The Greatest Super Bowl Halftime Shows Of All Time

Increasingly, the Super Bowl Halftime Show has become as much a point of interest of the NFL’s final game of the season as the game itself. In many more recent Super Bowls, viewership has peaked during the halftime show.

The roughly 14-minute performance is there to draw in an even broader audience beyond just American football fans while making the league’s crowning game the biggest event that it could possibly be.

Kendrick Lamar will be performing in New Orleans for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, but there’s an exceptionally high bar to meet if he wants to land among the greatest Super Bowl Halftime Shows of all time again.

Shakira and Jennifer Lopez (Super Bowl LIV, 2020)

Down at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida – one of the most frequented Super Bowl host cities over the years – the score was tied 10-10 at halftime between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, with each team scoring a touchdown and a field goal.

Fans on all sides were on a knife-edge, but were given a welcome reprieve in the form of the all-in spectacle from two of the US Latin music scene’s most popular stars.

At the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show, Shakira showcased her Colombian dancing and guitar skills while Jennifer Lopez took to the pole. It proved to be a fiery, high-tempo show fitting of the epic game on the field.

The Chiefs would go on to win 31-20 and commence their run of four Super Bowl appearances in five years, which the odds suggest may extend to five in six with Kansas City still among the favourites in the NFL odds.

U2 (Super Bowl XXXVI, 2002)

Led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the New England Patriots entered Super Bowl XXXVI as the underdogs to the all-conquering St. Louis Rams, but by halftime, the Pats were up 14-3.

Being the first Super Bowl since the 9/11 attacks, the halftime performers had to work out a way to honour the victims and entertain both the crowd in the stadium and audiences at home.

To essentially strike the right tone, Janet Jackson made way for U2 to take the spot, which led to what many fans remember as one of the greatest Super Bowl Halftime Shows of all time.

While playing Beautiful Day, MLK, and Where the Streets Have No Name, the names of the victims were put up on stage. It was a poignant show that stuck the perfect chord between the grandiose event and the tributes.

Afterwards, the Pats got back to business, continued to assert themselves, and collected an additional two field goals to nullify the late surge of two touchdowns from the Rams to win 20-17.

Beyoncé (Super Bowl XLVII, 2013)

Few stars in US music are as big as Beyoncé, so it was only fitting to bring her to the stage as the Super Bowl’s first return to New Orleans since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

In the battle between Jim and John Harbaugh, it was John who took the early lead, seeing his Baltimore Ravens fly out to a 21-6 lead over the 49ers by halftime.

Then stepped out Beyoncé. The titan of pop put on a seemingly endless run of hits that included a surprise showing from her former bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

The thrills of the show bled out onto the pitch, with the 49ers charging back out to make it 23-28 by the end of the third. In the end, though, the Ravens would hold on to win 34-31 and Joe Flacco was named the Super Bowl MVP.

Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar (Super Bowl LVI, 2022)

Staging the Los Angeles Rams against the Cincinnati Bengals at the home of the Rams, home fans were certainly in for a treat – and not just because the home team would end up hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

If there was one person in hip-hop who could pull together the most impressive ensemble cast for a Super Bowl Halftime Show, it was Dr. Dre. By the looks of it, he pulled out all the stops.

The headline act advertised to fans was Dr. Dre with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, but as the show progressed, they were joined by Anderson .Paak. and 50 Cent to the roars of the crowd.

Easily ranking among the greatest Super Bowl Halftime Shows of all time, Super Bowl LVI was also the first to win the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) Emmy Award.

In 2025, Kendrick Lamar will return to the Super Bowl to headline, and the Rams are very much still in the online betting lines – at the time of writing – having shocked the Minnesota Vikings 27-9 in the Wild Card Round.

Prince (Super Bowl XLI, 2007)

On a drizzly evening in Miami Gardens, the 74,000-strong crowd had seen a packed first half that ended with the Indianapolis Colts jogging to the dressing room 16-14 up over the Chicago Bears.

The weather worsened, and the rain was relentless. For many other performers, the stage wouldn’t be safe enough to perform on. For Prince, it only made his meticulously crafted Super Bowl Halftime Show even better.

A deluge the likes of which maybe arrives only a few times a year set the scene for Prince to open with the backing of We Will Rock You, integrate a university marching band to honour the roots of the show, and showcase his masterful skill on the axe with a solo shred of Purple Rain.

In 2007, Prince set the bar with the best Super Bowl Halftime Show of all time. His show probably also belongs in the list of the most memorable Super Bowl moments overall!

Once he was done, the Colts returned to the field and dominated the Bears, eventually winning Super Bowl XLI 29-17.