While Shawn Carter’s association with the NFL remains steeped in controversy, his first time out producing the Super Bowl’s halftime show went off without a hitch and was widely praised.
The event was opened with a reading of “America the Beautiful” by gospel singer Yolanda Adams. The national anthem was performed by Demi Lovato, who is on the come back trail after a brush with death after an accidental overose last summer.
everyone is making fun of this but it’s a traditional arabic celebration chant, referred to as “zaghroota” pic.twitter.com/CP7XgY9dk2
— Rawan (@rawan) February 3, 2020
The halftime show was opened by Colombian-born entertainer Shakira, who won high marks for a sultry performance highlighted by her signature sexy dance moves and a meme moment generated by a close up of her flicking her tongue at a camera. Performing on her 42nd birthday, Shakira was joined by Puerto Rica reggaeton singer Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio).
Lopez opened her set atop a facsimile of New York’s famed Empire State building in a costume designed by Versace, an appropriate choice given she’s fronting the label’s spring 2020 campaign. She was styled by Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn, who designed a total of 213 costumes and 143 pairs of shoes for Lopez and her dancers, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Choreographed by the white-hot Parris Goebel, the dance routine included a pole dance routine by Lopez plus an appearance by Swing Latino, a Colombian salsa dance school, who Lopez became acquainted with while a “World of Dance” judge.
Lopez’s performance included a guest appearance by Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin (real name José Álvaro Osorio Balvín), and in one of the show’s more memorable moments she was joined by her daughter, Emme Maribel Muñiz, who sang a verse of “Let’s Get Loud.” The mother and daughter duo then segued into Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born in the U.S.A.,” which Lopez used to make a statement on her own dual heritage revealing a two-sided cape with a rendition of the Puerto Rican and U.S. flag on either side.
Lopez and Shakira closed out the show together, singing Lopez’s “Let’s Get Loud” and “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” a Shakira composition that was the theme of the 2010 World Cup.
Check out Shakira and Lopez’s amazing performance below.
