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7:00 am PST 02/06/2021
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Seth Abramovich
Before the King of Pop took to the stage at the Rose Bowl for Super Bowl XXVII, the halftime show was mostly an afterthought where Fading Celebrities and Up With People tended to be the main entertainment.
The modern community pop extravaganza known as the Super Bowl halftime show can be traced back to January 31, 1993, when Michael Jackson took the stage at the Rose Bowl for Super Bowl XXVII, where the Dallas Cowboys would trample the Buffalo. Bills, 52-17.
Before that, the halftime show was mostly an afterthought, occupied by college brass bands, Up With People, and waning performers like Mickey Rooney (XXI) and Chubby Checker (XXII).
In 1992, Fox drew 22% of NBC audiences by counterprogramming a special episode of In living color during halftime, and the NFL realized they needed to improve their game. He turned to Radio City Productions to put on something spectacular, which in turn offered Jackson the place. He asked for $ 1 million, a good deal, but the NFL did not pay its performers at halftime, a policy that remains. (Still, Justin Timberlake saw a 534% increase in song sales after performing for 100 million audiences at Super Bowl LII in 2018; Lady Gaga’s sales increased tenfold the year before.)
Ultimately, the league teamed up with Frito-Lay to donate $ 100,000 plus a 30-second TV spot to the Jackson’s Heal the World Foundation, founded a year earlier to “improve conditions for children.” of the whole world”.
In a dramatic start to his set, Jackson was thrown onto the stage from below and was frozen for 90 seconds. He then embarked on a medley of “Jam”, “Billie Jean” (complete with moonwalk) and “Black or White” before concluding with the pasty “We Are the World” and the single “Heal the World”, surrounded by 3500 LA -area children. With 133 million plays, it remains the most watched halftime show and one of the highest rated TV shows of all time.
Seven months later, Jackson would face his first child sexual abuse charges.
This story first appeared in the February 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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