What To Expect: Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show
Super Bowl LIII will be played in Atlanta on Sunday, Feb. 3 between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. The halftime show will be headlined by Maroon 5, with guest performances by Travis Scott and Georgia-born rapper Big Boi. Usually halftime only lasts around 12 minutes for professional football games, but expect an elongated performance for Super Bowl LIII. Maroon 5 will have the opening performance, followed by Travis Scott and Big Boi. It is tough to tell exactly what to expect from this year’s performers, because only Travis Scott has made comments regarding his performance. Many artists, including Atlanta’s own Gladys Knight, were calling for a boycott of productions by the NFL due to the lingering political tension from the Kaepernick situation. However, Knight will sing the anthem before the game. The annual pre-game press conference was canceled as a result of this, so the media will not hear any comments from Maroon 5 and Big Boi. However, Travis Scott came forward himself and said he agreed to perform because the NFL will make a large donation to the Dream Corps organization on his behalf.
There is speculation that Maroon 5 will perform “Sweet Victory” as a tribute to Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away on Nov. 26, 2018. Stephen Hillenburg was the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, and fans of the cartoon started a petition to get “Sweet Victory” played during halftime. “Sweet Victory” is a song originally written by David Eisley and Bob Kulick, but was performed in SpongeBob by the animated characters in a parody of a halftime performance. The online petition took off and over 1 million fans have signed in support. It is now rumored that Maroon 5 will perform their own version of the song during their set. Besides that, expect Maroon 5 to perform a plethora of their own hits. Last year the band dropped an album titled Red Pill Blues, which peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200. The group is also preparing to go on a world tour later in February, so expect them to perform sets from that tour.
As for Travis Scott, look forward to more of the typical performances from him. Travis Scott is preparing for round two of his highly anticipated Astroworld tour, so fans should expect his set at the Super Bowl to resemble his tours. Travis’s Astroworld theme is a carnival and his tours have included ferris wheels and roller coasters, so expect festive décor for his set. It is also being said that Kylie Jenner is Travis Scott’s plus one for the game, so there is a chance that he brings her on stage with him like he has done in the past.
The addition of Big Boi to the halftime lineup is important because the NFL has been receiving criticism for not recruiting local talent for the performances. Atlanta arguably has the biggest rap scene in the world currently, and there is a handful of young talent to choose from. However, the NFL chose to go with Maroon 5 as their headline, and some were upset of their choice of a popular pop band over a star from Atlanta. However, Big Boi is a big name in the Atlanta hip-hop scene, being from Savannah, Georgia. Big Boi is half of the widely popular hip-hop act known as Outkast, but has also had success in his solo career. It is unknown what to expect from Big Boi’s performance, but just the fact that he will be included in the lineup is big news.
Connor Trask is a senior majoring in telecommunications and minoring in business arts. To contact him, email cstrask97@gmail.com.
