Super Bowl LVI halftime show

Part of	Super Bowl LVI
Date	February 13, 2022
Location	Inglewood, California, U.S.
Venue	SoFi Stadium
Headliner	Dr. Dre Snoop Dogg Eminem Mary J. Blige Kendrick Lamar 50 Cent (surprise appearance)
Special guests	Anderson .Paak
Sponsor	Pepsi
Director	Hamish Hamilton
Producer	Jesse Collins Roc Nation
Super Bowl halftime show chronology
LV (2021) LVI (2022) LVII (2023)

TheSuper Bowl LVI halftime show, officially known as thePepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, was thehalftime entertainment ofSuper Bowl LVI, which took place on February 13, 2022, atSoFi Stadium inInglewood, California. The show was headlined byDr. Dre,Snoop Dogg,Eminem,Mary J. Blige, andKendrick Lamar, and included surprise appearance by50 Cent and guest appearance byAnderson .Paak.^[1][2] It was the first Super Bowl halftime show to be centered entirely aroundhip hop music,^[3] as well as the last halftime show to be sponsored byPepsi, withApple Music taking over the sponsorship beginning withSuper Bowl LVII.^[4][5] The show was televised nationally in the U.S. byNBC.

The performance was met with critical acclaim and was the first Super Bowl halftime show to win thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).^[6] The show also won the Primetime Emmy Awards forOutstanding Production Design for a Variety Special andOutstanding Music Direction.^[7][8]

On May 15, 2021, in an interview withYahoo!,Snoop Dogg expressed interest in performing at the halftime show with other hip hop artists such asDr. Dre,Kendrick Lamar andEminem.^[9]

On September 30, 2021,Pepsi andRoc Nation announced thatDr. Dre,Snoop Dogg,Eminem,Mary J. Blige, andKendrick Lamar would headline the show. Blige previously performed at theSuper Bowl XXXV halftime show in 2001. The halftime show was produced by Jesse Collins and Roc Nation, and was directed byHamish Hamilton, who has directed each Super Bowl halftime show for twelve years.^[10] Deaf rappersSean Forbes andWarren "WAWA" Snipe performed as American Sign Language interpreters.^[11]

The halftime show received critical acclaim as critics praised the lineup and setlist.^[12][13] Some mentioned that the performance was crafted to induce nostalgia amongGeneration X andMillennial audiences.^[14][15][16]

Steven McIntosh ofBBC News wrote that the timing was balanced enough to allow each artist to perform their biggest songs, concluding "The show had been a success, and they knew it. It might have taken a long time to get here, but after a performance like this, nobody could nowForget About Dre."^[17]

A list inRolling Stone byRob Sheffield praised the performance as an "old-schoolWest Coast rap history lesson" and, before 2026, ranked it the fourth-best Super Bowl halftime show of all time, behind those byBeyoncé,U2 andPrince. He wrote that Kendrick Lamar deserved his own full-length performance (whichhe did three years later), and named Eminemtaking a knee as the highlight.^[18]

Kevin E G Perry ofThe Independent gave the show four stars out of five. Commenting on criticism relating to Dr. Dre's history of violence against women, Perry concluded "No performance could wash that blemish from his reputation, but tonight's hit-packed performance did demonstrate the range and longevity of Dre's influence as a rapper and producer". Perry was also thankful that rumors of the return of the controversial 2012Tupac hologram were not true.^[19]

In a review forThe New York Times,Jon Caramanica commented that rumors of Eminem being barred from kneeling "had the feel of a pre-manufactured controversy"; as an NFL spokesperson confirmed that the gesture was authorized, Caramanica asked "Is it still protest if it's been signed off on and approved?"^[20]

Sam Wolfson ofThe Guardian gave the show five stars out of five.^[21]

TheFederal Communications Commission received 33 complaints regarding the show's content, an unusually low number (compared to 1,300 for theSuper Bowl LIV halftime show, 50 for theSuper Bowl LIII halftime show and 540,000 for theSuper Bowl XXXVIII halftime show).^[22]

The show had an average of 103.4 million viewers in the 8:15–8:30 pm ET slot, up 7 percent from theprevious year's halftime show bythe Weeknd.^[12][25] The viewership for the halftime show was higher than the game itself, which was viewed by an average of 101.1 million television viewers.^[12][26]

Following the performance, streams of Dr. Dre's music rose by 185 percent on Spotify. Two of the songs that he performed, "The Next Episode" and "Still D.R.E." from his 1999 album2001, experienced increases in streaming of 270 percent and 245 percent, respectively. In the end of the week, the album jumped back to the top 10 inBillboard 200 with 30,500 units sold, a 220% increase.^[27]

Also on Spotify, Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" saw an increase of 520 percent, while streams of Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" rose 250 percent.^[28][29]

The following day, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" entered the top 10 of the U.S. Spotify chart for the first time ever.^[30][31] At the end of that week, Eminem'sCurtain Call jumped 118 spots to the top 10 onBillboard 200, for the first time since March 11, 2006, at number eight, selling 31,000 units (256% increase). In the United Kingdom, the album jumped back into the Top 10 at number eight.^[32][33]

The creation and preparations for the halftime show was featured in the documentaryThe Show: California Love. The documentary, which was produced by the halftime show sponsorPepsi's in-house content studio and Boardwalk Pictures, aired onShowtime on December 23, 2022.^[34]

1. "The Next Episode" (Dr. Dre andSnoop Dogg); featured a brief instrumental sample of "Nuthin' but a G Thang"
2. "California Love" (Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg) (Performed as a tribute toTupac Shakur)
3. "In da Club" (50 Cent)
4. "Family Affair" (Mary J. Blige)
5. "No More Drama" (Mary J. Blige); featured a brief instrumental sample of "Head Over Heels" byTears for Fears
6. "M.A.A.D City" (Kendrick Lamar)
7. "Alright" (Kendrick Lamar) (Background vocals byPharrell Williams)
8. "Forgot About Dre" (Eminem and freestyle by Kendrick Lamar)
9. "Lose Yourself" (Eminem withAnderson .Paak on drums)
10. "I Ain't Mad at Cha" (instrumental) (Dr. Dre) (Played as a tribute toTupac Shakur)
11. "Still D.R.E." (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent with Anderson .Paak on drums)

• 2022 in American music
• 2022 in American television
• 2022 in sports in Los Angeles County, California
• Dr. Dre
• Eminem
• Organized events in Inglewood, California
• February 2022 sports events in the United States
• Kendrick Lamar
• Mary J. Blige
• Snoop Dogg
• Super Bowl halftime shows
• Television shows directed by Hamish Hamilton (director)
• Anderson .Paak

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