30+ Best Super Bowl Halftime Shows of All Time, Ranked

It’s no surprise that iconic singer-songwriter Prince put on an incredible Super Bowl show. The award-winning star headlined the 2007 halftime show, and his performance is still super famous today. During his set, the flamboyant multi-instrumentalist played a mixture of his own hits and other songs.

He mashed up Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Foo Fighters’ “Best of You”. Prince closed his epic Super Bowl performance with a perfect rendition of “Purple Rain”. He even had rain pour down during his guitar solo.

Queen Bey made sure to absolutely nail her solo Super Bowl performance. Plus, she used the opportunity to reunite with her former Destiny’s Child bandmates. In 2013, fans watched as Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams joined Beyoncé as special guests during her headline act.

The trio performed some of their biggest hits, including “Bootylicious” and “Independent Women”. This Super Bowl performance was so monumental that half of the Superdome lights went out afterwards. The blackout lasted over 30 minutes. Worth it!

In 2002, the US was shaken by the events of the previous year. The Super Bowl halftime show was headlined by Irish rock band U2. The group’s rendition of “Beautiful Day” was just what the country needed to feel some optimism and unity.

Lead singer Bono even revealed an American flag in the lining of his jacket. At the Louisiana Superdome, U2 closed their set with a rousing rendition of“Where the Streets Have No Name”. Understandably, it sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The Prince of Pop’s Super Bowl appearance is largely what led to the megastar halftime shows we enjoy today. After MJ performed at the 1993 halftime show, ratings rocketed between halves of the football game.

At the Rose Bowl performance in Pasadena California, Michael Jackson put on quite a show. He performed “We Are the World”, “Heal the World”, and moonwalked across the stage to “Billie Jean”. This Super Bowl spectacle saw Michael Jackson’s album “Dangerous” increase in sales by a whopping 83%.

Queen of Pop Madonna headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2012 in Indianapolis. During her performance, she brought out a host of special guests. These included electronic dance duo LMFAO, rappers Nicki Minaj and M.I.A, and singer-songwriter CeeLo Green.

Oh, and Cirque du Soleil performers, dancers, and drummers. As her finale, Madonna performed an epic version of “Just Like a Prayer” with CeeLo Green and a huge robed choir. There’s no denying that the epic performer knows how to put on a good show.

The 2004 Super Bowl performance is best known for the snafu that happened between Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. However, the show was actually headlined by a group of artists, including P. Diddy, Kid Rock, Jessica Simpson, and Nelly. Quite a combination.

Most famously, Janet Jackson had a “wardrobe malfunction” viewed by millions of viewers. In fact, the term was invented because of this incident. Incredibly, this performance led to Janet Jackson being blacklisted on radio stations and music channels.

The 2022 Super Bowl performance was all about hip-hop. It was headlined by Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. Plus, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak joined as special guests. These rap powerhouses performed a bevy of their biggest hits.

Mary J. Blige delighted audiences with “No More Drama”, and Eminem went hard on “Lose Yourself”. This show won two Emmys, becoming the first Super Bowl show to win the award for Outstanding Variety Special.

It’s well known that pop star Katy Perry puts on a good show. For the 2015 Super Bowl, she pulled no punches. In fact, this performance is the most watched halftime show on network broadcast ever. It pulled in an incredible 118.5 million viewers.

During her set, Katy Perry brought out singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz and rapper Missy Elliot as special guests. Katy flew through the sky singing “Firework” and rode a giant lion puppet while singing “Roar.” The performance scooped two Emmy awards for costume and lighting.

When Latina powerhouses Jennifer Lopez and Shakira co-headlined the 2020 Super Bowl, they broke records. Their performance is the most viewed halftime show on YouTube, and reportedly the world’s most popular halftime show. We can’t say that we’re surprised.

J.Lo and Shakira also welcomed Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Colombian singer J Balvin as special guests during their set. They played a host of hits, including “She Wolf”, “Jenny from the Block,” “Hips Don’t Lie”, “Ain’t it Funny”, “Whenever, Wherever”, and “Get Right”.

Over the years, Bruce Springsteen turned down the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl. However, in 2009, he and the E Street Band decided it was their time. At the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida, Bruce Springsteen performed four of his hits. Of course, he included his first worldwide single, “Born to Run”.

The New Jersey-born musician played a 12-minute set, which meant he had to remove a verse from each song. He closed with his 1985 single “Glory Days”.

The ever-versatile Lady Gaga went for an unusual opening for her 2017 Super Bowl show. Gaga opened her headlining halftime show with a rendition of “God Bless America” and “This Land Is Your Land”. In doing so, she harkened back to the early days of the Super Bowl halftime shows.

However, Lady Gaga also pulled out the hits — including “Poker Face” and “Born This Way”. Best of all, she exited the stage by dropping her mic and catching a football, before disappearing.

We have to wonder who booked some of the Super Bowl halftime shows. For example, in 2001 headliners Aerosmith and NSYNC were joined by special guests Britney Spears, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige. The noughties were truly a wild time for pop culture.

The whole gang closed the performance by crooning along to Aerosmith hit “Walk This Way”. Elsewhere in the set, NSYNC sang “Bye Bye Bye” and Aerosmith belted out their beloved ballad “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”.

When it comes to spectacular Super Bowl shows, it makes sense to hire an iconic performer. And Diana Ross certainly qualifies as an icon. When she headlined the show in 1996, the award-winning artist played a medley of her biggest hits.

Audiences cheered along to “Stop In the Name of Love”, “Chain Reaction”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, and “Take Me Higher”. Diana Ross arrived on stage on a crane made of sparklers. When she finished her final song, a helicopter swooped down to take her away.

There was some controversy in 2016 when Coldplay was named as the Super Bowl halftime show headliners. This was largely because Ms. Beyoncé Knowles was relegated to a special guest, alongside Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson. Despite this, Queen Bey’s performance of her new single “Formation” made headlines across the country.

This performance opened with some of Coldplay’s greatest hits, including “Yellow” and “Viva la Vida”. However, we preferred Bey and Bruno facing off in a “Crazy in Love/Uptown Funk” dance-off.

After the Super Bowl drama with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, the NFL went with a much safer choice. In 2005, audiences were serenaded by former Beatle Paul McCartney. The English singer-songwriter performed four songs, with no special guests or controversial dance routines.

Sir Paul opened his set with Beatles song “Drive My Car”, before moving onto “Get Back” and “Live and Let Die”. His finale was a classic rendition of “Hey Jude”, with the 84,000 stadium attendees singing along.

It’s time for an unexpected supergroup. In 2003, the Super Bowl co-headliners were country star Shania Twain and rock band No Doubt, fronted by Gwen Stefani. Stranger still, they were joined by special guest, Sting.

Shania opened the set with mega hits “Man” I Feel like a Woman!” and “Up” followed by No Doubt’s catchy single “Just a Girl”. This strange set concluded with No Doubt and Sting harmonizing along to The Police song “Message in a Bottle”. Only at the Super Bowl.

The length of Super Bowl halftime shows has varied over time. Some artists get through 10 to 15 songs, whereas others stick to four to six. However, when legendary rockers The Rolling Stones headlined in 2006, they only played three. Despite this, the show was viewed by almost 90 million people.

That was more than the combined audiences for the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Emmys. The English band performed in front of their iconic tongue logo on the largest stage ever assembled for a halftime show.

Occasionally, audiences are skeptical about whether an artist is big enough to headline a Super Bowl show. This was the case with Bruno Mars in 2014, who was still one year away from releasing his huge hit “Uptown Funk”. Despite this, the Hawaii-born star put on quite a show.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers joined as special guests to perform their track “Give it Away” with the headliner. Plus, Bruno Mars dedicated his closing song, “Just the Way You Are” to the families of soldiers.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a pretty good choice for the 2008 Super Bowl halftime show. After all, football fans know the group’s biggest hits, and they fit in well with the Americana vibes of an NFL game. Fittingly, the rock band opened with “American Girl”, before performing “I Won’t Back Down”, “Free Fallin’”, and “Runnin’ Down a Dream”.

Tom Petty understood this assignment. Apparently, other options for the 2008 show included Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Norah Jones, and The Eagles.

The 1999 Super Bowl show was truly a 90s extravaganza. The headliners were celebrated singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, Latin queen Gloria Estefan, and swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Together, these artists offered up a diverse, genre-blending performance. Tracks included Wonder’s “I Wish,” and Estefan’s “Turn The Beat Around”.

This show was billed as a “celebration of soul, salsa, and swing” and featured 1000 performers. Naturally, there were also huge lighted balloon balls, lasers, and pyrotechnics. Oh, and a skit featuring E.T.

We have to admit that we enjoy a bizarre Super Bowl supergroup. In 2000, Disney produced the halftime show featuring headliners Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, and Toni Braxton. Strangely, none of these hugely popular artists sang any of their greatest hits. Instead, they sang some rather disappointing and sappy ballads.

Together, Enrique and Christina crooned “Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand” while Toni belted the unknown track, “We Go On”. Meanwhile, English rocker Phil Collins sang the love song from Tarzan. Sigh.

Altogether, Justin Timberlake has performed at three Super Bowl halftime shows. He performed as part of NSYNC in the doomed ensemble with Janet Jackson, and then at his own headlining show in 2018.

At this performance, the pop star chose to promote his new album Man of the Woods rather than focusing on his big hits. Perhaps JT was trying to play it safe after his previous halftime show controversies. While he didn’t get anyone blacklisted this time, he received mixed reviews from critics.

At the 1998 Super Bowl in San Diego California, the theme was a “Salute to Motown’s 40th Anniversary.” For this performance, the headliners included big hitters Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, The Temptations, and Queen Latifah.

This hit-making lineup performed songs including “The Tracks of My Tears”, “A Song for Mama”, and “Dancing in the Street”. At this performance, Queen Latifah become the first rapper to make it onto the halftime show. In the years since, plenty of others have followed her lead.

In 2021, the world was still recovering from the shocking events of 2020. As a result, that year’s Super Bowl headliner The Weeknd focused on making the show “a cinematic experience” for home viewers. Oddly, the Canadian artist didn’t actually appear on the field until his final song, “Blinding Lights”.

This performance featured masked choir members standing against a neon city backdrop. There were no special guests, and there were issues with the audio quality. Overall, it’s certainly not in the Super Bowl halftime hall of fame.

Back in 1978, comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi performed a musical sketch as The Blues Brothers. This eventually led to a 1980 comedy movie of the same name. When John Belushi passed away, the act continued with a revolving door of guest singers.

Bizarrely, in 1997, a version of The Blues Brothers performed at the Super Bowl. In this incarnation, Dan Aykroyd was joined by actors John Goodman and Jim Belushi. Weirder still, they performed with legendary soul singer James Brown and rock band ZZ Top.

Our next entry is another odd concoction of musical acts. In 2011, the Black Eyed Peas headlined the Super Bowl, inviting special guests Usher and Slash to join them. So, that’s one pop-rap group, one R&B singer, and one hard rock guitarist. Right.

During this unforeseeable performance, the Black Eyed Peas cranked out “The Time (Dirty Bit)”, their version of “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”. Then, Fergie crooned “Sweet Child O’ Mine” accompanied by Slash. Who would’ve thought?

Over time, various artists have turned down performing at the Super Bowl because of their views on the NFL. In 2019, the corporation was facing backlash over its blacklisting of athlete Colin Kaepernick. This meant that artists like Cardi B and Rihanna refused to perform.

However, Maroon 5 was ready and waiting to take that headliner spot. During their set, the pop-rock band invited out rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi. All three acts faced criticism for accepting the gig. Additionally, the show was considered underwhelming.

Along with Justin Timberlake, Gloria Estefan has performed at the Super Bowl three times. However, she has always been featured as part of an ensemble. In 1992, the Cuban-American star was joined by Olympic figure skaters in the “Winter Magic” halftime show.

This performance was before the show had transformed into the huge gig it is now. The seven-time Grammy award winner only sang two songs. The majority of the show was taken up by a marching band and figure skating. Still, she wore a fabulous outfit.

Amusingly, British rockers Pete Townsend and Roger Daltry had never watched an American football game before performing at the 2010 Super Bowl halftime show. Even when the NFL sent them other halftime shows on DVD for reference, they didn’t watch them. Perhaps that’s why The Who’s performance was so underwhelming.

During their set, the English rock band performed hits such as “Pinball Wizard”, and “Baba O’Riley”. After the fact, guitarist Pete Townsend remarked that “it was nice to be part of the spectacle.”

As we’ve seen, Super Bowl halftime shows didn’t become celebrity spectacles until the early ’90s. However, some big names did make appearances in the decades before. For example, in 1972 the Queen of Jazz performed a song during the halftime show.

In doing so, Ella Fitzgerald became the first African American and the first jazz artist to perform during halftime. That year, the theme was a “Salute to Louis Armstrong.” Fittingly, Lady Ella sang “Mack the Knife”, accompanied by trumpeter Al Hirt.

While Michael Jackson is considered the artist that kicked off the modern Super Bowl halftime show era, he’s far from the first celebrity to appear at the event. That title goes to actress, singer, and dancer Carol Channing.

The Broadway and movie star became the halftime show’s first celeb when she performed at the 1970 Super Bowl. Carol Channing took to the stage and sang a rousing performance of “When the Saints Go Marching In”. Also in the show were opera singer Marguerite Piazza and various musicians.

In 1994, the Super Bowl halftime show was made up entirely of country singers. That year, the game took place in the Georgia Dome Atlanta with a theme of “Rockin’ Country Sunday.” It was country’s time to shine!

The headliners for the event were Nashville heavyweights Tanya Tucker, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and the Judds. Views on this halftime show rely largely on how you feel about country music. The setlist included hits like “Tuckered Out”, “T-R-O-U-B-L-E”, and “Love Can Build a Bridge”.

Interestingly, while ’90s boy band New Kids on the Block did perform at the 1991 Superbowl, their act was bumped for an ABC news report. As a result, at-home audiences could only view the show after the game had finished.

This might have been for the best, considering the band had to perform with a host of Disney characters. During their wholesome performance, the pioneering boyband sang “Step by Step”, and “This One’s for the Children”. Indeed, they were joined by 2000 local kids.

In the 1980s, the Super Bowl halftime show was still dominated by marching bands and drill teams. Despite this, rock singer and dancer Chubby Checker managed to get a headlining spot in 1988. He shared the performance with dance company The Rockettes, 88 grand piano players, and three different marching bands.

Known for popularizing various dance styles, Chubby Checker closed this halftime show with a medley. He combined his own single “Let’s Twist Again” with “The Super Bowl Twist”. Yikes.

In the 90s, the Super Bowl still featured lots of Disney characters and music. This was the case for the 1995 show. It was headlined by soul singer Patti LaBelle, R&B artist Teddy Pendergrass, crooner Tony Bennett, and Latin band Miami Sound Machine.

This eclectic mix was joined by two performers dressed as Indiana Jones and his girlfriend Marion Ravenwood. During this bizarre performance, Patti LaBelle and Tony Bennett closed the show with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King.