Super Bowl 2022 halftime show: The 5 biggest talking points after Eminem and Kendrick Lamar perform
Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre performed on one of the world’s biggest stages as millions tuned in to watch live
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Fans tuned in for one of the most anticipated Super Bowl halftime shows in years, with Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Mary J Blige all headlining.
The 2022 Super Bowl took place tonight (13 February) at the SoFi Stadium in LA, with the Los Angeles Rams taking on the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s the first time that the Super Bowl – one of the biggest sporting events of the year in the US – will return to the Los Angeles area.
Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Blige, and Lamar joined a list of celebrated musicians who have played during Super Bowl halftime shows, including Beyoncé, Madonna, Coldplay, Katy Perry, U2, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Shakira.
Here are the biggest talking points from the halftime show:
A surprise performance from 50 Cent
As usual, surprise performances were kept under wraps until the very last moment. A slightly breathless-sounding 50 Cent was this year’s guest star, appearing after Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg opened the show with “Still Dre” and “California Love”. Fiddy performed “In Da Club” while surrounded by beautiful dancers, which perhaps explains why he looked rather distracted for most of it.
Eminem kneels after “Lose Yourself”
The “Lose Yourself” rapper defied rumoured instructions from the NFL to keep politics out of the halftime show, kneeling at the end of his performance of “Lose Yourself” for one minute. Eminem had apparently mentioned the idea of kneeling ahead of his performance, but had been asked to avoid doing so by Super Bowl organisers. The form of protest by kneeling was brought to the NFL by Colin Kaepernick, who first began sitting silently on benches during the national anthem, at the start of the 2016 season on 26 August.
While many praised Eminem for doing so, others pointed out how Kaepernick, a Black man, continues to be blacklisted for his protests against racial injustice, while Eminem, who is white, was able to take the knee today (14 February) on that same platform.
Anderson .Paak on drums
A beaming Anderson .Paak could be seen on drums during Eminem’s performance of “Lose Yourself”, with Dr Dre also performing.
Kendrick Lamar works in his own political statement
Ahead of the Super Bowl, widespread reports emerged that headliners Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Mary J Blige and Snoop Dogg were being heavily censored from making any political statements.
According to the New York Post, Dre felt “disgustingly censored” by executives who didn’t want the performance to become a “divisive culture war moment”.
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However, Lamar chose to perform “Alright” for his segment, which felt significant given the rumoured requests to keep politics out of the halftime show. “Alright” became an anthem against police brutality and racial injustice in 2015, after activists in Cleveland State University were filmed chanting it. The song originally appeared on Lamar’s universally acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly.
Kanye West makes an appearance
Kanye West was spotted with his daughter North watching the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in the climax of the 2021 NFL season at So-Fi Stadium.
The controversial rapper and producer was filmed wearing a black mask covering his face while sitting with North and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
The trio were shown on the jumbotron, with North appearing to be caught off-guard as she realised she was on the giant screen.
Read more
The liveblog is now closed
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power trailer stuns Super Bowl 2022 viewers
More film content for you all, as my colleague Jacob Stolworthy is ALL over the new Lord of the Rings series trailer:
Later this year, the streaming service will release The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is reportedly the most expensive TV show of all time.
While a teaser was previously released, revealing its title, the new trailer unveiled the first full look at the forthcoming return to JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth since Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy.
The new show will run for eight episodes when it arrives this September. After it was reported that the trailer would be released during the Super Bowl, fans made no secret of the fact that this was the only reason they were tuning in on social media.
More below:
The first Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power trailer stuns viewers
The trailer is by far the one people were most hyped for
Kanye West was spotted with his daughter North watching the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in the climax of the 2021 NFL season at So-Fi Stadium.
The controversial rapper and producer was filmed wearing a black mask covering his face while sitting with North and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
The trio were shown on the jumbotron, with North appearing to be caught off-guard as she realised she was on the giant screen.
West’s presence at the game comes just hours after he went on his latest Instagram rampage against his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, SNL star Pete Davidson.
The “Famous” artist, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, was also embroiled in a row with pop star Billie Eilish this week, after he accused her of insulting fellow rapper Travis Scott.
More here:
Kanye West spotted at Super Bowl 2022 with daughter North
Musician was in attendance to watch fellow hip-hop stars Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Mary J Blige
Speaking of Kanye. I wrote this comment piece earlier in the week – before he’d posted a lot of his more outrageous comments about Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian. But I think it’s still relevant, so here you go:
Kanye West’s juvenile behaviour is sabotaging his artistic legacy
The ever-controversial artist has gone after Billie Eilish for looking out for her fans. Roisin O’Connor wonders if we’ll ever see the genius of old, as highlighted in Netflix’s new documentary
Review incoming from my colleague Kevin in the next 10 minutes or so!
Super Bowl 2022 halftime review: Dr Dre oversees performance from hip-hop royalty
Surprise guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak joined previously announced rap icons Eminem and Snoop Dogg and soul queen Mary J Blige.
Read Kevin E G Perry’s review of the Super Bowl halftime show here:
Dr Dre oversees hip-hop royalty for the Super Bowl halftime show – review
Surprise guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak joined previously announced rap icons Eminem and Snoop Dogg and soul queen Mary J Blige
Right, I’m about to head to bed so it’s goodnight from me – thanks so much to everyone who followed our coverage this evening!
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