Bowl XXII | Jan. 31, 1988 | San Diego State Marching Band, Cal-State Northridge Marching Band, USC Marching Band |
| Super Bowl XXIII | Jan. 22, 1989 | Elvis Presto |
| Super Bowl XXIV | Jan. 28, 1990 | Doug Kershaw, Pete Fountain, Irma Thomas, Nicholls State Marching Band, Southern Marching Band, USL Marching Band |
| Super Bowl XXV | Jan. 27, 1991 | New Kids on the Block |
| Super Bowl XXVI | Jan. 26, 1992 | Gloria Estefan, Minnesota Marching Band |
| Super Bowl XXVII | Jan. 31, 1993 | Michael Jackson |
| Super Bowl XXVIII | Jan. 30, 1994 | Travis Tritt, Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, The Judds |
| Super Bowl XXIX | Jan. 29, 1995 | Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Tony Bennett, Arturo Sandoval, Miami Sound Machine, Indiana Jones |
| Super Bowl XXX | Jan. 28, 1996 | Diana Ross |
| Super Bowl XXXI | Jan. 26, 1997 | The Blues Brothers, ZZ Top, James Brown |
| Super Bowl XXXII | Jan. 25, 1998 | Boyz II Men, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah, Grambling State Marching Band |
| Super Bowl XXXIII | Jan. 31, 1999 | Gloria Estefan, Stevie Wonder, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Savion Glover |
| Super Bowl XXXIV | Jan. 30, 2000 | Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton |
| Super Bowl XXXV | Jan. 28, 2001 | Aerosmith, NSYNC |
| Super Bowl XXXVI | Feb. 3, 2002 | U2 |
| Super Bowl XXXVII | Jan. 26, 2003 | Shania Twain, No Doubt |
| Super Bowl XXXVIII | Feb. 1, 2004 | Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock, Jessica Simpson |
| Super Bowl XXXIX | Feb. 6, 2005 | Paul McCartney |
| Super Bowl XL | Feb. 5, 2006 | The Rolling Stones |
| Super Bowl XLI | Feb. 4, 2007 | Prince |
| Super Bowl XLII | Feb. 3, 2008 | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
| Super Bowl XLIII | Feb. 1, 2009 | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band |
| Super Bowl XLIV | Feb. 7, 2010 | The Who |
| Super Bowl XLV | Feb. 6, 2011 | The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Slash |
| Super Bowl XLVI | Feb. 5, 2012 | Madonna, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Cee Lo Green, Andy Lewis |
| Super Bowl XLVII | Feb. 3, 2013 | Beyonce, Destiny's Child |
| Super Bowl XLVIII | Feb. 2, 2014 | Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| Super Bowl XLIX | Feb. 1, 2015 | Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott |
| Super Bowl 50 | Feb. 7, 2016 | Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson |
| Super Bowl LI | Feb. 5, 2017 | Lady Gaga |
| Super Bowl LII | Feb. 4, 2018 | Justin Timberlake |
| Super Bowl LIII | Feb. 3, 2019 | Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi |
| Super Bowl LIV | Feb. 2, 2020 | Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, J Balvin |
| Super Bowl LV | Feb. 7, 2021 | The Weeknd |
| Super Bowl LVI | Feb. 13, 2022 | Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent |
| Super Bowl LVII | Feb. 12, 2023 | Rihanna |
| Super Bowl LVIII | Feb. 11, 2024 | Usher, Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., Will. i.am, Lil' Jon, Ludacris |
| Super Bowl LIX | Feb. 9, 2025 | Kendrick Lamar |
FAQs
A. The Super Bowl game itself can last around 3 hours to 4 hours.
A. Kendrick Lamar will be the halftime performer of the Super Bowl 2025.
A. The duration of the Super Bowl halftime break is around 12 - 15 minutes.
A. The first Super Bowl halftime was performed by the marching band.
