Super Bowl Halftime Show

Lore & Background

During most of the Super Bowl's first decade (starting on January 15, 1967), the halftime show featured a college marching band. The show's second decade featured a more varied show, often featuring drill teams and other performance ensembles; the group Up with People produced and starred in four of the performances. Starting in the 1990s, to counter other networks' efforts to counterprogram the game, the show was headlined by popular music acts each year, including New Kids on the Block, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Clint Black, Patti LaBelle, and Tony Bennett. Starting with Super Bowl XXXII in 1998, commercial sponsors presented the halftime show; within five years, the tradition of having a theme—that began with Super Bowl III—ended, replaced by major music productions by arena rock bands and other high-profile acts. However, following the 1992 Super Bowl halftime broadcast, which was successfully challenged in viewership by a Fox broadcast of an episode of In Living Color, the NFL opted to include the use of popular culture spectacles annually. In the six years immediately following an incident at Super Bowl XXXVIII where Justin Timberlake exposed one of Janet Jackson's breasts in an alleged 'wardrobe malfunction', all of the halftime shows consisted of a performance by one artist or group, with the musicians in that era primarily being rock artists from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These shows were considered 'family friendly' and the time in which they took place has been described as 'the age of reactionary halftime shows'. Since Super Bowl XLV, the halftime show has returned to featuring popular contemporary musicians, with the typical format featuring a single headline artist collaborating with a small number of guest acts. The NFL does not pay the halftime show performers an appearance fee, though it covers all expenses for the performers and their entourage. The Super Bowl XXVII halftime show with Michael Jackson provided an exception, as the NFL and Frito-Lay agreed to make a donation and provide commercial time for Jackson's Heal the World Foundation. According to Nielsen SoundScan data, the halftime performers regularly experience significant spikes in weekly album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure. For Super Bowl XLIX, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that league officials asked representatives of potential acts

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights hummed against the Florida humidity as the crowd waited in anticipation. Rain began to streak across the turf, blurring the boundary between the field and the sky. Then, the first chord struck, echoing through the damp air with electric clarity. The figure stood alone under a violet glow, raising an umbrella not for protection, but as a scepter of command.

Reader's Guide

According to Billboard Magazine, the highest-viewed Super Bowl halftime shows are: 1. Kendrick Lamar in 2025 (133.5 million viewers), 2. Michael Jackson in 1993 (133.4 million viewers), 3. Usher in 2024 (129.3 million viewers), 4. Bad Bunny in 2026 (128.2 million viewers). Nielsen did not measure any of the YouTube live stream viewership for 2026's halftime show. Of the linear networks that carried the Super Bowl, the only one Nielsen measures is broadcast network. Via NBC and NBC Sports, the total social-media consumption of the 2026 halftime show featuring Bad Bunny set a record with 4.157 global billion views in the first 24 hours, a 137-percent increase over the 2025 halftime show. The social media figures for 2026 include fans, owned platforms, broadcast partners and influencers. The NFL said more than 55% of all social views came from international markets. Super Bowl XLVIII included the first Spanish-language broadcast for a Super Bowl and halftime show. Bad Bunny’s presence may also have increased the Spanish-language audience in the US. Telemundo averaged 3.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl Spanish-language broadcast in the United States. The Super Bowl has been televised in Spanish in the US since 2014. The audience peaked during the half-time show, averaging 4.8 million viewers – also making it the most-watched Super Bowl half-time in Spanish-language history in the US.

Did You Know?

• The Super Bowl XXVII halftime show with Michael Jackson was an exception to the NFL not paying performers, as the NFL and Frito-Lay agreed to make a donation and provide commercial time for Jackson's Heal the World Found
• For Super Bowl XLIX, the Wall Street Journal reported that league officials asked potential acts if they would provide financial compensation to the NFL in exchange for their appearance, though an NFL spokeswoman denied
• The 2026 halftime show featuring Bad Bunny set a record with 4.157 billion global social-media views in the first 24 hours, a 137-percent increase over the 2025 halftime show.