Twelve Things About the Super Bowl Halftime Show

by Bronwyn Berger-Hughes Feb 4th 2011 at 10:16AM

Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl XLV Halftime performers

This year's halftime show will feature The Black Eyed Peas! Get the scoop and learn twelve things.

This year, after several years of classic rock artists gracing the grand stage, The Black Eyed Peas will get their opportunity to shine at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show.

The very first Super Bowl was held in 1967 and had a halftime show consisting of marching bands.
In 1970 Carol Channing was the first solo performer to grace the Super Bowl halftime show stage.
Michael Jackson's 1993 "Heal the World" themed halftime show actually brought in more viewers than the game itself and became one of the most-watched shows ever.
After the popularity of the Michael Jackson performance an effort was made to get more A-list performers to perform during the show.
In 2001 for a "The Kings of Rock and Pop" themed show, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock Aerosmith, 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Nelly all appeared on the stage together.
After a 2004 incident involving Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson the halftime shows were scrutinized a bit more closely. Post 2004 the Super Bowl only booked one artist at a time to perform and added a delay to the taping of the event, for better control over artists using bad language, lyrics or other editing.
The stage for the Rolling Stones, was in the form of the group's iconic tongue logo and was the largest stage ever assembled for a Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Shania Twain and The Black Eyed Peas are the only artists to ever perform at the CFL championship game, The Grey Cup, and the Super Bowl.
In 2002 U2 performed a rousing tribute to 9/11 victims with their songs, 'Beautiful Day,' 'MLK' and 'Where The Streets Have No Name.'
Super Bowl halftime acts are not paid for their performances, though all their costs and expenses are covered.
According to Nielsen SoundScan data, the halftime performers regularly experience significant spikes in weekly album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure.
Nelly, Gloria Estefan and Carol Channing are the only music artists who have graced the stage twice.