Madonna, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj and Cee Lo Rock Super Bowl Halftime Show

Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images.
Madonna went over the top with the Super Bowl halftime show as only the Queen of Pop could, doing a sequin and gold-studded medley of some of her greatest hits — “Vogue,” “Like a Prayer” — and a couple of her newer songs.
The Material Girl pledged not to repeat the sins of her past pop star predecessor, Janet Jackson, and expose herself on stage. She succeeded in that, but there was one glaring wardrobe malfunction — she zipped a curly blonde lock of hair into the coat she wore for her final song, making it look like she had a mane of lustrous chest hair underneath all those sequins. M.I.A., the U.K.-born rapper/pop star who joined Madonna for “Give Me All Your Luvin,” did worse, though, and gave the entire Super Bowl viewing audience the middle finger, presumably causing the second-long freeze frame that happened midway through “Give Me All Your Luvin.”
The show began with a Cleopatra-like Madonna rising up from an army of gladiator dancers. Wearing what appeared to be 5-inch stiletto boots, she performed complicated dance routines with few flaws, most memorably when she did the “Party Rock” shuffle with the crazy kids from LMFAO. (Prior to that, she slipped and almost tumbled over a set of risers.)
M.I.A and Nicki Minaj guest starred, joining Madonna in a pep rally-esque performance of her latest single. Cee Lo stole the show at the end, donning a silver marching band helmet and a glimmering black robe to duet “Like a Prayer” with Madonna. But the back up dancers deserve the most praise — whether leaping over bleachers or jumping on a tightrope, they nailed it.

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Flawless except for the part where she almost fell off one of the risers!
Posted by: leah | February 5, 2012, 8:34 pm 8:34 pm
Um did no one catch wat MIA did?
Posted by: Tan | February 5, 2012, 8:34 pm 8:34 pm
M. I. A FLIPPED THE BIRD
Posted by: Runawaywill | February 5, 2012, 8:35 pm 8:35 pm
You failed to mention MIA flipping the bird to the camera…
Posted by: Meg | February 5, 2012, 8:36 pm 8:36 pm
What about MIA saying S**T and then giving the camera the middle finger? How is that not making the news after all the scrutiny and fines the past several years?
Posted by: david | February 5, 2012, 8:37 pm 8:37 pm
It was good if you like lip synced shows. As far as I am concerned if she wasnt going to actually sing her songs she might as well just had some dancers on the stage along with a DJ.
Posted by: Thorsen | February 5, 2012, 8:39 pm 8:39 pm
Thought Madonna was great! Up yours, Elton!
Posted by: Dave | February 5, 2012, 8:40 pm 8:40 pm
I must have been watching a different half-time show… One that showcased a sore, stumbling, and possibly inebriated woman, who offered repulsive panty shots.
Posted by: A | February 5, 2012, 8:40 pm 8:40 pm
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? M.I.A. flips off how many people on national television and it’s okay?
Posted by: Donna | February 5, 2012, 8:46 pm 8:46 pm
Lip sinking! Errors in her moves, she needed to wear flats! She can’t dance in heels, she is too old, no matter how YOUNG she thinks she is!
This years halftime was a waste of my time! Madonna stunk it!
Posted by: Sally | February 5, 2012, 8:46 pm 8:46 pm
I thought she was great. I’d like to see any of the haters do half the physical moves Madonna did during this half-time show. Anyone who thinks it is easy to repeatedly jump from a squat position to standing all while keeping time with the music has obviously never tried. it.
LOVE Madonna!
Posted by: Feby | February 5, 2012, 8:50 pm 8:50 pm
Absolutely awful and narsassitic dribble.
Posted by: sue | February 5, 2012, 8:51 pm 8:51 pm
So proud of MADONNA she represents that Class of 1975 Baby boomers can still have IT !!!
Enjoyed it, the dancers, lights, Ce lo, where awesome!
Posted by: BBS | February 5, 2012, 8:55 pm 8:55 pm
Great show! She really nailed it. Good job Madonna and all.
Posted by: Tom | February 5, 2012, 8:55 pm 8:55 pm
Madonna was awesome. The haters wouldn’t like anything she did. Inspirational show in lots of ways.
Posted by: Megan Martin | February 5, 2012, 8:59 pm 8:59 pm
I thought it was great! The whole stage show was awesome and Madonna really looked like she was having a good time. This is the first halftime show I’ve enjoyed in years!
Posted by: Donna | February 5, 2012, 9:01 pm 9:01 pm
Cee Lo has totally ruined the super bowl. Madona should have never agreed to allow this. Cee Lo get out of here. You are terrible
Posted by: Patrick | February 5, 2012, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm
Okay, I agree she was stiff and probably should have worn lower heels or reconsidered the cartwheels, etc. But damn she still has an amazing voice, her bod rocks and she sang the hell out of the amazing old school songs that have given her fame!!!!
Posted by: Wendy O. | February 5, 2012, 9:06 pm 9:06 pm
It’s called a slackline, not a tightrope.
Posted by: Emily | February 5, 2012, 9:07 pm 9:07 pm
Best part of the Half time show was it ended. Some should never, never ever come out of retirment. She was boring and annoying 25 yrs ago, so I guess nothing has changed.
Posted by: OMG U. Idiot | February 5, 2012, 9:55 pm 9:55 pm
Madonna ROCKED BIG-TIME.. She was AWESOME… Always puts on a great show, after all, it is the superbowl half time show… not opera, not broadway and definitely not a competition.. Madonna obviously was having a great time on the stage, but not as much as the hundreds of people at the bar where we were watching… Great Show Madonna…..
Posted by: jeremiah | February 5, 2012, 10:49 pm 10:49 pm
Self aggrandizing and looking like a corpse, Madonna once again proves you do not need talent to be a half time show at the Super Bowl. Downright painful. Whomever is in charge of these half time shows and allows the airing of those awful commercials like Go Daddy really needs to find other employment. Blech.
Posted by: monica | February 5, 2012, 11:26 pm 11:26 pm
Artistically and culturally, this country has fallen so deep into the garbage bin it may be beyond rescuing. How anyone could find such self-indulgent trite as this corn-ballish halftime show entertaining is mind-boggling to me.
Posted by: Tyler | February 5, 2012, 11:35 pm 11:35 pm
Yes, I’m sure in twelve minutes you have downloaded a few songs, maybe added fiber to your newly done haircut, but did you pull off a multimedia performance of a lifetime?
Ok, so she almost fell, how many times have you falling “not while dancing?”
So she didn’t sing every song, hmmm, news flash, go spend $300 a ticket to go see her perform.
How can you sing every song fully, while dancing, doing transitions and altering a costume change? She has always had her own voice overs while performing.
At least if your going to make a comment, make an educated one.
At least have the experience to talk from the perspective of a petformer!
In twelve minutes, I doubt anyone who has attempted to comment on this blog could do anything more professional then what you saw today… If so, ill give you 12 n
minutes and a stage… Any takers… Yeah, that’s what I thought!
Posted by: Kristen | February 5, 2012, 11:46 pm 11:46 pm
Kristen I couldnt agree with anyone more than you.
Posted by: Joe | February 5, 2012, 11:59 pm 11:59 pm
Madonna looked better then any 25 year old!
do you not know haters that the worlds most
Beautiful woman are in the late 40,s and yes
now early 50,s you wish you could look and sound
Like her even at 30.. Woman that are in their
40,s rock it !!
Posted by: Cat | February 6, 2012, 12:22 am 12:22 am
Loved it! Madonna rocked it and showed everyone who the true Queen of Pop is!!!
Posted by: Blake | February 6, 2012, 12:37 am 12:37 am
Looked like she was moving in slow motion ala “Brittney Spears comback stumbling”. Oh, I forgot, she is GrandmaMadonna. lol.
Posted by: Rick | February 6, 2012, 9:58 am 9:58 am
“Madonna went over the top with the Super Bowl halftime show as only the Queen of Pop could…”
Nuh-Uh. I can’t give her that honor. She had too many other acts going on who in a sense stole the spot light from her. Although it was an enjoyable show the morning press are not being kind and really featuring her and her performance. Most of the press is about all the upstaging that she had to endure. A true international star or Queen would have never allowed her stage to be shared in such a way.
Posted by: MyTakeOnThis61 | February 6, 2012, 10:58 am 10:58 am
I wish Lady Gaga would have done the show. Madonna is too old!
Posted by: Jade | February 6, 2012, 11:25 am 11:25 am
MaDonna almost lost her life that’s what she get for talking about Janet Jackson, god don’t like ugly. Plus, the mishaps are all hers because it was her show so she didn’t do good no matter what anybody say. Her show her mess.
Posted by: Diva | February 6, 2012, 11:39 am 11:39 am
I’m glad it was Madonna I heard from a friend it was going to be this country singer Faith Hill but I loved that it was her. I also loved watching LMFAO with that cool song I’m sexy and I know it plus Cee lp and Nicki were icing on a dreamy cake. Yeah I mostly watch for the half-time show which was great this year I was kinda disappointed that the New York Giants team won I was betting the New England Patroits team would win this year.
Posted by: elizabeth rupe | February 6, 2012, 11:45 am 11:45 am
I was busy watching everything going on around Madonna… that was kind of neat to see. Watching an old woman walk around in a mini-skirt didn’t do anything for me. The sounds and stage effects were entertaining. I hope she doesn’t become a Cher and still trying to sell the sexy gimmick in just a few years when she’s 60 years old. That would be downright… gross!
Posted by: anonymous CHAD | February 6, 2012, 11:46 am 11:46 am
I must admit that I am rather surprised about the ageism with many of these comments. Although I think that she did the unthinkable by sharing her stage, and pretty much setting herself up to be upstaged, I have to give her kudos for being a woman of her age, able to move so well as she does, to be as fit as she is, and to still have such a sharp voice. The music industry is brutal and yet Madonna has survived and is still putting out new music. MANY of her contemporaries cannot say the same thing. Aretha Franklin–no contract. Diana Ross–no contract, etc. As long as Madonna, or any other old broad like Cher and Tina Turner, can still fill a room and sell those tickets they should be able tp perform and are relevant.
Posted by: MyTakeOnThis61 | February 6, 2012, 12:34 pm 12:34 pm
I think it’s BS that anybody is saying she’s too old. You guys must be 12 year olds who like Justin Beiber. Gimme a GD break
Posted by: Fin | February 6, 2012, 2:28 pm 2:28 pm
Let’s just remember, this was a POP show. This translates into a lip-syncing, circus-like strip show. Has nothing to do with music or talent. If that’s the kind of show you like, that’s great. I prefer to go to concerts by people who actually sing and play instruments. To each his own!
Posted by: Lynne | February 6, 2012, 2:32 pm 2:32 pm
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For me, I saw one of the best half time shows. Love it, love it, love it!
Posted by: dom | February 6, 2012, 2:59 pm 2:59 pm
Madonna is a marginal talent who leans on elaborate staging, lighting, dancers and guest singers in attempt to distract everyone from the fact that her songs are unmemorable and her voice is mediocre at best. She’s a whiz at self-promotion and has kept herself in the limelight for decades, but her talent isn’t musical: it’s business. Someone like Prince has more musical talent in his little finger than Madonna has in her whole body. It’s too bad the public has bought into the myth that a lot of flash and whiz bang equals actual talent. Madonna was a waste of time. (The staging and lighting were spectacular, though. Of course, that’s possible to do when you have millions of dollars and a powerful corporate entity like the NFL at your disposal.)
Posted by: Ron | February 6, 2012, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
It is funny how there are 3 reactions to the half-time show. The Die-hard Madonna followers think it is the second coming of christ. the Madonna fans think it was “good except. . . (fill in the blank)”. almost everyone else was disappointed because it looked like a cross between an 80′s flashback concert and some gay mardi gras like extravaganza. Having been a madonna fan in the 80′s, my thought was what happened to madonna and who is the hack pretending to be her. Madonna needs to get away from these 200 man choreography programs and light shows and get back to music. And a little lip sync is tollerable for this type of show, but to be so far off is pretty bad.
Posted by: rob | February 6, 2012, 5:15 pm 5:15 pm
I have no problem with Madonna’s age. . . it is the fact that she is trying to pretend she is still a sex-pot and lip synced the whole thing is the problem. And to the people who think she has a contract – she owns the company and several of her other acts are supporting her flops. she spends a fortune promoting herself but any of the major companies would let her go. I will give her credit at business, but not marketing or music.
Posted by: rob | February 6, 2012, 5:31 pm 5:31 pm
Wow. Fluff piece on Madonna but nothing about MIA flipping the bird. Shotty reporting. Carefull ABC, your agenda is showing. How can Barbara Walters get an interview with Madonna if you report the truth?
Posted by: Steve | February 6, 2012, 7:04 pm 7:04 pm