The people behind the Super Bowl clearly wanted to bring some Latin flare to the halftime show this year, what with Miami as the host city and all! Last month, they announced that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira would headline the 2020 Pepsi Halftime Show. These two women will be performing on stage together for the first time ever at the Super Bowl – pretty exciting!
J.Lo and Shakira each confirmed the news about the big game on Instagram at the end of September, even giving us a very fun interview (check it out below). And recently, they gave us a few hints about what they’ve got in mind for the main event!
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Ties to Miami?
There can be controversy when the host committee doesn’t select artists from the host city. We all remember last year when Maroon 5 was announced as the headliner to a less than enthusiastic Atlanta crowd. This time around though, it feels a little different.
While both of these female superstars identify as Latina – Lopez hails from a Puerto Rican family and famously grew up in the Bronx, while Shakira is from Colombia – they’re not intrinsically tied to Miami per se. At least not like the very local Gloria Estefan, who came to Miami from Cuba and performed at the halftime show in 1999.
If we’re digging deep, however, J. Lo did once have a house (er, mansion) in Miami Beach and her fiance, Alex Rodriguez, grew up in the city. Shakira owned (and sold) a home in Miami as well. Surely that counts, right? Both stars sing songs in Spanish, and it makes sense that the Miami host committee would want to push Latinx talent to the forefront of the show to highlight the city’s cultural roots. It’s also a step in the right direction for the NFL (and perhaps an attempt to revamp its image) that they’re putting two women in the spotlight this year.
It’s no secret that the NFL has had some issues putting together a halftime show that pleases everyone. After their issues with players taking a knee, artists like Cardi B and Rihanna declined offers to perform. Now that the NFL has gotten Jay-Z and his company Roc Nation onboard to help produce entertainment and entice diverse acts to the halftime show, everybody’s hoping things might get a little more inclusive around here.
Who Else Will Appear On Stage?
The Super Bowl’s halftime show is known for its surprise appearances. It’s rare that just the main headliners take the stage. Last year, Maroon 5 was joined by Travis Scott and Big Boi. Katy Perry’s performance featured appearances by Missy Elliot and Lenny Kravitz. And Beyonce, of course, brought her girls from Destiny’s Child on stage in one of the fiercest halftime shows on record. There’s also usually a local university marching band in the mix somewhere at these things! You never know who’ll show up!
In this case, it seems that J.Lo and Shakira have already started the discussion about who might appear on stage with them. Lopez said, “I have been doing a lot of meetings about the Super Bowl, been prepping and hiring the people and putting concepts and ideas for the show together. Shakira and I have spoken a few times already. She’s putting her thing together, [I’m] putting my thing together, thinking about who we want to join us on stage, if we want that.”
Oh, we want that.
Unfortunately, the women haven’t given us any spoilers or clues. Word on the street is that they’re considering Gloria Estefan and Pitbull for cameos, ya know, to bring in more Miami talent… and we also hear that Mr. Worldwide really wants in.
Update: Estefan recently turned down Jay-Z’s offer to be featured in the halftime show. It’s nothing personal though, she’s just done two already and she’s kinda busy with other projects at the moment!
What J.Lo and Shakira Are Saying About It
J. Lo has admitted that she sees the show itself as “important.” She recently commented, “We are super excited. We want to make a beautiful, impactful, enjoyable, fun show for everybody. We want to bring everybody together. That’s the point. We as artists have that rare gift to be able to do that, and that’s what I think our main goal is.”
Shakira was similarly excited. Oh, and the Super Bowl just happens to be on her 43rd birthday! She said, “I’ve always wanted to perform at the Super Bowl. I think it’s the holy grail of the entertainment industry … It’s a sports event but it has a huge relevance for us artists and I think it’s gonna be fantastic and I’m gonna be celebrating my birthday with 100 million people. Just a small party, it’s surreal, actually.”
Shakira also noted the importance of inclusivity, “I feel that’s gonna be great because she [J. Lo] also represents a really important part of the Latino community who lives in the US – who’s being born and raised in the US – and in a way, I feel that I’m representing another part of the Latin world, which is all those people around the globe who barely speak English and a huge portion of the demographic that also arrived in the US with the American dream.”
Both women are known for their amazing dance moves, upbeat rhythms, and unique styles. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the most recent Miami Super Bowl halftime performers have been The Who in 2010, Prince in 2007, and Gloria Estefan and Stevie Wonder back in 1999.
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