The Super Bowl is America’s most-watched televised event of the year. Between the commercials, the musical performances, and the actual championship football game, there is much appeal to the show. Personally, my favorite part is the half time show. I was thrilled to discover that Madonna would be the star performer.
She started off the show with a mash-up of her songs, old and new. Further into her performance, some up-and-coming artists, such as LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, and Cee Lo Green, joined the seasoned singer on stage. The most surprising appearance was by that of M.I.A. The British artist has not performed in the spotlight since 2009, before the birth of her son, Ikhyd, with fiancé Benjamin Bronfman.
M.I.A., along with Minaj, collaborated with Madonna on her new hit, “Give Me All Your Luvin’.” This live performance was a powerful one, much better than the visually cool but vocally disappointing production from the Black Eyed Peas last year. However, the most memorable part of the show is not due to the strong vocals. Instead, it is M.I.A.’s small, yet charged, gesture. The singer, not long into her solo portion of the song, flipped her middle finger straight at the camera.
While NBC’s delay system was readily prepared to cut away from any problem, it was not successful in diverting quickly enough. Ever since the Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake mishap of 2004, both NBC and the NFL have been careful in choosing the performers. Representatives have released statements claiming that the signer’s gesture was “spontaneous” and thus not a part of practice routine. The screen blurs seconds after M.I.A.’s obscene action, to a bird’s eye view of the field.
I first heard M.I.A.’s music in 2006, after I downloaded her song “Galang” when it was featured as iTune’s free Single of the Week. I thought it was interesting and definitely different from the generic pop songs of the time. As the singer rose up the charts, she appeared more outspoken and eccentric. Her next big hit was “Paper
Planes”. This song displays a disturbing message, accompanied with gunshots as a part of the chorus. These gunshots can only be heard on an “explicit” version of the song and are beeped out on radio and television airings. Her lyrics are political and deeply angry, which M.I.A. claims exhibits immigrant hardships. The song’s music video sparked more attention, in that the disturbing images were too much to be viewed even on MTV.
M.I.A. is clearly no stranger to controversy and has a reputation for bad behavior. Sadly, her most recent stint is now being linked with reports of a split from her fiancé. However, no official statement has been released by the singer regarding her public mishaps or personal issues. While M.I.A. may not be experiencing an easy time post-Super Bowl, she can relish in the fact that the half time show gained the higher ratings than the rest of the game. As a proud New Yorker, I am signing out with congratulations for the Giants and Madonna on stellar, and classy, performances.