Collegiate Times

In the past, the Super Bowl halftime show has stolen attention from the big game itself. Some of the best halftime shows many people remember include The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, and U2 in Super Bowl XXXVI.

However, over the past few years, the annual halftime show has not been up to par with past performances. Last year, Madonna’s performance was only adequate and looked cluttered. The year before, the Black Eyed Peas performed, and their show is recognized by some as the second worst halftime show in NFL history — only better than Elvis Presto, the Elvis impersonator who did card tricks in 1989.

This season, the Super Bowl Halftime Show for Super Bowl XLVII will be headlined by Beyoncé Knowles. However, viewers seem to be less than impressed.

There are a couple of reasons audiences are not excited about Beyoncé’s performance Sunday night.

For one thing, people are not expecting much out of the performance, due to the mediocre amateur hour that has been on full display these past two years. The Black Eyed Peas set a new low for musical performances in the Super Bowl, and though Madonna was a slight improvement — she could at least hold a melody — audiences were still left wanting more. Beyoncé is walking into a no-win situation to start.

In addition, many are tired of listening to Beyoncé’s music. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against Beyoncé personally. She is a capable singer and dancer. However, like all artists' songs that receive never-ending and unyielding radio airplay, audiences grow tired of listening to them over and over. 

Beyoncé’s songbook contains a plethora of these songs, and some will probably be performed on the Super Bowl stage. Tracks such as “Irreplaceable,” “Single Ladies,” and “Halo,” were played excessively on top-40 mainstream radio stations. These songs join LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem,” Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” and Fergie’s “Fergalicious” on lists of songs that were overplayed and now make everyone cringe.

This is not meant to insult or belittle Beyoncé as a performer; it's not her fault she has remained popular over the past decade. However, there is a very large chance one of the reasons listed above is why audiences are not excited for this particular Super Bowl Halftime Show.

If she had been chosen to play the halftime show five years ago, we would not be having this conversation. Beyoncé was at the height of her fame and popularity after the release of her album “B’Day” in 2006.

This was when her songs were truly making an impact on the pop culture world. Singles on her latest album “4,” released in 2011, never lived up to the popularity, nor chart position, the singles off her earlier albums did. 

If you are a skeptic, truly worried about how the performance will go, think about this: It will take an extremely pathetic performance to be worse than the Black Eyed Peas two years ago.

A version of this article appeared in the Feb 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.