The 20 Best Super Bowl Halftime Shows of All Time

• The game: New England Patriots vs Green Bay Packers
• Standout Moment: Mr. James Brown hitting us with "I Feel Good"

Ain’t nothing like a round of the good ole Blues. You want to talk about Soul? This show embodied the Soul genre to the fullest. This performance was a grand production that brought the funk while giving you a little bit of gospel as well. The Blues Brothers busted out "Soul Man," and James Brown hit us with "I Feel Good." Not too over the top, but still enjoyable. A funkified revolution for sure.

• The game: Pittsburgh Steelers vs Green Bay Packers
• Standout Moment: Slash crushing on the guitar

While this year is the first year Usher is taking to the stage solo, it's not his first time performing at the event. When this lineup was first announced, there was some skepticism as to how such different artists could come together. Well, they did it beautifully and stylishly. The Black Eyed Peas were coming off a massively successful 2010, and both the Peas and Usher were in their respective EDM phases, and they, almost surprisingly, blended together with Slash nicely. Despite the technical difficulties, the performance was still excellent. 

• The game: Baltimore Ravens vs New York Giants
• Standout Moment: Too many to pick from, but we'll go with the "Walk This Way" finale

Talk about a star-studded lineup. The 2001 halftime show was one of the moments where you didn’t know exactly how it was going to work. Still, in some unique way, everything wound up coming together. *NSYNC opened up the show with their catchy single ‘Bye, Bye, Bye,’ going back and forth with Aerosmith on hits until around the midway part of the show. Britney Spears and Nelly then joined them, and Mary J. Blige, for the grand finale performing Aerosmith and Run D.M.C’s 1986 smash ‘Walk This Way.’

• The game: Green Bay Packers vs Denver Broncos
• Standout Moment: All of it really

Motown was long overdue for an official tribute, and it finally happened in 1998 when the NFL put together an all-star cast to pay homage to Motown founder Berry Gordy and his many radio dominating protégés. Led by Boyz II Men, one of the biggest groups in the world at the time, the R&B crooners made their way through different Motown songs before bringing out Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, and The Temptations. 

• The game: Philadelphia Eagles vs New England Patriots
• Standout Moment: The NSYNC Reunion

In our opinion, Timberlake deserves his props for this performance. He put together a creative body of work, gave us a major blast from the past by bringing out NSYNC, and went deep into his catalog by pulling out songs from Justified and Future Sex/ Love Sounds. The Prince tribute was appropriate considering the location that year was in Minneapolis, and this set showcased just how many hits Timberlake has in his catalog. Just need a full NSYNC show one day (or at least a reunion tour).

• The game: Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots
• Standout Moment: Missy Elliot joining Perry for a short medley of her hits

Katy Perry's set is memorable as it featured a showcasing of her own hits alongside collaborations with Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot and the social media phenomenon it sparked afterward. Missy, in particular, had several songs shoot to the charts on iTunes after the performance (as did Kravitz), and her former young mentee Allison Stoner made a dance tribute recreating some of their routines. You can make the argument that Perry’s performance remains among one of the most talked about in the social media era.

• The game: Atlanta Hawks vs New England Patriots
• Standout Moment: The entire performance was good, but that ending was insane

Super Bowl LI is known for two reasons: The Atlanta Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots and Lady Gaga’s Cirque Du Soleil-esque performance. Depending on which way on the pendulum you swing, many prefer to remember the latter as opposed to the former. Since releasing her first album in 2009, Gaga has established herself as being one of the music industry’s finest performers, and she got the chance to put her talents on display nearly a decade later in memorable Gaga fashion. Of course, there were plenty of ‘monsters,’ and Gaga literally zip-lined her way from the top of NRG stadium to the stage, ending the performance by jumping off the set and essentially disappearing. Where did she go? Nobody knows.

• The game: Denver Broncos vs Seattle Seahawks
• Standout Moment: Hard to choose, but loved the "Give It Away" segment

Make no mistake. There were people who doubted Bruno Mars and wondered if he could compare to previous acts in terms of his catalog. Those people forget about his talent. Like Prince, Mars can sing, dance, and play instruments, all while being a charismatic ladies' man. Mars put all those skills to use in an appearance with his band, The Hooligans, and a surprise appearance from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who proceeded to rock out to their 1991 lead single ‘Give It Away.’

• The game: New England Patriots vs Philadelphia Eagles
• Standout Moment: The "Hey Jude" closer

Sir Paul McCartney. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. One of the greatest to ever do it. You had to know that at some point, the NFL was going to pull out all the stops to get McCartney on their stage and that finally happened in 2005. McCartney was as captivating as ever, unleashing all of his hits, including ‘Live and Let Die’ and ‘Drive My Car.’ McCartney closed his spectacular performance with his classic ‘Hey Jude.’ Fifteen minutes of Rock ‘n’ Roll heaven.

• The game: Pittsburgh Steelers vs Arizona Cardinals
• Standout Moment: Bruce grabbing his crotch

There is one thing that everyone remembers from Bruce Springsteen’s 2009 halftime performance: His MJ-personified crotch grab. Nobody expected it—not even the people in Springsteen’s inner circle. It was a complete and utter surprise. While the crotch grab was certainly the defining moment, Springsteen’s performance was one for the ages. It was loud, crazy, and definitely electrifying. At the time, Springsteen’s segment was the most-watched in Super Bowl history. Oh, and the game was a thriller as well, with the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23.

• The game: New York Giants vs New England Patriots
• Standout Moment: Hard to choose, but loved the "Vogue" breakdown

It's been sort of an unspoken requirement that every music legend either perform at the Super Bowl or an NFL game in some fashion (a la Whitney Houston's iconic National Anthem). By the time we reached 2012, just about every single music icon that had made their debut as solo artists in the 1980s had graced the NFL stage in some capacity except for The Material Girl. Joined by Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, Cee-Lo, and M.I.A., the performance was described as revolutionary. Many were in awe of Madonna’s intensity and ability to perform at such a high level nearly thirty years after getting her start, making it an all-time great Halftime performance.

• The game: Denver Broncos vs Carolina Panthers
• Standout Moment: Bruno and Beyoncé's dance off

Bruno Mars? Check. Coldplay? Check. Beyoncé? Triple check (sorry, Bruno and Coldplay). All three artists already had a rapport with one another through friendship, and previous performances and everyone involved delivered a head-turning performance. Coldplay got the party going with a ‘Yellow’ and ‘Viva La Vida’ mashup, and Beyoncé and Bruno essentially had a dance-off performing their hits ‘Uptown Funk’ and ‘Formation.’ Tributes to previous halftimes acts were thrown in there at the end making it a well-done performance, and arguably more entertaining than the actual game.

• The game: St. Louis Rams vs New England Patriots
• Standout Moment: All of it

Super Bowl XXXVI was a poignant one for a big reason—it was the first Super Bowl to take place in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. At the time of the show, it had only been a few months since that horrific day that had tragically and permanently impacted so many lives. With the world in sort of a disarray afterwards, the NFL needed a performance that would help heal and bring everyone together.

Enter U2.

Instead of putting on a grand-scale production, U2 opted for a quieter approach. Performing on a heart-shaped stage, U2 played their songs ‘MLK,’ ‘Beautiful Day,’ and ‘ Where The Streets Have No Name’ as they projected the names of those lost in the attacks across the ceiling of Madison Square Garden. The performance was a moving one, with U2 doing what they did best—being an all-time great group delivering an all-time great performance.

• The game: Dallas Cowboys vs Pittsburgh Steelers
• Standout Moment: The whole set was phenomenal, but that entrance was just...magic

If you know anything about Diana Ross, you know that she is the literal definition of the word extravagant. "Ms. Ross The Boss" delivered one of the most stellar halftime performances of all-time in 1996, and the theme of the show was the altitude. Ross started off the performance being lowered onto the stage, went through four different glamorous costume changes, had fireworks go off mid-show, and performed all of her classic hits as both a solo artist and a member of The Supremes. Ross concluded the performance by leaving the stadium via Helicopter to ‘I Will Survive,’ making a grand entrance and a grand exit.

• The game: Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots
• Standout Moment: "Rhythm Nation" segment

This needs to be said once and for all—a good percentage of the general public acted ridiculous over the half second (literally) of Janet's wardrobe malfunction twenty years ago, and a select few still continue to act ridiculous over it today. Some of y'all really need to grow up. It wasn't a big deal, nobody was "traumatized," and Janet deserves a massive apology for how she's been treated over this. I was a kid at that time, watched the whole performance live, and wasn't even aware of what happened until the selective outrage occurred afterwards. I'm sure that's the case for most who watched the performance on television and live. That said, Janet's performance remains one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows ever, she did the darn thing, and I would love to see her grace the stage again.

• The game: New York Giants vs New England Patriots
• Standout Moment: The entire crowd joining in for "Free Fallin"

Tom Petty remains dearly missed. Often under-appreciated, the world got the chance to fully experience Petty’s greatness in 2008 when he took the stage with The Heartbreakers. They kicked things off with "American Girl," and the entire stadium joined along to sing "Free Fallin," "Won’t Back Down," and "Runnin Down a Dream." By the time 2008 rolled around, we had gotten used to spectacular sets and lavish productions, but Petty and The Heartbreakers dialed it back letting us know that simple works too.

• The game: Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles
• Standout Moment: The "Rude Boy" Breakdown

Where do we start? I'm not sure people still fully grasp the magnitude of Rihanna's performance and just how influential it remains to this day. There was the pregnancy reveal as the opener, then it was the influx of hit after hit after hit. Rihanna has been away from the music scene for so long (at the time of this writing it has now been eight years since ANTI) that we've grown accustomed to her being a billionaire business lady, and have pretty much accepted that we may not ever get another album. Rih's halftime performance brought us back to a decade she dominated—so many albums, so many hits, and once again—her influence. Rihanna launched a new lipstick during the performance and people started flocking to buy it. She wore Salomon and everybody started rushing to buy Salomon.

Oh, and let's not even get into the endless amount of TikTok trends the performance spawned. There's a reason why Rihanna got nominated for five Emmys and the performance won for "Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special"—because it was that good.

• The game: Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles
• Standout Moment: The Destiny's Child Reunion

Having previously performed ‘The National Anthem’ at the 2004 Super Bowl, Beyoncé finally took to the halftime stage in 2013, putting on an absolute show. Joined by former Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, Beyoncé went back to her early beginnings with the group and performed many of her biggest hits at the time, including: ‘Crazy in Love,’ ‘Single Ladies,’ and ‘Run The World.’ Beyonce concluded the performance with her 2008 anthem ‘Halo,’ and showed the world why she is ‘Queen Bey.’