Super Bowl Halftime Show with Kendrick Lamar

[Dave Gray]

I'm not trying to make a stink, but this show just wasn't for me.

Granted, I was in a setting where I couldn't really pay super close attention or understand what he was saying.  ...and I'm not the target audience.  But I was generally unfamiliar with the songs, I didn't feel like the vibe fit the setting, I don't think that rap is a particularly good genre to perform live, it's not "showy" or grand enough either to compensate.  I think that aside from artists that I like personally, that pop is the best genre for this kind of thing.

But I assume that for people that are more in tune with that kind of music and culture, it was a better experience.

My go-to Super Bowl performance is Bruno Mars.  I didn't know him, except for maybe a passing familiarity for a song....and he blew me away.  He was good live, he danced all over the place.  It just fit the setting and showed off what he was about, and that's coming from someone who didn't know who he was.

I think you can also get away with legacy performers who might or might not put on a big spectacle, but they have a catalog of 20 songs that everyone knows, like Tom Petty or Paul McCartney or Prince or Springsteen or The Rolling Stones.  So, even if they aren't knocking your socks off with dancing, they're gonna medley songs that the crowd knows.

But I think that Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars -- these kinds of artists are probably the best fit.  Pop tunes that are catchy, they can dance around and have fireworks and stuff.

[CF DolFan]

I don't disagree with you. It's kind of funny to me that we had the words on the screen and it still didn't make sense to us. I get old school rap but none of these songs seemed to tell any kind of story. they seemed more like random thoughts.

With that said .... my Tik Tok is full of young people pointing out this whole performance was a shot to "the man". I guess Uncle Samuel L Jackson was representative of the angry black man and was throwing out slams to the white man. The colors they wore, the breaking apart of the American flag, saying you picked the wrong one, Serena crypt walking etc was a bunch of symbolism geared toward attacking the people in charge. He also supposedly dissed Drake but i didn't even get that part. I was sitting here thinking at least everyone was wearing clothes and they used a red white and blue flag etc. but I apparently did not get the message at all. hahahaha

At the end of the day I'm not sure why they don't use more inclusive artists like Dave said. Does anyone know how long Jay Z is running this show?

[Dave Gray]

I'm actually totally cool with whatever message.  And I think it's good when performances push boundaries, make people angry or uncomfortable, etc.

But I think that if you can entertain while you do it, that's how it's effective and this didn't work for me.

But it's obvious that I'm not the target audience and that's OK.  There's plenty of stuff that I won't like, but I still kinda understand.  But, for me personally, this wasn't that.

[Phishfan]

I clearly heard the N word get past the censors and thought I heard F also.

[Downunder Dolphan]

I have to admit I walked away at that stage and got some lunch before the start of the second half.

Maybe it's a sign of getting old, but I'm not interested in Kendrick Lamar at all. I've done a reasonable job keeping up with most modern music, but it just seems to have got a lot harder to be interested the last couple of years, and stuff like this just doesn't get my attention. I found Usher last year marginally better, but not much.

I think The Weeknd (Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) was a great choice a few years ago, as have been Rihanna, Snoop Dog & Dr Dre, J-Lo and Shakira, Beyonce, etc. The Superbowl is broadcast to millions, so it make sense to have acts with a genuinely wide appeal across a wide range of demographics. Having something that people in the stadium can all relate and get involved with is a huge bonus. It doesn't have to be an old fossil (or a bunch of them) in their wheelchairs and walking canes throwing out the greatest hits, but there's a risk going too niche, which is I think what they've done.