Super Bowl 2019 Halftime Show: Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi Perform — Watch and Grade It
Controversy be darned, Maroon 5 took the stage alongside Travis Scott and Big Boi on Sunday for the Super Bowl 53 halftime show.
The Adam Levine-fronted band appeared halfway through the big game, kicking things off with a medley of its biggest hits, “Harder to Breathe” and “This Love.” Following an introduction from SpongeBob SquarePants & Co., Travis Scott then took the stage for a performance that was… mostly censored.
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We also got a few more blazing-hot tracks from Maroon 5 before Outkast’s Big Boi came to infuse some energy into the evening with “The Way You Move.” Then it was back to more Maroon 5… jams? (Honestly, the fact that Christina Aguilera didn’t join Levine for “Moves Like Jagger” is an absolute travesty.)
Not unlike the Academy’s inability to secure a viable host for the Oscars, the NFL’s quest to nail down a halftime performer proved a surprisingly controversial affair. Multiple artists, including superstars like Rihanna and Cardi B, publicly turned down offers to perform in response to the league’s unfair treatment of Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the National Anthem.
“No one thought about it more than I did,” Levine said in a pre-Bowl interview with Entertainment Tonight. “No one put more thought and love into this than I did. … I spoke to many people, most importantly though, I silenced all the noise and listened to myself, and made my decision about how I felt.”
In conjunction with Interscope Records and the NFL, Maroon 5 donated $500,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, while Scott (also working with the NFL) will make a donation to Dream Corps, a social justice organization founded by CNN’s Van Jones.
Hit PLAY on the videos below to watch footage of this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, then give it a grade below before dropping a comment with your full review. (We’ll post the full video when available.)
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