Sometimes, even when the Super Bowl Half-time show has good performers, it can still be a disaster. Sometimes, there will be bad performers doing a bad performance. The trickiest is when there’s a mediocre performer and they kill it. I’m thinking of Katy Perry, who managed to put together a surprisingly good/bizarre/interesting Half-time show several years back. Now, I like Shakira and Jennifer Lopez a lot for different reasons – they’re both good dancers, Shakira is amazingly talented musically and Jennifer is a great celebrity (meaning, she’s gossip-worthy as hell).
So, I thought it was cool that they were doing it together in MIAMI. But I was not prepared for the show to feel so fun!! They set it up so Shakira got the first half and Jennifer the second half, then they came together at the end, with J Balvin and Bad Bunny coming in for drop-bys with “Mi Gente,” “Que Calor,” “I Like It” and “Mia.” And yes, both Shakira and J.Lo performed their classics! WAITING FOR TONIGHT! Empire! Wherever, Whenever. Love Don’t Cost A Thing! Jenny From the Block! AND Shakira opened with “She Wolf,” one of my favorites.
Shakira’s half absolutely killed it, honestly. Jennifer… um, her strength isn’t her voice. But she was dancing and she was joyful and the Puerto Rico flag!! All in all, this was one of the best Half-time shows of the last… what? Five or six years? I’m struggling to remember when Maroon 5 turned up. Sh-t, that was last year!! YIKES. Justin Timberlake was 2018. Lady Gaga the year before (I remember liking her performance, even though it felt off-brand for the Super Bowl). And then in 2016, that was when Beyonce stormed in with her Formation during Coldplay’s Halftime show. So, yeah. This was the best one since 2016, and even then… Shakira and J.Lo put on a much more cohesive show than that Coldplay/Beyonce/Bruno Mars mess.
Photos courtesy of Getty and Avalon Red.
They both were great! Amazing show!
J-Lo gets celebrated while Colin gets blackballed. How’s that seat at the table Jay-Z? But hey, I’ve stopped watching the NFL years ago. SMH!!
You know they won’t touch the celebs. Since Colin works for the company, of course they will go after him.
I love jlo but was so disappointed in her for doing this. Her music is heavily derived from black music, she even said n***** in a song once. But when it comes to the unfun parts of the black experience she opts out.
Not even a fan, but Shakira’s performance was 5-star! You rarely see an entertainer blow it out of the water so confidently and make it look easy, especially with such a massive audience. (The pressure!!) Her energy and joyfulness were really contagious.
I had never seen Shakira perform before and she nailed it! She seemed hi-energy and fresh; J-Lo not so much…I kept waiting for the death defying pole dance from J-Lo, and it never happened…
to be fair, JLo did show some difficult and impressive pole moves.
Shakira looked effortless (in a good way!) and like she was having so much fun. J-lo looked a little stiff and worried to me, like she was nervous and uncomfortable with all the lifts and pole moves.
Shakira’s performance was the better of the two, by far. Her energy was so positive and fun!
Shakers was 5 star, wow
J-lo was better than I expected
Shakira was GLORIOUS!
SHAKIRA SHAKIRA.
Seriously though, she stole the show! I have never seen her perform before, but it’s clear why she is popular across the world. It was a PERFORMANCE. And she made it look fun and easy. Best halftime show in years, imho.
JLO was okay… better than I expected, honestly. I felt bad for her having to perform after Shakira because it just emphasized the talent/skill difference between them as performers.
After Shakira’s performance I was stressing for JLo, but she did a good job. Shakira nailed it, though. It was a performance that will earn new fans.
Shakira was incredible. She nailed it. She played her American hits but incorporated some of her classics and was just amazing overall.
J lo was a lot better than I had anticipated. No her singing wasn’t the best, but then her voice isn’t her strong suit. The dancing and the overall spectacle of it was awesome.
I loved that Shakira came back at the end.
My only complaint is that I wish Shakira had done Ojos ASI (I know she did the few lines from it but I wanted the whole thing lol)
It’s like comparing a Diva to a Busker. Both are mind-blowing and Shakira is an iconic talent, but J LO WORKS, non-stop empire builder and from NOTHING. The two have similar but different “drive”. I feel it was complimentary & memorable- I loved Bey’s Malcolm X costumes & RIGHT NOW is more timely than ever for Latinx Power & Love. I cried when the PR flag came out. CRIED
Shakira is an amazing performer. Always has been. She commands an empty stage but add in the bells and whistles and it’s just peak- awesome.
J.Lo is a great performer but Shakira can sing and writes as well.
I didn’t watch the game and didn’t see the 1/2 time until this morning. It was great! Shakira is just amazing all around and while JLo can’t sing her dancing makes up for it. They repped us middle aged ladies well. It was energetic, fun, and a little political. I just really loved it. I’m also enjoying all the pearl clutching from the Karens about “too sexy, please think of the children” and the “this is America speak English” from the racist trolls.
I love that she repped with the PR flag and “Born in the USA” for all those idiot trumpers who don’t realize that PR is part of the US.
and you can’t look at 50 year-old JLo and 40-something Shakira and NOT be impressed. I mean, DAYUM.
Agree about the backlash they’re getting for their “too sexy” dancing. If their dancing was too sexy, then football is too violent. Spare me with the double standards.
love this take on it!
HA, my work computer is set on a conservative “news” page that read, “1/2 time show, powerful or exploitative?”. When I watched it was, POWERFUL. An iconic Diva w a lesser celebrated Latinx talent, they held each other UP!!
THEY BOTH KILLED IT, I WAS CRYING WHILE WATCHING IT THIS MORNING, AND I AM CROATIAN! 😀
It was just incredible how WOMEN can bring the house down!!
Shakira was lip syncing, btw, which is perfectly fine by me, because I don’t know a mic which could pick up a great voice sound without picking all the heavy breathing while dancing, but J Lo sang, and she sounded better than ever to me.
And that finale part, and all the booty shaking, yes!
I felt like – yes, men define us by our looks, so I will shake my tush for the whole world to see how I can win the stage as a FEMALE performer 😀
(I am clearly a female musician, excuse the enthusiasm)
Just wanted to say hello to my fellow Croatian 🙂
ok, croatian too and i also got a little tear and i have no idea why. i just loved it – like a positive vibe and attitude i needed today and a great performance all together.
I got tears eyed too!!! There was something about that that!
I feel in crazy land with this comment section. Shakira was totally lip syncing while J-Lo was singing live; that to me shows far more skill. Also, J-lo is a magnificent dancer whose got nothing to envy Shakira. The are both amazing performers but to me, J-lo did better and this is comming from a colombian.
JLo didn’t sing live. She lipped to a “live” recording she did. Shakira lipped to a studio recording. That was the difference.
For the belly dancing Shakira was doing it was going to be almost impossible to sing at the same time. Plus, Shakira also played guitar and drums.
JLo swung around a pole, danced some and strutted.
I remember reading a few years back that the Super Bowl requires pre-recorded vocals for all halftime performers. J Lo did sound authentic, like they recorded fresh vocals for the show, but no one is ever singing live anymore; too many variables. I believe even instruments are recorded tracks (remembering the Chili Peppers ages ago and their unplugged guitars). But both women did an amazing job, a phenomenal show and body goals for any age. Yowza.
Sorry, friends, but Jlo’s set was almost entirely lip synced as well. The sound was well mixed, so she got to throw in some vamping and some well timed exclamatory sounds, but girl was lip syncing almost the entire performance. True, producers don’t want to do or spend on the work required to allow performers to perform (anything that isn’t dancing) but Gaga’s set was largely live. It ends up being a performance choice.
It’s because they’re both amazing dancers. I don’t know why or when it was no longer a prerequisite that pop stars be able to dance, but most can’t anymore. And it makes for such a better show when they can!!!!
When she got famous, Shakira’s songs did not include dancing, it was just her and her guitar. She has clearly evolved, and was always a good dancer, even if she did not perform big dance numbers like nowadays, I think her dancing started around the time she sang Whenever, Wherever
I loved their performances so much! I was dancing and singing the entire time… with that being said so many white people were complaining about Shak singing in Spanish and it being to sexy. Racism and sexism running strong.
Loved JLO!!! So fabulous!!!!! And wicked dancing!!!!! The glamour of her. Hahahah
Beyoncé’s Formation will always be iconic to me. Just loved it. The X dance formation. I can’t. Still.
Madonna I also loved. Queen.
My girls killed it!
Sometimes people say JLo should be more political, more involved, but she is up there, singing in Spanish with a Puerto Rican flag.
J-Lo isn’t responsible for my comment, because I think singing Spanish in front of the Puerto Rican flag is plenty political in this climate, but it’s my hope that every Puerto Rican displaced by the hurricane and Donald’s shameful response to it is registered and ready to vote.
It’s my understanding that, while Puerto Ricans have US citizenship, they can’t vote for President. US territories aren’t part of the electoral college. (which is ridiculous if you ask me)
That’s why Betsy specifically said those DISPLACED by the hurricanes. While PR residents can’t vote (for president), all Puerto Ricans are American citizens and absolutely can vote if they move to a different state.
Oh she went there. She unfurled that PR flag (that had the US flag on the reverse side) while her daughter sand “Born in the USA”. That was political for anyone that was ignorant of the fact that PR’s are also US citizens. I also loved how they had the children in “cages” as a statement. The fact that they unapologetically had very Latino artists up there. That Shaki, who speaks fluent English decided to address the audience in Spanish, and sang her Latin hits and not just the English crossover joints. Also Shakira sang her Waka Waka song (which the title itself is Camaroonian slang) while she brought her creole Afro-Colombian roots to the forefront dancing Champeta, as well as representing her Middle Eastern roots. J lo with her Salsa music. The whole show was a multi-cultural F U to all of the racist rednecks and I truly enjoyed it.
“The whole show was a multi-cultural F U to all of the racist rednecks and I truly enjoyed it.”
yes, it was GLORIOUS!
ranfom word generator
They can’t vote if they’re living on the island, but if they were displaced and moved to the continental US like many did, yes, the can vote in Presidential elections.
It was the bomb. I agree, the best in years. And it had the undercurrent of showing. Yeah Women. Latinos. We are here. We can do this. And get out and vote! Without screaming it. So the dummies probably won’t even notice. Fun game. Great 1/2 time. We all needed a break and it was a fun night!
More specifically even, women over 40, who in the entertainment industry are usually discarded and called washed-up.
Yes! I love that they are 42 and 50 and doing the most! I also love the trolling of Donnie Smallhands who will probably have to have it explained to him.
Yes, I loved that they were 2 “older” women, and they rocked it.
That group step dance towards the end with Shakira and her dancers made it for me. So cool.
I saw on Shakira’s
Instagram that was a dance from Columbia called Champeta. She brought in a dancer from her hometown to choreograph it.
That was hands-down my favourite part. It was mesmerising – the choreography, the music, the gold costumes – I could watch that all day.
The choreography overall was just phenomenal. Never considered myself a huge JLo or Shakira fan but they knocked my socks off. Shakira in particular!
I enjoyed them both immensely. Proud of them both and I really loved Jennifer Lopez performance. She killed it. All of the songs she chose to sing were bangers. We giving Shakira her props but Jennifer nailed her performance as well.
Yes, she was incredible. Such a high octane performance. I saw her in concert and I was in awe! Love love love her! She’s legendary!
Shakira was amazing!!! She can dance and sing with ease. I feel she stole the show, when I believe it was Jlo who was the main act.
Jlo doesnt have shakira’s voice or moves.
The PR flag and kids in cages while singing Born in USA was great.
Also I’m very ashamed but I love me some Bad Bunny 🤭 he sang ‘Callaita’ not ‘Mia’
Lola, no shame in loving Bad Bunny!
I love me some BB, too.
And I am a grandma. 🙂
It was entertaining, they both did a good job.
JLo is not a strong singer at all, but I don’t mind the lip-synching on something like this which is mostly dancing.
I thought so as well. You know what to expect with you see Shakira and JLO perform because neither never phone it in and are pure entertainers through and through.
But you know what I was thinking the entire time, where was Pitbull. This is the actual time I expected him to show up.
J-Lo was not lip-synching, Shakira was.
I disagree. I just listened to JLo’s part again in my earbuds, and she definitely has a live mic for some of it, but the main singing parts sounded like a pre-recorded track. She’s a great dancer and performer, but not the strongest singer, and especially in that environment with the noise and the dancing, no way.
I agree with Lucy. There is NO way both ladies could sing live and dance the way they did. Very good show. Shaira really nailed it. JLo, good but not great. IMO
They absolutely nailed, I watched it live and I felt joyous and proud and it left me wanting for much more.
Shakira was fantastic, she has the most amazing voice, unfortunately her best songs are from the pre-blonde bomb-shell phase, back when she was writing meaningful lyrics and using her guitar.
I loved the way they both leaned heavily into their Latino heritage and the little but super meaningful political statements, such as the children in what resembled cages while ‘Born in the USA was playing’.
And I loved that J-Lo brought her daughter out, that kids is gonna be a star.
I loved when Jennifer’s daughter signing with kids in ball which looked like cages and then Jennifer showed up with Puerto Rico flag, that was glorious and the biggest “f*ck you” to Trump and NFL, I even teared up a little bit (I just ain’t a crying person in general).
Oh wow, I saw them as eggs, “hatching the American dream”, but cages makes more sense and now I love it that much more, thanks for the different perspective Leriel.
I also felt very emotional when I saw the cages. And then the flag of Puerto Rico! After all they have been through. Great message.
Did you see the tweets from conservatives whining about JLo flaunting the CUBAN flag?
Those people are so f*cking stupid, they can’t tell the Cuban flag from the Puerto Rican flag.
I’m surprised by how many people were watching and discussing the show. I would have thought that after all the critique Jay z got, that people wouldn’t be watching the show. It all seems a bit hypocritical to me and I am pretty disappointed by all of it.
Oh Shakira was lip syncing? I had no clue.
Shakira was better and also a better dancer, her moves wow! She has this energetic vibe while JLO goes for glamour.. which I also LOVED. Overall very fun show!
Only at some points. She was live in and out.
She was lip syncing for the majority of the performance. J-Lo was mostly live.
They killed it! I can’t imagine any young entertainer putting on a show like this. The dancing alone was incredible.
That Shakira. Damn. They really did set the bar.
I wasn’t impressed. They lipsynced most of the time and there were way too many shots of the two of them “shooting the beav” as Kathy Griffin used to say. Gaga and Bruno were so much better in their respective years.
I agree completely. I was bored.
Not impressed as well ~
But then again, I saw the Prince half time show live.
Nothing will ever reach that status again.
I really loved Gaga and Bruno’s shows. I thought Shakira was amazing, too.
Wow I didn’t realise that I missed Shakira so much (also known in our household as my older son’s sexual awakening – he was sooo into her).
Shakira is much more to my taste: sexier because her hair is her hair, her body is her body, her voice is her voice etc. JLo’s thing is more of a glamour, wig-make-up combo with a week voice and non-descript dance hits.
But both of them were super in their own way.
Only pet-peeve: women showing skin and men dressed like they are taking out the garbage. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the sexiness an even at times raunchiness of it, but it is so underwhelming to see it as a rule that men are grinded on, shown lots of flesh with sexy looks while they go on about their lyric singing/rapping business. Men, make an effort! Look at Iggy Pop!
I was actually pretty surprised that some o f the guys I was watching with noticed and commented on the fact that the guys were covered up so much in contrast with the women! (except the harnessed back up dancers, but still)
JLo’s body is not her body? 🙄
It’s enhanced by the clothes, stockings, wigs etc. which is fine, just not to my taste. It’s ok. She actually has an amazing body and hair but prefers to go down the enhancement route.
I also really don’t understand Dolly Parton’s enhanced look but I love the lady. But it’s not sexy to me. Just an opinion as I stated very clearly.
FYI I thought JLo’s performance was amazing even though I don’t like her music very much.
I love Shakira but the woman dyes her hair, wears tonnes of makeup and dresses in equally glamours outfits. Don’t really understand what you’re on about.
Regardless, both women look great to me.
This has been explained ad nauseam but anyway. In big shows like this they most of the times do it with background vocals /lipsync even for contractual reasons so there are no issues.
That being said I loved the show, I love both of them, Shakira has my heart and JLo and little Emme made my heart happy.
It was super cool.
Great show!!
Good point but Prince, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Gaga, Bruno Mars didn’t have a problem performing live. I guess it’s just a matter of activity on stage and what you’re looking for performance wise that year.
I didn’t see ANY of these men doing Latin dance at their super bowl performance.
Ever since MIA said FU live, they’ve requested tapes. Bruno Mars never sang live at the Superbowl and neither did Gaga, Prince did because it was before that “incident”. It’s the same reason why the Red Hot Chili Peppers didn’t have their instruments plugged: the halftime show is completely fake and has been for almost 20 years
Have you seen those performances? Just because they use recordings, doesn’t make it fake… These people are dancing and performing their behinds off. And the background dancers and singers and the whole coming together of musical pieces. The build op The wonderful intertwining of songs. All of that is a whole lot of skill presented right then and there.
If you want to enjoy an awesome half time show, it’s all in the big stage presence, not in the quality of sound. Full stadiums that are (sound quality wise) half suited for a show like this are where you go for the fun experience. If you want to enjoy great quality music you go to a concert hall (or even a well suited stadium). Whatever their reasons are for using recordings, I think the way the sound doesn’t distract from the show is actually what makes it so succesful.
I saw a tweet that made me think of Kaiser today.
JLo could do Marriage Story but Laura Dern couldn’t do that half time show.
Me too. I cackled.
Also, saw a tweet saying: ‘I think we should women over 40 do more stuff’.
So, so true. I kept thinking that Shakira is my age and Jennifer is older than me.
WORD.
I don’t actually agree with this. I don’t think Lopez could do that bitch lawyer, and I do think Dern could do that show.
OMG, Laura Dern dancing like J. Lo is something I didn’t know I needed until right now.
I loved the show! Two amazing artists and I hope they will do something togetherr againg.
Jlo thought she was going to be the one everyone anticipated for but wrong…shakira blew her away. She can play guitar, drums, dance and best of all sing. Jlo looks good but not the show stopper.
Is it true that mostly everything is pre-recorded? I was wondering because how do they mike Everyone for chorus parts ? Just curious and clueless.
Shakira blew me away. I was confused by JLo to be honest, she has a decades long career in multiple genres and I felt like she was leaning on her Hustlers character instead of giving J-Lo the Star. She looks amazing and clearly works her ass off, I’m just not sure how I feel about her choices.
It may be that no one was going to follow Shakira and equal the performance?
Yeah, I feel like JLo’s set was a bit off. She relied too much on the pole dancing and it just ground the show to a halt in the first min when JLo was performing.
They were both great!
I didn’t know Shakira played drums.
J.lo was my favorite, but both were good. I think this was a bit more aligned with Jennifer’s talents with dancing and such (which was a point my husband brought up– he said Shakira can shake her hips but Jennifer has more dance skills, which is more fitting for the medium.)
I loved them both!
Respectfully, I would love to see your husband ‘shake his hips’ like Shakira!
She is full on doing very complicated belly-dacing moves and was also performing dances from her own city as a poster commented above. Which does not dismiss JLo’s amazing talent as a dancer (that pole thing was incredible). They just have different kinds of moves.
You wouldn’t have to do much to get him to shake his hips lol
@Pood I need receipts! 😀
The complaints involving the two women’s costumes are shocking. It is like were are the Puritans again in the 1600’s.
If anything, it motivated me to go to more cardio classes. I suspect a lot of women are jealous due to the fact these women are 43 and 50.
Me, too, but I’ve mostly seen it from grumpy conservatives and given that their politics are currently all about repressing women and women of color. It was totally on-brand BS. Also, I loved the tweet that put up Bruce Springsteen sliding crotch first into the camera side by side with this performance — when men do it, it is totally fine, but god forbid that women celebrate their sexuality.
Hmm, I disagree with your last part. The jealously excuse is used a lot to try and shut women down and invalidating their opinions. For example, I’ve often heard it say women who object to the infamous “page 3 girls” are just jealous because they can’t look that good. Welp, I know plenty of beautiful women who object to it because it’s outright sexist and objectifying and unnecessary in a so-called newspaper.
Same goes in this case – the two women looked incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed their performances but I did question if a pole dancing sequence was appropriate at a family event. I know pole dancing is a legitimate form of incredibly difficult athleticism/artistry but the connotations of stripping are unfortunately there – particularly given JLo’s most recent role. I don’t know how I feel about it overall but I do question it’s appropriateness, especially given the way Janet was raked over the coals for her performance a few years ago. For what it’s worth, I found that inappropriate, too. I will never forgive or forget the way Janet and Janet alone was punished for that and Justin Timberlake got off scot-free but that’s another story entirely.
My drawn out point is I’m certainly not jealous of JLo or Shakira (inspired – definitely!!!) but if we want to claim that the halftime show is a family event in order to chastise Janet then we should apply the same approach to this performance. While there was no nudity or shocking incidents there were some overtly sexual moments that perhaps should have been toned down.
There was an enquiry about porn the other day in the Guardian showing that teens watch porn, boys and girls, and that one of the positive outcomes is that queer kids could come to grips with their sexual identity. Sad, really. Meaning that adults do not talk to them, and also that we live in a prudish society that pretends that sex doesn’t exist. Thank god for the series Sex Education!
It’s sad that we condemn slightly erotic dance moves which means that we don’t understand that we come to terms with our own feelings/identity/body changes/sexuality as kids and teens when watching these REALLY MILD things.
Meanwhile, all those people clutching pearls are letting their kids play video games where they kill people without blinking an eye. Not that I am fully condemning all games, but… still.
I don’t think I missed your point, I just picked up on what I disagreed with, and something you again refer to: I will show this to my 10 year old kid without any discomfort. And IF there is discomfort (on his part for instance), it is welcome because ti means he will be noticing something in himself, which I think it is important and not to be dismissed just because it is not comfortable. Otherwise most parents would avoid having ‘the talk’ as it is never comfrotable in itself. Life irrupting.
ED: oops, this is meant for @my cousin down thread.
By the time they are a preteen, your children will have been exposed to porn or watched something scantily on tv (soap operas, sex on tv, movies etc). I was watching soap operas with my mom at age 6 etc and vividly remember watching Dallas and Dynasty as a kid. That was prime time exactly the same time we are discussing.
Also, to be honest, this is a male dominated watched sport. Sex sells and men want to see this. You don’t hear any men complaining about this today.
I mainly worry that we are heading towards oppressing women. Handmaid’s Tale is not as far off of a scenario as one would think. That is my main concern with these complaints.
I also agree with the poster above. If you let your children play violent video games but condemn this, there is a bit of a double standard going on there.
Y’all completely missed my point(s) . My first being I disagree that women who are concerned or unhappy about overtly sexual performances are simply jealous because they don’t look that good – that’s simplistic and frankly, Insulting.
I didn’t condemn any part of this performance. As I said in my comment, I enjoyed it immensely. However, I was watching it with my husband – I was not sitting with my children or my parents in which case I might have felt less comfortable at times.
I questioned (very different to condemning) if it was appropriate to have a pole dancing sequence at a family event especially given the outcry that was raised over the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. That’s the double standard.
Of course kids are exposed to much worse out there – I merely questioned if they need to see pole dancing at a football game, too. That’s very different to complaining or yearning for Gilead to be imposed on us.
There’s room for something in between, that’s my point.
It was fun and they both killed it. I love high energy performances and they are both performers! I don’t care about the lip syncing. If it was a concert where I paid money for a vocalist sure but here, it was fun and high energy. They looked amazing. I loved the leaning in to their culture with a good percentage of songs in Spanish. My husband I joked that some people would have their heads blow up bc two very sexy Latina/Hispanic women leaned in hard to their heritage and didn’t give a damn. Shakira flicked her tongue to the camera! Died! It was so in your face and she is so damn talented! When JLo busted out the PR flag I died laughing. Bravo.
Jennifer looked REALLY stiff? Like she hadn’t danced in a really long while? Right?
She did look stiff, especially next to Shakira.
I think J.Lo was nervous maybe? She was also dancing in heels while Shakira had on flats. I think J.Lo was probably really afraid of tumbling or tripping maybe? She’s usually not stiff when dancing. Her outfit seemed very tight too (the body suit that matched her skin tone). LOL who knows maybe I’m just making excuses.
Yea, I was surprised that I found her the weaker dancer of the two. She looked great, though.
It was a fun show and holy cow, Shakira. I wish J-Lo had worn better shoes cause I feel like the stilettos were holding her back and making her dancing seems a little more tentative than Shakira, who was basically wearing sneaks.
I am, however, glad my 7-year-old was taking a bath and not watching this. A little too much booty shaking for the grade school set!
Thank you.
My 10 year old girl and 6 year old boy were watching this, and I had them run and do something else for the rest of the show when Jlo started pole dancing. Pole Dancing. How do I explain that one to my 10 year old daughter? Before she left, She kept saying, ‘Mom, their butts are going to fall out.’ I think it actually made her a little uncomfortable.
I’ve watched all the halftime shows for the past 15 years… there have been strong, talented, and sexy performances from many women, but this one felt like it was being sexy for the BENEFIT OF THE MEN dancing around them. When JLo started dancing on the guy behind her and he reached for her mostly naked ass… The up the skirt shots. The crotch shots. This is too much for the young girls and boys watching the Super Bowl. Boys too- is this what women should look like? Is this what they do? Everyone seems really excited by it, so maybe this is what I should expect.
Go back and watch Beyoncé in 2013, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Beyonce in 2016, Missy Elliot – these are strong, talented and even sexy shows, but they are not so OVERTLY sexual, especially for the benefit of the male gaze.
I love shakira and I like jlo, and it was an incredible show – logistically speaking. But it was the wrong show for that audience.
I loved Jlo in Hustlers, but I’m not going to let my 10yo girl watch it.
And yes, I Hate Trump, and I hate the NFL ‘cheerleaders’, and I hate the violence of football, and I don’t let my kids play violent video games. So, yeah, I’m not being hypocritical.
It’s hard to raise girls with the right messages- empowering them to be happy, healthy and comfortably sexual beings, without making them feel like being sexual and showing their bodies is what is expected or needed from them for admiration or respect from others.
Well, I’m dumb. The “children in cages” imagery went straight over my head. When it showed it from overhead, I just thought, “Flowers? Water lilies? Eh, okay.” Now it makes so much more sense! I can’t believe the NFL let her do it (maybe they didn’t get it either and now all the old white men are shouting and pointing fingers at each other- hah!). Good for J Lo trolling Donald with reminders that the children ARE still in cages and Puerto Rico IS part of the USA.
As I mentioned above, there was so much of that performance that was a big FU to the establishment.
First, for women over 40, who the industry chews up and discards as washed up old ladies.
Then there was J Lo, who unfurled that PR flag (that had the US flag on the reverse side) while her daughter sang “Born in the USA”. That was for anyone that was ignorant of the fact that PR’s are also US citizens. She also showcased Salsa music and dancing (as did Shakira)
I also loved the children in “cages” as a statement. The fact that they unapologetically had other very Latino artists up there instead of mainstream American artists. That Shaki, who speaks fluent English decided to address the audience in Spanish, and sang her Latin hits and not just the English crossover joints. Also Shakira sang Waka Waka (which the title itself is Camaroonian slang as well as the lyrics) while she showcased her Afro-Colombian roots to the forefront dancing Champeta (an Afro-Colombian dance). She also represented her Middle Eastern roots with the belly dancing and music.
The whole show was a multi-cultural F U to all of the racist rednecks and I truly enjoyed it.
Also did anyone peep the Led Zepplin mash-up Shakira had during her set when she played guitar? And her on drums while Emme sang? She was fantastic.
It was Led Zeppelin, I did briefly wonder why Jimmy Page was there.
Thanks for the correction. I haven’t had my morning coffee. lol
Yes she sampled Kashmir From Led Zepplin which is a killer song .
Hello, Debbie Downer here!
I thought it was tacky. All of it was tacky.
All Shakira needed to do was sing Empire on a dark stage, with perhaps two backup singers, and it would have been awesome and dramatic because she has a great voice and that song is great.
But no, they both went all Sasha Fierce with big hair and a million dancer gyrating. I thought it was dated and awful and strippery. Sorry!
You’re not the only one. No one I’ve interacted with (excepting here) liked it at all. I wanted to like it, I truly did. I hate that I didn’t like it!
Why the need to bring up Beyoncé? Is this really about you not liking women of color being fierce on stage? It is the halftime show – if they’d just stood on stage and sung you can bet people would have complained. Go back and watch other half time shows there is just as much big hair, gyrating, etc – from the men and the women.
Yeah well why does it always have to be the same chaotic circus? Can’t anyone come up with anything original?
And I brought up Sasha Fierce only because this show seemed like some zumba hullabaloo from 2008. (But okay, bring skin color to this discussion once again if you want.) I also said Shakira has an amazing voice, I’d actually like to hear her sing.
I do agree that stripper poles are so dated. They’ve been used soooooo many times. From Britney to Miley, they’ve been the prop of rebellion for almost 30 years. I know her recent movie was about strippers, but I think it was visually stale.
Live music at the Super Bowl halftime show is the EXCEPTION, not the rule, folks:
“…during a three-minute commercial [time out] there is no way to unplug, roll all the staging out, plug back in and check every mic and every instrument and make sure they’re in the right input and working.” http://www.mtv.com/news/1721827/super-bowl-halftime-shows-fake/
Not that these ladies weren’t fantastic but let’s all understand exactly what we’re watching.
Good? Stripper poles and blatant objectifying yourself is good now? It’s entertaining to the entire family including children now?
OMG THE CHILDREN !! Loll
@lilly oh for goodness sake, I am sure most children have seen much worse things on the tv (and internet!) than two ladies dancing around the stage.
The cheerleaders had less clothes on than Shakira and J.Lo to be honest ! Yet no one says sh*t about that !
Since when is the Super Bowl “family friendly”?! Keep in mind that their main demographic is ADULT MEN. Stop the pearl clutching!
People that keep going on about the demographic being men: there are a lot of women football fans. Maybe there would be even more if objectifying women didn’t continue to be such an apparent priority of the NFL. We can have discussions about it without it being shut down with this knee-jerk defense. It’s some old school internalized mysogyny bullshit: gee gals, calm down! The mens love it is all and you can’t change that!
men pummeling themselves into brain damage like barbarians is family entertainment now? the demographic is men
It’s been that way as long as I can remember. Look at the cheerleaders and their routines!
Both performances were great! Shakira is an Amazing performer! Loved her on the drums!
Look, if you’re letting your children watch humans pummel each other in one of the most violent sports around but you take issue with women’s bodies dancing to music, the problem isn’t with the women’s bodies…. just saying.
WAKA WAKA BROKE ME!!!! 👯♀️⭐️😍🙌🏼
I loved that song from my Zumba days. She was amazing.
I loved it. They did great.
Shakira and JLo are in AMAZING shape.
Off to do another yoga class and consider signing up for some dance classes too
My only complaint about their performance I suppose is their songs are so old (20 years) and haven’t held up the test of time like say Prince or Madonna. Maybe that is just my personal preference though. The kids in cages, Latino representation, and dancing were all amazing though.
It was definitely entertaining. I can’t believe J.Lo’s daughter was so calm when singing in front of millions. At 12 years old I was too shy to even speak in front of my class !
I didn’t realize that was her daughter – she did do a great job. What a place to make your “debut”! (That said, I hope they don’t push her into a music career anytime soon, let her be a kid).
It was not really her debut, she’s been touring with JLO, I saw her last year and Emme was there. It was amazing!
Not sure, but I have seen interviews where J.Lo has stated her daughter has the singing bug.
Also, it was Shakira’s birthday yesterday. What a way to celebrate !
I didn’t love it. The ladies are gorgeous and they dance very well and I respect that they are probably getting AARP letters every month (I’ve gotten them since I was 40) but I didn’t like the show and my Spanish is weak at best.
It is true that they slipped up with the lip syncing and it appeared JLo needed her men to make sure she didn’t fall off the pole and to help her up.
I would have liked to have seen MORE diversity.
BTW, did you know Shakira is half Columbian and half Lebanese? I didn’t until this morning.
Anyway, I liked the Gaga show better.
Happy Demi L. made it through the Ntl Anthem. No one was sure she would and the game was better than expected. That QB for the Chiefs is set for life and it sounds like he’s a nice guy. I heard he’s been with his HS Sweetheart for 7 years. He’s only 24 and they are saying 200 million contract being drawn up as we speak.
I am still trying to figure out how Gaga was off-brand and therefore not entertaining.
More diversity? Two Latin women yet you pine for Gaga. Okay. Also, it’s ColOmbian.
I think we can thank the autocorrect function for that error. (No criticism intended.)
Sheesh. Shakira alone gave you elements of American, Latin American, Middle Eastern and African culture in one set. Did you see the dancers and musicians on stage? Every shade under the sun. And J Lo’s music is American music. Just because it’s considered more urban/dance doesn’t make it any less. She also danced salsa which evolved from African and Indigenous culture, and African music. I think there was plenty diversity and representation on that stage last night.
Well, Shakira’s dad is American, Maronite parents from Lebanon, but they went very early on in his life to Colombia.
what does your spanish being weak have to do with enjoying the show? my spanish is non existent and it doesn’t matter
I had a huge smile on my face watching the show. That was a phenomenal performance from Jlo and Shakira.
I’m tired of hearing how over forty is somehow ancient.
I know right? Both of those women could outrun any 20 year old !
Who said that? I mostly hear the opposite about how older women are better than ever.
I sometimes remind my workers that I’m old enough to be their mom.
I think people who think women over 40 are old are in Hollyweird and NYC.
Just in general, that it’s somehow a miracle that Lopez or Jolie or whoever that age famous looks So Amazing even if they are….. gulp, over forty! As if it is just so unbelievable they didn’t retire at thirty-five and live in the shadows like Garbo. And yes, Hollywood especially is the worst.
simultaneously breaking barriers and reinforcing them. I loved the flag, loved the dancing, Shakira’s infectious joy, and the overall celebration. Crazy sexualized dance moves are not my thing (although talk to me when I was 20) and so it is a bit of a point for critique as many women still feel a responsibility to enact this aspect of the feminine. overall made me feel proud to be a woman and proud of these two.
I wish Lopez had channeled her Fly Girl persona rather than Hustlers …
Oh, there you go!
Shakira had me fired up! She had all my favorite hits from middle school, and I loved the representation of belly dancing and Latin dancing. As a Latina, I could not have been more blown away by the performance, the inclusion of J Balvin and Spanish lyrics! It was basically a big giant FU Toward the current administration’s oppressive policies. Loved the glorious PR flag at the end as well! Best halftime show that I remember seeing
They’re both great entertainers and I enjoyed their performances immensely. I love Shakira’s music and performances and have been to several of her shows and she knows how to bring it. Not a huge fan of J. Lo’s music post-On the 6 but she’s a terrific dancer and knows how to build a performance that shows off what she does best.
As for the comments about stripping and gyrating, those things are only bad because we live in a society that assigns shame to women’s bodies and expressions of sexuality. Your kids will be fine because they saw *checks notes* women in amazing shape dancing and celebrating bodies they worked hard to perfect. It’ll literally be fine.
They were amazing for their age looked like women in their 20’s. Dancing was great but overall I thought it was just an ok show. The two men I watched it with were not impressed. Maybe women liked it more?
Wow Shakira, I knew she was a hell of a performer but she showed the world why she does what she does. And she is 100% the better performer. J. Lo was always entertaining in the late 90s/early 2000s but she was never that great of a singer. And I kept telling my family “Watch Shakira, she is going to bring out the belly dancing” because it’s what she’s most famous for, and she did! She can isolate muscles and move in a way that J. Lo cannot move and never will be able to. I believe most of the performances were lip synched, it’s just a fact of Superbowl performances but I could tell when they were really singing. I will admit the kids in cages and Puerto Rican flag went over my head and I didn’t noticed the significance until the media pointed it out! Anyways to see two Latina women above the age of 40 put on such a great show celebrating Miami’s cultural diversity was such a great feat and just amazing.
I was watching the show with a bunch of boomers though and of course they just kept harping on the “sexy costumes” and “so much skin.” I was like, have none of them seen a pop show from the last 30 years? This is pretty standard stuff? And for the whole “it’s a family show,” girls wear pretty revealing clothes in elementary school… every time I see girls’ shorts in a store I always think “how do those things cover anything?” I dunno, maybe I’m desensitized but I didn’t find anything inappropriate in there, we’ve seen Taylor Swift wear just as revealing stuff in her videos? Plus J. Lo included her own daughter in the show and Emme seemed just fine up there (kudos to her for being so poised!) with the other kids too.
I just watched the video of the half-time, and I loved it! It was big, over the top and spectacle of the best kind.
Why all the nitpicking on lip syncing? Who cares! You want the best sound, the clearest representation of the music — you don’t want to be distracted by them breathing hard into the microphone, which is what will happen with that much dancing. Let it go and just enjoy the show!
Loved it. I love the joy that Shakira exudes when she dances. Always have. Who else is cackling over the Karen’s and the Frank’s losing their sh*t? “Oh noes, the Latina womens were sexy and sang in Spanish? I demand to speak to a manager!”
Yes and it’s pathetic. We literally don’t have a national language for the simple reason that we are a melting pot and people from all over the world with dozens of languages are spoken. They refused to listen to that part in school. Also apparently it was too sexy for them. Women shaming women.
I’m not a football fan but I always watch the halftime show. I loved it! It was a really fun performance and you could tell they had fun working together. Shakira is and always has been so cute.
Shakira was EPIC!!! Her dancing was out of this world. I have been trying to shake it like Shakira all morning! LOL
OMG I thought J Lo can dance but Shakira outdanced (more fluid?) and outsang her, I never thought that was possible! Wow wow I love both ladies and J Lo is still amazing but I’m just in awe with Shakira! Bravo ladies!!
Shakira is the whole package. Not only is she an entertainer, she’s a true musician, songwriter, and has a powerful, unique voice. Not to take anything away from J-Lo and her ability to entertain, but in my opinion, there is simply no comparison.
I’m gonna be watching JLO on that pole while working out as my motivation. She’s such a strong and powerful Latina. If you haven’t seen her in concert, you have to, it’s such a powerful religious experience!! I also haven’t had the pleasure to see Shakira in concert, love her too. It’s so annoying seeing posts of fans of one or the other putting them against each other, way to miss the point!
I thought it was great. They’re both great dancers and entertainers and I personally think they put on a good show. Now I woke up this morning to see a super conservative girl complain in my news feed that it was inappropriate and she wouldn’t allow her son (who is like 6 I think) to watch it because of all the thrusting vaginas. I just watched it again to see wtf she was talking about. First of all Shakira is a belly dancer she always has danced like that so if she was afraid for that for whatever reason she should have maybe turned the channel. You can literally go to Disney world, Epcot, Morocco, and they have belly dancers there so wtf Carol!? Then the whole J-lo thrusting. She did grab on herself like twice but it was subtle and it wasn’t in anyways inappropriate as she was making it. I find it hilarious she found belly dancing too sexy lmao.
Their show was a joyous clarion call of support for diversity, multi-cultism, and woman power. I saw it as a clap-back to dog whistles of bigotry and hate performed to one of the largest television audiences of the year. Plus, their performance was fun and exciting! I’d never before recognized dance as a medium as political expression, and WOW, I have been missing out on something special. I loved seeing dance utilized for expression in this way! So powerful! i intend to educate myself about political dance ASAP.
It was perfect for the Super Bowl — it’s supposed to be a spectacle!
It was high energy and fun! Shakira exudes so much JOY! You’d have to have a stone heart to not feel her exuberance.
Shakira BLEW my mind. I’m British, so only got to watch bits and pieces on SM today, but her energy was electrifying. I practically burst into tears when she started singing She Wolf. I’ve had Shakira on repeat (loud) all day long today. You guys really know how to knock it out the park. WOW. Just… WOW! Thank you x
I thought it was amazing, both ladies were fantastic. I’m sick of stupid comments saying they looked like strippers. These people have no idea how much work goes into these shows, it’s so degrading. JLos bit on the pole was very impressive, and it takes a hell of a lot of training to do those moves. Also when your performing a dance routine you need a costume that shows your silhouette, that you can move in and that is also eye catching. I don’t get what people expect them to wear. I also think JLo is a very underrated performer, she’s one hell of a dancer. I hope I look half as good as her at her age too.
I loved that Jennifer’s daughter showed up, she’s so, so sweet! Great performances, these ladies are THE shit!
I watched the performance properly when I got home. Damn now that is a half time set!! Great show and very entertaining. Both ladies know how to put a show on. Both of them had live vocals and lip syncing from what I could pick up on. It sounds like the lip synced vocals were recorded live.
I forgot how much I love Shakira!! I was surprised to see her on the drums when Emme was singing. And I forgot she is half Colombian and half Arab. I love that she paid homage to her mixed heritage.
JLo’s daughter can sing! Check out the clip on her instagram singing Alicia Keys – if I ain’t got you. Emme is JLo’s twin with Marc Anthony’s vocals.
I love Shakira as a performer. But I continue to boycott the NFL in solidarity with Kaep.
Same. I don’t think they should have done the halftime show at all.
What I dont get tho is the “omg it’s not family friendly!!” complaints. It’s the Super Bowl. Since when is that family friendly? Its beer and cars and tits and ass and guys pummeling each other. Who doesnt know that walking in?
I never thought I’d enjoy J.Lo, but she was very good. I loved the pole dancing part. Shakira is so beautiful, but I found her performance underwhelming because of the lip syncing.
I look forward to the day when the women can be out there in jeans and a tee shirt singing the hell out of their songs. Just like the men do.
They were great but when Jlo is practically naked and the dude is fully covered it’s not a great look for equality.
Shakira is all that and a bag of chips.
Ikr? I think both women are super-talented in their own right. Beyond superb. I suppose if they’re comfortable in those outfits while performing, then that is what they should wear. Men are more comfortable dressing down for performances (Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and others, are exceptions Lol).
But your comparison is right on, and I really don’t think it helps the Me Too movement much. Eh, what do I know.
How does dressing sexy invalidate the Me Too movement? No means no, whether you’re wearing a nun habit or naked. Lack of clothing doesn’t mean you want sex. And being fully clothed doesn’t mean you DON’T want sex. You don’t have to be dressed conservatively to be a victim of unwanted touching. No means no, period. Why do you think lack of clothing means yes? What you’re implying is that dressing sexy is leading a guy on, how can you claim to be a victim? Because NO MEANS NO. no matter if you accepted his drinks, went back to his apartment with him or started making out with him. You can say no at any time. So it doesn’t invalidate the me too movement to dress sexy. It just shows that you buy into the notion that good girls dress conservatively, bad girls dress “slutty,” and that bad girls deserve it because they gave off the wrong signals. NO
That reminds me, I have a gyno appointment this week. Thanks for the reminder JLo.
Adam Levine was literally shirtless last year…
My husband and I watched the show with my sister, her husband, and their daughter (5). We all enjoyed it (my sister has been a huge Shakira fan since ‘Whenever, Wherever”)
My sister and I used to take belly dancing classes in our twenties, so we could hack at going along with the moves. Her daughter danced along with us.
In particular, we all agreed that it was a great political statement to have two Latinas singing in Spanish. My sister and I are both white (Irish white, in fact), but her husband is 1/2 Mexican, and their daughter honestly looks pure Latina (black eyes, black hair, brown skin), so we were happy she got to see Latinas being awesome.
Shakira KILLED IT, j-lo just stood there most of the time, gyrated a bit and got carried around a la Mariah Carey. Shakira could have carried the entire half time show.
Shakira was incredible!!!! It was an amazing show!
Seeing J. Lo with the PR flag and her daughter in a “cage” was incredible.
Have you guys seen any of the outrageous Christian fundamentalist (white!) backlash? There’s an extreme right-wing person on Instagram my sister unfortunately follows, @roseuncharted and this person said it was a Satanic cult performance and had about a zillion Instagram Stories on it, I kid you not. Probably at least forty. My sister reposted some of them. This person suggested putting the girls in cages in the performance was about glorifying sex trafficking. I kid you not!
Right wingers are seriously offended by women being out there on stage.
This Instagram account is also an extreme gun advocate. It’s maddening.
You just gave her free advertising.
I don’t see how this is supporting older women when these two are putting in a lot of effort to look way younger and are basically being praised for looking young.
I hate that message with a passion, and I’m 10 years younger than Shakira. There’s nothing wrong with looking 40 or 50, THAT’s what we should be putting out as a message. Not “middle aged women are amazing if they preserve themselves enough to look at least 10 years younger than they are”…….
Other than that, great show.
The performance made me smile & I loved Shakira’s energy & infectious smile. She’s so cute, like a tiny sexy energiser bunny, I laughed when she popped up randomly on the drums. J-lo did a great job too, although the stripper pole was a bit dated. My only gripe was the costumes really were a bit much, I never mind skimpy clothes but the toothfloss underwear and up-the-camera-shots were OTT. The cameras needed to be a little higher, I got a 360 degree angle including butt-cheeks somehow seen from the front angle!? I didn’t see that with Beyonce, she had much better underwear/bodysuit & although she was super sexy, I didn’t see the ”shooting the beeb” shots as someone mentioned upthread! That threadbare toothfloss style works on Insta but not in a live dancing performance, it’s a bit too much for me personally.
Add me to the list of new fans of Shakira, wow! Truly an iconic performance from her and JLo, that Puerto Rican/U.S. flag had me tearing up.
New respect for them as well, thank you for your clear statements. In the midst of one of the biggest, money events anywhere, there are children in cages on our border.
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills but I cannot stand Shakira’s vocals. Too much yodel for my tastes. She looked glorious though and her dancing was amazing. Loved J. Lo too, definitely don’t think Shakira blew her away by any stretch of the imagination. I thought it was quite a nice pairing, actually.