Shakira and Jennifer Lopez raise the roof at Super Bowl halftime show
Jennifer Lopez and Shakira took the Super Bowl stage in Miami with a exuberant, seductive display of cultural empowerment.
Their presence alone lit up the stadium. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, the first Latin duo to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, took the stage in Miami with an exuberant, seductive display of cultural empowerment that echoed across the globe.
Before the show on Monday, Australian time, Lopez talked about bringing people together “in a moment of celebration”. The symbolism was also important to Shakira, who said she trained harder for the 15-minute performance than for anything before.
“Not only do I want people to have the time of their lives,” she said, “I want young Latin girls around the world to know this isn’t an accident and this is something they too can achieve.”
Nothing quite compares with the Super Bowl halftime show. Every year, no expense is spared as prominent musicians raise the roof with a spectacle of colour, movement and light as millions watch on.
Some performers fade from memory — is it unfair to single out Maroon 5 from last year? — but others are unforgettable, such as Michael Jackson in 1993 and a rain-soaked Prince in 2007.
This year’s act opened with Shakira, the Colombian singer, singing and dancing in sync with a group of energetic dancers in red. As usual, hers was a show built around a medley of hits, in this case tunes such as Whenever, Wherever and Hips Don’t Lie. Then there were the fireworks, lasers, revealing wardrobe choices and crowd-surfing.
Lopez arrived six minutes in, wrapped around a pole — a nod, perhaps, to her recent film, Hustlers. “I’m still Jenny from the block,” she sang, and off she went with a medley of her own.
Thank you to my incredible team for the most epic halftime I could have ever imagined. I love you guys so much #SBLIV #SuperBowlLIV #PepsiHalftime pic.twitter.com/sRCDxaWhRp
— Jennifer Lopez (@JLo) February 3, 2020
The most political moment came towards the end for a nation wrestling with difficult questions over immigration and race. Children appeared in illuminated cages as Lopez and her daughter, Emme, sang Born in the USA. As she sang, Lopez was wearing an American flag that she reversed to show the colours of Puerto Rico.
Stickman ‘Snowy’ key to Easybeats’ historic success
The Easybeats’ sound came together quickly and their electrifying string of hits from 1965 established them as our top rock act.
Chameleonic Mallrat levels up on secret-filled second album
On the surface, the Brisbane-raised pop artist born Grace Shaw has issued a fairly light and easy listen, yet there are labyrinthine layers to discover for the more curious among us.