Ahh the Super Bowl. The one night of the year where all the boys can express their emotions without having to explain. I’m joking. What I will not joke about is the halftime show. It is well known that the Super Bowl halftime show is must see tv. It is known to be a spectacle and to pull in more ratings than the actual game. Pulling in big artists to put on an incredible show, starting with Michael Jackson in 1993.
However the past two years the halftime show for me has been ehh. I think each show should be good if not better than the year before. No one had topped gaga, and that was 2017. Justin Timberlake was okay in 2018. Maroon 5 in 2019 was just boring in my opinion. Someone really needed to give us a show. For those of us not watching the game. And if not one, why not two.
Enter Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, two dynamite Latina entertainers. It has been a long time since a Latino has headlined the halftime show. It was the queen Gloria Estefan in 1999. The last pair of Latinos to appear in the halftime show was in Enrique Iglesias and Christina Aguilera in 2000. It’s been 20 years and a long time coming.
So what can these two performers, with two completely different styles put together on one stage. Quite a damn lot.
Before I get into my review shout out to what a big weekend it was for women! Beginning with Lady Gaga performing the night before at the AT&T Super Bowl party. To Demi Lovato singing the national anthem on game day. Also a big day for the Latino community. We took over the national anthem and the halftime show! This is big!
Also the 2020 halftime show had 103 million viewers! More than the game. More than the halftime show the year before!!
Onto the big show! Hard Rock Stadium. Miami, Florida. The way the performance was set up is each both J.Lo and Shakira will have a small set before joining together. It began with Shakira, covered in red fringe and Rhinestones. She’s gives a strong set of her hits before playing electric guitar and her iconic belly dancing. She’s joined by Bad Bunny before transitioning off to Jennifer.
Jennifer begins her section on top of a pole ala Ramona in Hustlers. Jennifer is electric and was ready to perform all night if you let her. She does her known cane dance and two outfit changes before doing some more pole dancing. She’s joined by J Balvin before transitioning to the final section.
A small but nice tribute to the late Kobe Bryant is seen with a yellow cross. Children are seen sitting in cages on the on the field symbolizing the border crisis. Joining them is the final guest, Jennifer’s daughter Emme. She begins her mother’s song “Let’s get loud” as Jennifer and Shakira (on drums) join in. They are accompanied by a troupe of young dancers. Jennifer and Shakira sing a medley of each other’s songs before dancing traditional dances from their homelands. Shakira with champeta and Jennifer with salsa. The women bow together and thank the audience in Spanish and English.
So what’s my opinion of the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show. No words can do it justice. It was amazing, fantastic. What a show! Latin pride. The symbolic messages were subtle yet poignant. This is America! It made me so proud! This is something special for the Latino community. Something I personally will never forget! The halftime show performance can be viewed at the link below
https://youtu.be/pILCn6VO_RU