Top Five Super Bowl Halftime Shows

NFL fans from all over the world will tune in on Sunday to see the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in SOFI stadium. However, after the halftime show was announced there will be millions of music fans tuning in solely for the Pepsi Halftime Show. Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar are set to perform what is predicted to be the best Super Bowl halftime show of all time.

This is by far the biggest lineup of stars all performing at the same time but what other halftime shows could even come close to this one? Probably none but let’s take a look at the top five Super Bowl Halftime shows through the years.

5. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

It was destined to be Tom Brady that took the headlines in Super Bowl XLII but it wasn’t to be. Tom Petty started with American Girl and never looked back. The perfect song to start his set as he entertained the fans for 14 or so minutes whilst the Giants conjured up their game plan to beat the Patriots. After starting with a light show of a guitar bursting a heart Tom Petty set the tone for how Patriots fans would feel come the end of the game. In the words of the frontman himself "Even losers get lucky sometimes".

4. Aerosmith, Britney Spears, and NSYNC

NFL brings fans from all walks of life together, regardless of their background or preferences. So it is only right that the halftime show can do the same for music fans right? Rock and pop never worked together better as Aerosmith, NSYNC and Britney Spears came together to form a supergroup. Bye, Bye, Bye blending smoothly into I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing followed by a Britney Spears cameo in Walk This Way. Super Bowl XXXV was a blowout win for the Baltimore Ravens at the Raymond James Stadium making the halftime show the most entertaining bit of that Sunday. As Ben Stiller highlighted in the promo…" Halftime = Our Time".

3. Beyonce

Rock music has dominated the Super Bowl Halftime throughout history but the Queen of Pop put on a performance that could rival any previous performance. Beyonce blasted out super-human versions of Crazy In Love, Baby Boy, and Independent Women and was then joined on stage by Destinys Child. Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams took music fans back to their youth as they were launched onto the stage. Super Bowl XLVII was once again another victory for the Baltimore Ravens as they beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31. Despite it being a closer game than number four on this list, Beyonce may still have stolen the show in New Orleans.

2. Prince

In the pouring rain in Miami, Prince put on a medley of rock songs that started with We Will Rock You blaring out as he erupted on the stage. The best thing about Princes" performance was Purple Rain in the rain. A show that was appreciated more after Prince had died. After blocking his performance from going on YouTube for years, after his death it was finally uploaded on to the internet and fans were able to enjoy the spectacle over and over again. 

1. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band

"Ladies and Gentleman for the next 12 minutes were going to bring the righteous and mighty power of the E Street Band into your beautiful home. I want you to step back from the guacamole dip, I want you to put the chicken fingers down and turn your television all the way up. What I want to know is, is there anybody alive out there? Is there anybody alive out there? "

Has there ever been a better opening to anything, never mind a Super Bowl halftime show? Bruce Springsteen electrified fans, which wouldn"t have been easy after they watched James Harrison return a pick over 100 yards for a touchdown. Super Bowl XLII has two of the greatest plays ever in Super Bowl history and one of the best halftime shows ever. Not to mention, the Steelers won their sixth Lombardi so it"s a win-win for me.

With Super Bowl 56 set to be a massive halftime show which shows off the talent that was built in Inglewood, California will it make it to the top of this list, or will The Boss stay The Boss?

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Thanks for reading my article on the Super Bowl Halftime shows. For more great NFL content, follow me on Twitter @Steelers_Mark and also follow @OTH_Football. Go check out the amazing work that our guys are doing on the Overtime Heroics Podcast.