It seems impossible to discuss the Super Bowl without also talking about the halftime show. Indeed, the show is more important to some people than the game itself. The halftime show was not always the huge production we know it to be today, but since it became the pinnacle of American entertainment, there have been some artists that went above and beyond the already-extraordinary expectations of the show.

The halftime show as we know it started in 1993 when Michael Jackson took the stage. Previously, the halftime show had consisted mostly of marching bands and nonprofit groups, which did not garner much interest. In 1992, the Super Bowl lost many viewers during and after halftime to the sketch comedy show In Living Color, which ran a special at the same time.

 “[Viewers] flipped over to Fox, and the trouble is they never came back [to CBS],” said director and producer of Jackson’s halftime show Don Mischer. “[The NFL] realized that a Super Bowl halftime show could no longer be filler in the middle of America’s premier football game.”

 To ensure that they would not lose viewers, the NFL hired the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson to perform. The resulting show is considered to be one of the best halftime shows in history. Jackson moonwalked while performing hits like “Billie Jean” and “Black or White,” but ended the show with a moving performance of “We are the World” and “Heal the World” alongside over 3000 local children. 

Since then, there have been many memorable, action-packed performances at the Super Bowl, though not all are memorable for positive reasons. One of the most infamous Super Bowl halftime shows was in 2004, headlined by another Jackson. Janet Jackson was joined on the halftime stage by P. Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock, and Justin Timberlake. At the end of Timberlake’s performance of his song “Rock Your Body,” he pulled off the right cup of Jackson’s bustier, exposing her breast on national television, which lead to the creation of the term “wardrobe malfunction.” 

“The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals…[i]t was not my intention that it go as far as it did,” Jackson said. “I apologize to anyone offended—including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL.”

 Part of the lingering controversy of the 2004 halftime show is the double standard apparent in the backlash Jackson and Timberlake faced. Jackson was subsequently blacklisted from all of Viacom’s media outlets, which set her career back substantially. Timberlake, however, did not face any real, immediate consequences and continued to have a successful career. 

While controversy is bound to arise during any national event, many Super Bowl halftime shows have just been plain fun. Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, The Weeknd, and Rihanna, to name a few, have put on superb medleys of both their greatest hits and American favorites. However, one performance has to come out on top.

“We’ve made it to No. 1,” author Marsha Green wrote in her article ranking Super Bowl performances for NBC Sports. “And who else would be in this spot than The Artist (Formerly Known as Prince)?”

Prince’s 2007 performance was the NFL’s first step outside their musical comfort zone after Janet Jackson. Prince played some of his most energetic songs like “Let’s Go Crazy” and “1999” along with songs from others like “Proud Mary” and “We Will Rock You” accompanied by a marching band. The most famous part of the show, however, might be the rendition of “Purple Rain.” Playing a guitar and on a stage both shaped like his “Love Symbol,” Prince performed his 1984 hit actually under torrents of rain lit purple by the stage. 

Since Michael Jackson’s rebranding, the Super Bowl halftime show has become one of the biggest shows in music and is viewed all across the nation, as well as the world. The biggest stars work hard to put on the biggest shows, and though everyone has their preference, there are some halftime performances that are the most memorable.