 | ||||
| Part of | Super Bowl XLI | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | February 4, 2007 | |||
| Location | Miami Gardens, Florida | |||
| Venue | Dolphin Stadium | |||
| Headliner | Prince | |||
| Special guests | Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band | |||
| Sponsor | Pepsi | |||
| Producer | Don Mischer Productions and White Cherry Entertainment | |||
| Super Bowl halftime show chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Super Bowl XLI halftime show took place on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Florida as part of Super Bowl XLI. It was headlined by Prince.
The executive producer of the show was Don Mischer. [1] [2] Mischer's company, Mischer Productions, was the executive producer and director. White Cherry Entertainment, run by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, were also executive producers. [3] The production designer was Bruce Rogers. [4] Mischner Productions and White Cherry Entertainment had earlier signed an agreement to produce marquee events, like the entertainment surrounding the NFL Kickoff Game, throughout the 2006 NFL season. [3]
For the first time, Pepsi was the sponsor of the halftime show. [3] They would return to sponsoring halftime shows with Super Bowl XLVII. [5]
After having, in the past, been uninterested in performing in a Super Bowl halftime show, in 2006, Prince expressed interest. [6] Executives that were in charge of booking an act for the halftime show visited Prince in Los Angeles. [6] During this meeting, Prince and three members of his backing band New Power Generation performed for the executives, which convinced the executives that he would be the proper act to perform at the upcoming Super Bowl's halftime show. [1] [6] He was announced as the performer on December 10. [3]
In late 2006, representatives of Prince reached out to Julian White, the director of the Florida A&M University, and managed to get the band to agree to performing in the show. [6] The involvement of the marching band was largely kept a secret, with New Power Generation keyboardist Morris Hayes having later shared that he did not know of their inclusion until the first rehearsal that included them. [6] Members of the marching band were not told themselves until roughly a month before the show that they would be performing in the halftime show. [6]
One of the ideas Mischer contributed was to have the marching band adorned with illuminated tape, so that would be more visible. [6]
One of the centerpiece visual effects utilized involved projecting Prince's silhouette onto a large screen that he stood behind. Air was utilized to make the screen stand erect. [4] This effect was one that Don Mischer had first utilized for the 1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. [6] [1]
Much of Prince's rehearsals were in the city of Las Vegas, where Prince had a residency show. [1] They used tape to outline the shape of the stage, as they did not have the actual stage available to them for their Las Vegas rehearsals. [1] In the days before the show, Prince and his band rehearsed in a tent adjacent to the stadium. [1] Prince and his supporting performers only had a single rehearsal on the stadium's field. [1]
During his pre-performance joint press conference with national anthem performer Billy Joel, which halftime and national anthem performers conventionally hold, rather than taking questions, Prince gave the press a mini-concert. [1]
Hundreds of volunteers helped to assemble and disassemble the stage. [1] During the stage setup, volunteers accidentally ran over a power cable with a rolling part of the stage. A member of the lighting crew responded to the issue by holding the severed ends of the cable in place with his hands for the entire duration of the show. [1] [7]
The weather during the game had been rainy, and this inclement weather continued into Prince's performance, which took place during a downpour. [1] [2] Notably, it began raining during the performance of “Purple Rain.” This was the first occasion in which it rained during a Super Bowl halftime show. [2] There was potential hazard due to the material the stage was made of, as it gets slippery when wet, and, adding to the risk, Prince and his dancers were wearing high-heeled shoes. [1] [2] [4] Further hazard was that electric guitars were used. [1] [2] [4]
Prince is said to have reveled in the weather, with some involved in the show later reporting that Prince asked if the show-runners could "make it rain harder". [1] [2] [4]
The show was approximately 12 minutes in duration. [1] [8] Prince wore a turquoise suit and had a durag in over hair. [1] [9] He performed on a large stage shaped like his signature "love symbol". [9] The edges of the stage had neon lighting. [4] During the show, he was accompanied by his backing band New Power Generation. [6] He was also accompanied by the duo "The Twinz", which consisted of identical twins Maya and Nandy McClean, who had previously toured with Prince. [10] [11] Additionally, for some songs, he was further accompanied by the Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band. [6] The marching band had their uniforms adorned with illuminated tape. [6]
The performance began with an intro featuring the song "We Will Rock You". [6] [12] [13] Fireworks were launched during this intro, and lighting effects simulating lightning were also utilized. [6] Prince then came on stage, rising via a stage elevator, and performed his hit song "Let's Go Crazy". [6] [9] During this song, Prince included an ad-libbed call and response from the crowd. [14]
Now joined by the Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band, he performed a medley of his songs "Baby I'm a Star" and "1999" and the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Proud Mary". [6] [8]
He then performed a medley of Bob Dylan's song "All Along the Watchtower" and the Foo Fighters' song "Best of You". For these songs, the marching band's instruments were not utilized. [6]
As the final song of the performance, he performed his own hit "Purple Rain". The marching band again instrumentally accompanied him for the song. [6] During the song's guitar solo, Prince played his guitar positioned behind a screen that had risen from under the stage, having his silhouette projected onto the screen. [6] Because of the inclement weather and the nature of the lighting effects, a portion of the performance appeared to take place during a literal "purple rain." Fireworks were again launched at the end of the song.[ citation needed ]
The performance was widely acclaimed. Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times wrote that the performance would "surely go down as one of the most thrilling halftime shows ever; certainly the most unpredictable, and perhaps the best." [14] Mark Caro, of the Chicago Tribune , wrote that Prince's performance, "for once, justified the existence of a mini-concert sandwiched between halves of football." [13] Many have opined that the rainy weather actually added to the performance, especially during Prince's rendition of "Purple Rain". [2] [13] [15]
Numerous outlets have retrospectively ranked the performance the best Super Bowl halftime show performance. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] Further outlets have ranked it among the best. [23] [24]
Prince's physical album sales increased to 31,000 in the week after his performance, as compared to 14,000 the week before. [25] According to SoundScan, his digital sales increased to 102,000 in the week after his performance, as compared to the 59,000 the week prior. [25] Additionally, his sales on Amazon increased 700%. [7]
There was some controversy that, during a portion of the show where Prince was silhouetted onto a screen, the placement of his guitar was phallic. [1] [6] [8] The Smoking Gun reported that in excess of 150 people had complained to the FCC about the Super Bowl broadcast, with the majority of complaints being about either this or a Snickers commercial which featured two men kissing. [26]
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2006 season. The Colts defeated the Bears by the score of 29–17. The game was played on February 4, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. This was the first and to date, only Super Bowl win for an AFC South team.
"Purple Rain" is a song by the American musician Prince and his backing band the Revolution. It is the title track from the 1984 album of the same name, which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film of the same name starring Prince, and was released as the third single from the album. The song is a power ballad that combines rock, R&B, gospel, and orchestral music.
The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, known through corporate sponsorship as the Super Bowl XXXVIII AOL TopSpeed Halftime Show took place on February 1, 2004, at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, as part of Super Bowl XXXVIII. It featured Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock, and Jessica Simpson.
Jamie King is an American creative director, choreographer, and producer. His work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over $2 billion as of 2011.
The Super Bowl XLVII halftime show occurred on February 3, 2013, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans as part of Super Bowl XLVII. Beyoncé headlined with special guests Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child. It was critically acclaimed, becoming the then second most watched show in Super Bowl history with 110.8 million viewers, behind the previous year's Super Bowl XLVI halftime show record.
The Super Bowl XLVI halftime show took place on February 5, 2012, at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana as part of Super Bowl XLVI. It was headlined by Madonna, who became the first sole female headliner since Diana Ross in 1996. It featured guest appearances by LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and CeeLo Green. Including collaborations with Cirque du Soleil, choreographer Jamie King as music director, and multimedia show producer Moment Factory, the show was critically acclaimed, setting a Super Bowl halftime show record at the time of 114 million viewers, higher than the viewership of the game itself.
The Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show occurred on February 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as part of Super Bowl XLVIII and was headlined by Bruno Mars alongside his band The Hooligans, with special guests The Red Hot Chili Peppers. At the time of airing the halftime show attracted the largest audience in the history of the Super Bowl, attracting 115.3 million viewers, later surpassed by the Super Bowl XLIX, Super Bowl 50, and Super Bowl LI halftime shows.
The Super Bowl XLIX halftime show took place on February 1, 2015, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as part of Super Bowl XLIX. It featured American singer Katy Perry, with singer Lenny Kravitz and rapper Missy Elliott as special guests. The halftime show was critically acclaimed, and its broadcast on NBC attracted over 118 million viewers according to Nielsen.
The Super Bowl 50 halftime show took place on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara as part of Super Bowl 50. It was headlined by the British rock band Coldplay, who invited Beyoncé, Gustavo Dudamel, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, the University of California Marching Band and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles as guest performers. The show attracted over 115.5 million viewers, making it the most watched halftime set in history by a group.
The Super Bowl LI Halftime show took place on February 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, as part of Super Bowl LI. Lady Gaga headlined the show, with no special guests, performing a medley of her songs, including material from her then-most recent studio album, Joanne (2016). It is currently the most nominated Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy Awards history, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special.
The Super Bowl LII Halftime Show took place on February 4, 2018, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as part of Super Bowl LII. Justin Timberlake was the featured performer, as confirmed by the National Football League (NFL) on October 22, 2017. It was televised nationally by NBC with a total of 106.6 million television viewers, down 9% from the previous years' Super Bowl LI halftime show.
The Super Bowl XLV halftime show took place on February 6, 2011, at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of Super Bowl XLV. The Black Eyed Peas headlined, performing a medley of their songs, with Slash and Usher making guest appearances. Intended to bring youth back into the halftime show, the show received negative reviews from critics.
The Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show, took place on February 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of Super Bowl LIII. It was headlined by Maroon 5, joined by rappers Big Boi and Travis Scott as guests.
The Super Bowl LIV halftime show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show, took place on February 2, 2020, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, as part of Super Bowl LIV. It was televised in the U.S. by Fox. It was co-headlined by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, and included guest appearances by Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Lopez's daughter Emme Muñiz.
The Super Bowl LV halftime show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, was the halftime entertainment of Super Bowl LV, and took place on February 7, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was headlined solely by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. The show was televised in the U.S. by CBS.
The Super Bowl XXVII halftime show took place on January 31, 1993, at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, as part of Super Bowl XXVII.
The Super Bowl XXX halftime show occurred on January 28, 1996, at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona as part of Super Bowl XXX and featured American entertainer Diana Ross. The show was produced by Radio City Music Hall. The performance was entitled Take Me Higher: A Celebration of 30 years of the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl XXXVI Halftime Show, known through corporate sponsorship as the E-Trade Super Bowl XXXVI Halftime Show, was the halftime entertainment of Super Bowl XXXVI, which took place on February 3, 2002, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It featured Irish rock band U2 as the performer. Using a heart-shaped stage replicated from their 2001 Elevation Tour, the group played three songs and paid tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks, which had occurred in the United States five months earlier. The show was produced by Clear Channel Entertainment, which also produced the band's Elevation Tour. The Super Bowl and its halftime show were televised nationally in the US by Fox.
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The organization Up with People performed in five Super Bowl halftime shows, and additionally performed in one Super Bowl pre-game show. In addition, in one of the years that they performed as the halftime headliners, Up with People accompanied Tom Sullivan in performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game. Up with People has performed in more Super Bowl halftime shows and had more overall Super Bowl performances than any other act.