HypeGirls

Yes we need to talk about the halftime show, but let’s take our way through the full musical journey of Superbowl XLVI.

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton kicked things off (pun intended) with ‘America the Beautiful’. Miranda held the first blinged-out microphone of the night with her hot pink piece.

Next, one of the greatest voices available, Miss Kelly Clarkson saluted America by singing the National Anthem. Her mic was also blingin’ in a deep jewel red, and the children’s choir backing her up was adorable.

And then it was a waiting game through two quarters tapping my fingers in anticipation of the Bridgestone Halftime Show. Throughout the game Amazon tweeted #superbowlmusic through @amazonmp3. Songs during the game and in commercials were tweeted with links to listen and/or buy the song on Amazon.com. Some hot spots were the Pizza Hut contest winner and Elton John judging X Factor winner Melanie Amaro in the Pepsi commercial.

This would be the first time the seven-time Grammy winner would be performing on the Super Bowl. Madonna mentioned that she had “…never been more nervous.”

Her Madge-esty opened the show as a Roman Goddess singing ‘Vogue’. The dancers and costumes were phenomenal. A close second in visual performance was the lights and effects on the field. The movement of the full picture was captivating. Next on the setlist was ‘Music’ which took us from a time of Roman mythology to a high school bleachers. Break dancers and a tight rope dancing Richard Simmons look alike joined Madonna on stage. She held the third blinged out mic of the night: sparkly gold.

LMFAO met Madonna at the bottom of the bleachers. The music app Shazam teamed up with Bud Light to offer a free song when viewers Shazam’d LMFAO’s remix of Madonna’s ‘Music’. Please believe I got my free song and I hope you did too!

Next came the showcase song ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’. The song is peppy, think ‘Hey Mickey’ or ‘U-G-L-Y’ which made it a perfect fit for the halftime show spotlight new joint. Much like in the video, Madonna was surrounded by cheerleaders. Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., also adorned in cheerleader garb, played their parts well on stage. I would have loved an instant replay, but it was pretty clear M.I.A. flipped the camera off during the performance. Gangsta. Check her new single for ‘Bad Girls’  for more proof that M.I.A. goes hard.

Then Drum Major Cee Lo Green oined Madonna and a drumline in their version of ‘Express Yourself’. Cee Lo then donned a glittering choir robe as the performance transitioned into my favorite Madonna song:, ‘Like a Prayer’. The show closed with a classy call for world peace.

Happily, we are back from the relevant Super Bowl performance prohibition we went through following Nipple-gate. In my opinion this show was fantastic. Not as great as Prince‘s halftime show, but definitely one of the top five great Super Bowl shows.