February 8, 2022 • 47 mins
A brief history of the hottest 12 minutes in television: the Super Bowl Halftime Show, featuring U2, Prince, and Lady Gaga. Last year, Executive Producer Dionne Harmon became the first Black woman to lead the show — and she’s back this season to light up Sofi Stadium with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige. Get a behind the scenes look at what goes into choosing the artists, developing the vision, and building (and tearing down) the elaborate set in a matter of minutes.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
On this special edition of Earning It, I've never been
to call you. Bat Ray was the best thing that
ever happened to him. It almost it was like he's managed.
We take you inside the greatest show on Earth, can't
We can't? The Super Bowl Halftime Show. Hello, and welcome
(00:31):
back to Earning It. I'm Sam Rappaport. For those of
you who haven't listened to our earlier episodes, this show
is about a pipeline I helped create within the NFL
to bring more women into the game, both on and
off the field. I'm a former professional quarterback and work
at the league. My producer, Jane Skinner Goodell, is an
NFL super fan and veteran journalist. She actually dreamed up
(00:53):
the show and pitched me as the host. We should
also point out, Sam, that I'm married to the commissioner,
so I am the lucky one. Have seen a whole
lot of halftime shows in person. I pitched you because
I think you have the perfect voice to tell this story. First,
you know football like nobody's business. I've seen you beat
Roger Goodell on a football field. Second, you're responsible for
(01:15):
so many women that we're seeing in the NFL today.
On the field, in the front office. And third, and
this is probably the most important of all for me.
When I told you that I was going to pitch
you as the host, you immediately said, uh, can I swear?
What an incredible season? I had more pinched me moments
than I can explain. And I'm not sure my feet
(01:35):
touched the ground during any of these interviews. You know,
we spoke to NFL head coaches, owners, the commissioner, who
I cursed at whoops and he cried on the episode.
That certainly stood out to me, you know, and icons
like Billy Jean King, who I've looked up to since
I was a kid. And so just how the NFL
season ends with a big bang. Jane and I wanted
(01:56):
to finish our first season with a bang. And the
cool thing is you don't even need to like football
to be into this one. I'm talking about the Super
Bowl halftime show. It's a very very big deal. It's
a big deal for the NFL, it's a big deal
for music. It's a huge deal for television. I mean,
each year it's the most watched twelve minutes on TV.
(02:16):
Can you imagine putting on basically a concert in twelve minutes.
They have to put up that set, breakdown that set,
and make sure everything goes flawlessly, not just for people
in the stadium, but really more so for people on television.
So the hype for this game is so incredible, and
to understand what goes into making that twelve minutes of
(02:38):
TV is pretty mind boggling. There is a woman behind that.
She's so smart and she is so chill. I think
she has to be to have that role to make
everything goes so perfectly. So I knew about Dion Harmon.
I had to find a way to get to her,
so I went through a friend of a friend of
a friend. She was so nice. She got on a
call with me and I said, I can't have this idea.
(03:01):
We don't want to blow any surprises, but could you
kind of take us behind the scenes. What goes into
your thinking when you're creating the halftime show, particularly for
Super Bowl fifty six. She's got five performers, that's a
lot and there's a lot of pressure on her. And
I said, I also love to know how much history
you take into account when you're planning a show, when
(03:23):
you're looking at the creative and she said, a lot
and I said, Okay. That leads me to my next question.
I'm thinking we could bring along someone who could act
as a halftime historian. And I have an idea. I
think quest Love is the perfect person for that. He's
such a student of history. He's a musical genius. I
know he goes to the Super Bowls. Wouldn't that be
(03:43):
fun to have the two of you do it together?
And she said, oh, I'll text him if you don't
know quest Love. He's the co founder of The Roots,
now the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
He directs movies like Summer of Soul. He's been a professor. Basically,
he's perfect for this assignment. So Deon convinced quest Love
(04:03):
to do it. He said, I normally don't do stuff
like this, but she asked me, and I'm into it,
and there we have it. Dion is a force. She's
produced the Oscars, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the American
Music Awards, the b ET Awards. She produced Kendrick Lamar's
Coachella performance, which eventually became his world tour. She's also
(04:24):
dj professionally for years, which she says is a lot
like producing it's the music. And again it's creating a moment,
an environment that you know, people can just come and
you're shaping this experience. So in a way, producing is
the same thing visually as Deejaying is are. She was
responsible for the Super Bowl halftime show featuring The Weekend,
(04:48):
which she called the most nerve racking show of her
life until of course, this year. This year we have
Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick
Lamar and all of them are amazing and could headline
this on their own. And the good thing is that
(05:09):
we have worked with each of these artists for many years,
so we're familiar with them and we're familiar with their teams.
And one thing that I love about this process is
that they are all working together, like there's no conflict
or ego around any of this. I came into it like,
oh my God, like, how are we going to deal
(05:30):
with all of these people? But it's been really amazing
and they're all excited. They all want to make this
the best thing, the best super Bowl that there ever
has been, and um, you know, they're just coming together
to make a moment. Sam, I have to ask you.
We're about to ask Dion and quest Love what their
(05:53):
favorite shows are, what the most iconic shows are, what
the most important halftime shows are. I've actually never asked
you what is your favorite super Bowl halftime show? I
think my most memorable super Bowl halftime show was the
first super Bowl I ever attended in two thousand and four,
when I could not believe I was in the stands
of that game, and that was when Janet Jackson and
(06:13):
Justin Timberlake performed, and in the stands, we didn't know
what happened right when he ripped that piece of clothing
off her chest and until until I got home. You know,
social media wasn't even burgeoning at that point until I
got home to I really know what happened. Um, but
I'm a big Beyonce fan, and Beyonce's show a couple
of years ago was one that I'll never forget. Which
(06:34):
of the Beyonces did you like better? There's that was
when the lights went out two plays into it. I'll
never forget that game. And I remember watching Beyonce and
then Destiny's Child come out and thinking that that was
(06:56):
the best and most entertaining super Bowl halftime show that
I had witnessed in person. It was mind blowing and
as a Beyonce fan, to be breathing the same error
as her in the stadium was really cool experience. Which
that's what happens when leaves to feel Yeah, she she
took all the energy with her. Jane, you've been to
many super Bowls. What's the one super Bowl halftime show
(07:17):
that sticks out for you? The one that I actually
rewatch about once a year on YouTube and literally I
get choked up every single time is right after nine eleven.
It was the two thousand two year with YouTube playing America. Um,
(07:39):
you know it's for people who were too young at
the time. Um, it was just the strangest time in
our country. People were still very nervous. There was a real,
real strong sense of patriotism, but a gathering like the
super Bowl people were particularly a nervous. And we also
had a band playing that wasn't a ma Akin, so
(08:00):
you didn't really know what's to come. I love you too,
but I wasn't quite sure what they were going to
do with it. They actually I didn't even remember this
at the time. They only played three songs and they
were just mesmerizing and what they did at the end
when they had this ginormous screen and they rolled scrolled
the names of the victims of nine eleven, and then
(08:22):
Bono at the end opens his leather jacket and inside
is an American flag, and it just reminded you reminded
me of how powerful the halftime show is and what
that platform is and the tribute that they paid to
the victims. I just thought it was really really the
(08:43):
most gorgeous moment that I've seen at halftime. There are
so many incredible moments in Super Bowl history, culturally, musically.
Our halftime historian says the most important one came in
I think Michael Jackson up the production anti. I think
(09:05):
before the super Bowl halftime show was for most people
just a break to sort of do re up on
refreshments and bathroom breaks. But since the super Bowl halftime show,
I think has almost become the epicenter and almost a
(09:26):
guarantee of what draws in non sports people to watch
the Super Bowl. Today's halftime shows are star studded, but
it wasn't always that way. For decades, they were similar
to something you'd see at a college football game. Marching bands,
Kids with the Music nonprofit up with people, maybe the
occasional music celebrity Duke Ellington or Chubby Checker Dion. Was
(09:49):
that a turning point in your mind? Like what was
what did MJ's show mean to you? And what did
that do to the Super Bowl halftime show? I mean
it's yeah, I feel like every show just established as
kind of a new, a better or a different bar. Right.
So for him, I just remember like the magic of
(10:12):
him popping up on all of these jumbo tron's and
then popping up on the stage. I mean, no one
had seen something like that, like live on TV. And
then even when they took all of the paper, which
is also funny to think about how that's changed to
like led now. But when everybody held up their paper
(10:34):
and made like all the kids around the whole stadium
for he healed the world, I mean it just became like,
what are the big theatrical things that we can do now?
Like Diana Ross who performed for the thirtieth anniversary of
the Super Bowl and had a chopper lift her out
of the stadium because I mean Diana with her helicopter,
(10:56):
which people are still asking for helicopters. We get knows,
but they're like she hid it. You know, so people
are like, how do we get dropped in? How we
get lifted out? Like in a drone? Bring me in.
There are all these things and prints. I don't think
anyone will ever, ever, ever, ever ever be able to
(11:16):
up prints for the simple fact that it started raining
during Purple Rain. Seven in the rain, I mean God
participated and is performance, I mean that was. It's like
(11:39):
I watch it to this day. It like brings me
to tears, like the big curtain and his shadow and
the rain and the music. The production value of these
shows is incredible. It has to be for a lot
of artists, even huge names like Prince. It's their best
shot to appeal to broader audience of fans. I heard
(12:01):
a story from art commissioner Roger Goodell about Bruce Springsteen
when he was rehearsing and he was about to go
on stage, and he told Roger like, I'm really nervous
for this, and he usually isn't nervous. So quest of Dion,
what is it about the Super Bowl halftime show in
particular that makes artists anxious compared to their normal sets
and concerts. You know, an artists like Springsteen like Springsteen
(12:24):
is actually even though he's an a lost artist Springsteen
and the same can also be safe for Prince. Uh,
those are there, they are called artists. They're called artists
with millions of followers. So like, it's not like Springsteen
is so much in the mainstream that he's easily like
(12:47):
a person like Michael Jackson sort of falls into that
that realm where you're so ubiquitous that you're kind of
like bread or water or accident or as you know,
with both Prince and Springsteen their niche artists. So it's
like Springsteen fans come in the millions to support him,
(13:09):
and it's not necessarily guaranteed, uh that their brand will
easily resonate with whom we think is watching be halftime.
Of course it's silly because basically all of America is watching.
But you know that's also it's it's easy for Bruce
(13:32):
to be relaxed in at his own concerts because he
knows that everyone is there specifically has emotional investment in
Bruce Springsteen, whereas now he's sort of being put in
a vulnerable position where he has to uh prove that
he has the goods. That's an interesting perspective because able
(13:56):
the Weekend. He was nervous too, And I think it
was our last rehearsal before show, which crazy is three
days before the show. It happens on Friday, and you
don't do it again until Sunday at halftime. So we're
in that crazy pass and you know, we get through
(14:18):
it and it's really good, and we're just kind of
standing there looking out and he's like, this is crazy.
He was like, this is crazy. I don't know how
people get out here and do this every week, like
as an athlete, as he was just like, it's it's
a trip. And what you said plus of about you know,
(14:42):
the Weekend is not a super mainstream artist. He's a
big star, but he's specific. So the thought of a
hundred and twenty million people, not people who came to
see you, but just people who are watching to either
cheer you on or look for something that you messed
up on. It's got to be a crazy experience. And
(15:02):
it's fully live, which comes with its own nervousness. If
you are the unicorn who didn't see The Weekend's performance
during the halftime show in Tampa, do yourself a favor
and go watch it. There's a socially distanced choir, lots
of dancers in COVID masks, and he moves around in
this fun room type maze that you actually couldn't see
(15:24):
if you were there in person, but it blew up online.
Quest Love called the show a paradigm shift. I realized
watching his performance live as as a fifty year old,
you know, I was like, well, okay, this is interesting,
this whatever. But I realized that because we live in
a place where social media is is our our epicenter,
(15:48):
are are our life? Weekend all all ready won the
Super Bowl because out of that whole performance came a
three seconds of us, okay in the room looking right.
You see it all over him. Yeah, when the smoke
is cleared and it's and it's and it's twenty five,
(16:13):
that Jeff will still be here beyond his music, beyond
I don't know who you're using England. You know you're
laughing because I'm telling the truth, you know, I will
say that was definitely a different experience. I mean, all
of this is primarily for TV. You want you want
(16:33):
the people in the stadium to have a good experience,
but ultimately you're playing to cameras we talked about what
the halftime show might look like ten even twenty years
from now. I fully expect by maybe the conversation of, uh, well,
like what you Houston's doing it right now in Vegas
(16:54):
where her hologram is about to perform and go on tour.
So I wouldn't be at all shocked by maybe the
first hologram performance will halftime show. You know, over in
Japan there are sort of like anime start like celebrities
that are in the avatars, right, yeah, avatars that are
(17:18):
you know even real anymore? Like I mean there's space
for that. What about like the Oculus headsets, so like
instead of watching it on TV, everybody's in their virtual
world watching it. Maybe you're on the stage, maybe you're
on the field like there that that could I don't
even see that as like that could potentially be in
(17:41):
the next two years, you know. Dion and quest Love
share a theory that in the past, production teams would
go all in with one idea one year and then
have to readjust based on content or budget. So the
year after Michael Jackson performed it was Travis Tripp, Tanya Tucker,
Clint Black and the Judgs. They go back like it
(18:01):
was almost like a pushback like okay, no for that
another you guys coming to our we we're gonna keep
American football, so let's go. And even a year after that,
I think there was I remember, yeah, maybe that was
based on on you know, ratings going down after halftime
that they realized like, oh, we have to have somebody
(18:22):
just sustained us. Because then by that point I remember
like MTV like other shows, saw the Living Color example
and then said Okay, come halftime, We're going to steal
the the super Bowl crowd away and bring him to
and that's what was happening. So yeah, I almost feel
like the Dina Ross moment was the moment where the
NFL realized that we we have to We came to
(18:44):
play and we have full budget. Could have easily eaten
up the budget for the following two years, so they
might have had to catch up and then to worth Worth.
So we can kind of categorize super Bowl halftime shows
as before Michael and Deanna, after Michael and Diana. Then
(19:06):
there are the shows that become iconic because they take
place during a significant moment in time, like the one
Jane talked about. You too. Actually, I think maybe that
was the first time I went to the Super Bowl.
I remember I started going to all of them. I
(19:27):
believe that was my my very first one that I
went to. UM So, I definitely remember the feeling in
the air, like you know, two thousand two was post
like the seven months after UH nine eleven. It was.
It was a different feeling, you know. I'm not saying
it was a kindler, gentler nation or whatever, but I
(19:50):
definitely remember like wanting to stay to see what YouTube like, Okay,
we know that they're going to do something special for
the tribute, for the moral all those things, and so yeah,
I remember that being a moment there was It was
almost like an innocence lost nine eleven was because a
(20:11):
lot of people hadn't dealt with acts of war like
World War you know, certain generations they remember World War two,
World War One, whatever it was, and I think there
were a lot of people that were like, wait a minute,
you know this were this kind of false sense of
(20:32):
security and a nervousness about being in groups, being in
places that could be targeted. There's a lot of security,
so it was almost like raising the flag, no pun intended,
but but really just showing the resiliency, honoring the people
who have been lost, showing that we can still do
(20:53):
this big cultural thing in the country despite what just happened.
I think it was full for people. And then there
are the shows that make headlines for well totally unexpected reasons,
like Super Bowl thirty eight. The Panthers are playing the
Patriots and the halftime show is stacked, MTV is producing,
(21:14):
and some of the year's biggest names are there. Did
He Nellie, Kid Rock, Jessica Simpson you don't remember, here's why.
Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were there too. I think
this is the first time that did He truly got
upstay about you talk about the elements of the eight
(21:41):
minutes that came of the seven minutes and fifty three
seconds before that that moment nobody I forgot about him.
I don't mean I forgot he was in it. Like
there not to mention, you know, all those hits like
(22:06):
Nellie was there doing hot near like that. Two thousand
four was like the best of the early arts. That
was like the first I remember that just being a mixtape,
you know, a mix tape of groups that you wouldn't
put together, like Kid Rock in any other circumstance. I
mean as many times if I've set next to him,
(22:26):
like near the Grammys or whatever, and just look at
his facial expressions at like you know that whoever the
trl darling on the moment was so it's it's only
only in this very specific situation could you have like
Jessica Simpson and Kid Rock and we could devote a
(22:47):
full episode or even a series to that show alone.
Here are the broad strokes. The show kicks off with
a video montage of celebrities encouraging viewers to vote in
that year's presidential elections. Then Jessica Simpson appears with a
marching band. Headliner Janet Jackson takes the stage, followed by Diddy,
Nellie and Kid Rock. Then Janet comes back to close
(23:10):
out the show and is joined by Justin Timberlake for
his hit rock Your Body. Then, in the final seconds
this happens, Justin reaches over and rips Janet's top to
reveal a pasty. Then all hell breaks loose, at least
for those watching at home and the producers of the show.
That was my first Super Bowl in stadium, and I
(23:32):
remember not we didn't really know what just happened. We
thought something happened. We just couldn't really tell was there. Like,
we didn't really didn't see it. I don't think anything.
We saw a look of horror, but we didn't know
if maybe you know that we didn't see any part
(23:53):
of her body or my seats. I didn't see any
part of her body. But we knew something happened, We
just didn't know what. In social media wasn't a thing
what happened, Yeah, exactly. It didn't take long. Both MTV
and CBS apologized right away and said that they had
no knowledge that the show would involve partial nudity. Janet
and Justin did the same, calling it a wardrobe malfunction
(24:16):
and said the initial plan was to reveal a bra.
There were FCC fines and lawsuits. Viacom, which owns CBS,
ended up paying three and a half million dollars to
settle indecency complaints. For Janet Jackson, it was especially devastating.
She was banned from presenting at the Grammys that year
and discouraged from attending. Justin Timberlake, though was allowed to
(24:38):
attend and present as long as he apologized during the show.
Her subsequent album was blacklisted by Viacom subsidiaries, which include
VH one, MTV and Clear Channel, one of the largest
radio broadcasters. Really, I mean you know, if you don't
know that was the ripping, I mean what you know,
(25:04):
but it was it was really sad, uh and discouraging
to see how she how Janet was vilified in this.
And it always confused me because I was like, she
got the thing ripped off of She didn't rip it
off like at that frustrated it was like he did it.
(25:26):
If you want to blame somebody, blame the person who
ripped the material, not the person whose material got ripped.
And it's just like this culture blaming women. You know,
I saw that a showbiz moment, okay, you know, controversy,
sales or whatever. However, we learned quickly that if uh,
(25:48):
a black woman does a stunt like that, then there's
a price to pay for it. And you know, I
for one, like my life, it wasn't ended with the
showing of a nipple. I mean, to be honest with you,
I've missed it, Like you know, I wasn't like it
(26:08):
wasn't like my eyes were blue to the to the
TV like what you know, I think it was in
the kitchen and everyone started screaming like, oh my god,
like they didn't know what they saw. But as far
as the outrage was concerned, UM, I see it as
as fake outrage. There's not a single thing that happens
in that show that is not run by every single
(26:30):
stakeholder in the Super Bowl world, from the NFL to
PEPSI in our case, to whatever network it's on, Like
everybody literally gets a minute by minute of what you
will see, who's gonna do, what, what they're wearing. Everything
(26:51):
has to be approved in advance. Well in advance they're
they're so you're saying, like they would have had to
come completely, never rehearse it, never talk about it, never anything.
I just don't. I do think that's possible, but I
(27:12):
also think that that is really, really, really risky for
a lot of reasons. And if the producer said she
felt betrayed, that would make me feel like some people
were like, oh, do it, It'll be fine. And then
when everybody was like plutches pearls, they were like, point
the figures she did this, Like that would make me
(27:35):
be like, but you guys approved this. Next up, Dion
takes us inside this year's halftime show. You know, I
think they all feel a responsibility, like we are doing
this for our community. We're coming back to our community,
and this is for them. I think there's some added
weight to this that maybe hasn't been a part of
(27:56):
other super Bowls. You know, they owe this to their community. Plus,
she and quest Love share their favorite shows in halftime
history and what they dreamed to see in halftime future.
This year's halftime show super Bowl fifty six has what
(28:19):
I consider a dream line up. Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar,
Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem Dion called it the
blackest show in Super Bowl history. It's also a way
to honor l a where this game is being held
in the brand new, beautiful Sofi Stadium. The most significant
thing about the Super Bowl is the fact that it's
(28:40):
in Englewood. When we found out that these were the artists,
it was what I hoped. When I found out it
was so Fi, I was like, oh my god, it
would be so amazing if it were like Dre and
Snoop And it was this whole West Coast moment. And
you know, we got the call from Rock Nation that
that's who the art stour and we were thrilled, and
(29:03):
I think the full circle moment of you know, these
artists and you know, Mary's from New York and Eminem's
from Detroit, but Dre, Snoop, and Kendrick came up in
really rough parts of Los Angeles, you know, really tough upbringings.
They overcame a lot to get where they are. So
(29:27):
the full circle moment of kind of imagining them as
youth navigating the streets of l A during the times,
you know, some of the worst times in this city
to now being on the biggest world stage in their city.
You know, I think they all feel a responsibility, like
(29:49):
we are doing this for our community. We're coming back
to our community, and this is for them. I asked
her for a tease of what to you expect. She
smiled and would only say that Dr Dre plays a
central role in the story. He is the the glue
that holds all of this together. You know, Dre was
responsible for Snoop. You know Dre was responsible for Eminem
(30:12):
and Kendrick. You know, he had a huge hand in
Mary's career and has produced albums for her. So in
the way that he's a producer. He is like the
artist producer of the super Bowl. She hopes the show
will go down in history as one of those iconic
performances like You two and O two, Prince in Oh
(30:35):
seven or Beyonce Times Too. Was he the formation that
to me was the the the the blackest moment at
a super Bowl halftime show And I loved I was
there for that. Quest Love called it one of the
most magical things he's seen on stage. A lot of
people say she stole the show from the headliner, Coalplay
(30:56):
with her tribute to black culture. It's interesting because I
I think Beyonce is really the only artist who could
have done that because she just I don't know, I
don't even know how to explain what I mean by that,
But you know, such a blatant, clear message of just
(31:16):
like um, black lives matter, pride and resistance and protest.
But you know, there there was a world when you know,
a black woman would definitely be canceled like, oh my god,
that's angry, that's scary, Like we don't do that all
(31:38):
lives whatever it is, um. But she was able to
perform that message loud and clear, and it resonated to
to everybody um, and I didn't seem much negative about it.
I mean, some of it could have been that maybe
people didn't even understand how truly black that moment. It
(32:02):
was like that might have been super inside her baseball.
But we were all like, you know, but it it.
It was empowering, especially in that moment of time. It
was a huge moment in Beyonce's career. The Super Bowl
has a way of moving the needle for artists, even
when they're already household names. I felt that the moment
(32:24):
was a game changer for her, and she flew, which
you don't see a lot. The Lady Gaga Show was
one of my producer Jane's top moments too. On the
top of the roof and then she comes down and
she's singing and moving and doing acrobatics. She is all
over that stage. Then she's at the piano. She stops,
(32:44):
says HI to her mom and dad. It is so incredible,
it's so aerobic. Her voice sounded good. She did the
perfect you know medley of her songs. She kind of
paid tribute to the league, I thought in a really
great way. And I thought she said that are so
high for everybody coming after her. For me, that was
such a moment for Goda to prove that that was her.
(33:08):
That was her moment, in my opinion, to really deliver
on the promise of what we wanted her to be.
And I almost feel as though that an entire moment
um that she rose the occasion and really showed not
(33:29):
even America, but the world as a creative, as an artist,
as as an a list celebrity, that she indeed had
the goods to deliver. That's just one of those moments
that I felt allowed her the leverage to continue to
(33:49):
go on. It's crazy this surprise element too, because when
she starts, since she's singing America the Beautiful, You're like, wait,
didn't this already happen in the pre show? Like what
are we doing? Like this not what I'm here for,
you know, disrespect that patriotic, but you're like and then
for her to just dive down and she's hanging, she's flying,
(34:11):
she's doing all of these things. I think that surprise
element made it hit that much harder. So Lady Gaga
makes the list of the best we've covered YouTube Diana Ross, Beyonce,
Michael Jackson as for the very best in halftime history,
(34:32):
though we all agreed it's one name I want to
see see Leven in the that that was probably be
(34:53):
I thought that was the first genuine moment that an
artist that really didn't fall in line with the unspoken
white elephant of quote unquote American values. Like, you know,
I would like to think that when they're choosing, you know,
you're either choosing someone who's like next to God, like
(35:14):
with Michael Jackson's like that's next to God. With Diana
Ross that's like, well, she's part of the Motown ILK.
So you know, all Motown artists sort of get that
that past, so you know, it's it's it's easier. You know,
there was a year where then the then the Blues
Brothers once to do a year or two, like I
remember at ROYD when Blues Brothers, uh, the sequel came out,
(35:37):
I think they were the halftime at So it's almost right.
So I almost feel as though that Prince was the
first time that an artist that clearly his younger self
would have given the middle finger to the idea of
this sort of amalgamation Americana. And you know, he's playing
(36:04):
ball because it's different than like the Rolling Stones doing it,
or the year that Paul McCartney did it. You know,
Prince is not like he didn't come to us in
American Pie or Next to God format that the Stones
and Michael Jackson did, so for him to do it,
(36:26):
that was the first time where I finally saw the
NFL organization and the Super Bowl sort of coming to
our side of the fence, you know, like you have
to meet in the middle. And he cleared, he delivered
like that rain was the best thing that ever happened
to him. It almost it was like he's magic. He's
actually magic. Yes, he made this happen. This is another
(36:48):
one of those shows you have to go back and watch.
It's pouring rain and Princes performing with pyrotechnics, electric guitars
and a full band. When he starts playing purple rain,
entire stadium sings along just to see him in that environment.
(37:14):
And it can just nighttime. This beautiful curtain blowing in
the wind and the shadow on it, with this simple
guitar and the rain. I mean, it was just really
it gives me goose bumps even to this day thinking
about it. Every time I see it, every time I
(37:36):
hear like hearing the roar of that room, stadium. It
just really I don't know if you could ever top that,
because every single element combined to make that happen. And
in two thousand seventy on it was it wasn't just raining,
(37:56):
it was we woke up and it was poor rain,
good buckets of rain, right and right before the show
was about the halftime show was about to start. To
As a producer, now, how how would you have handled that?
I feel like my entire job is like the problem solutions,
something happens, deal with the the show must go on.
So there's nothing you can do in that moment. I
(38:19):
mean you can't, you know, phone the weather and say, hey,
can you stop this for fifteen minutes? So you really
just have to you know, there are contingencies. I'm sure
they had some contingencies in place, and and it's really
a game time decision, and there are a lot of them.
What this team does is mind boggling. The show itself
(38:42):
is a precisely produced twelve minutes, made more challenging by
the fact that the crew has roughly five minutes to
set everything up and another five to break everything down.
I mean literally, the moment halftime starts that exact second
everyone gets out and they start building, and then once
(39:02):
everything is done, you'll kind of have lights down. That
moment you'll hear the voice, you know, welcome to the
Pepsi super Bowl fifty six at times show. And then boom,
your show starts right there. And I mean from that
last kind of hero shot, you know, you think your
white shot, all of the bells and whistles. The moment
(39:25):
that that's done, that clock starts counting down and then
you're taking everything off in this perfect choreograph routine, and
then it's over and it goes by like a like
a snap. It's crazy, like you look up and you're like,
oh my god, I can't believe, like that just happened.
(39:46):
It's an incredibly complicated dance that hundreds of people spend
weeks practicing. This year, Dion's team has constructed the set
at a nearby airplane hangar where they're rehearsing every single
move by every single person from stage hand to superstar. Well,
the good thing is that's what rehearsals are for. So
in those rehearsals, we will run through, everything will stop down,
(40:10):
we'll go, we'll stop rewind, we'll look you know what,
this camera is great, and you're really planning all of
that in advance so that hopefully by game day you're
kind of moving on autopilot. Dion. In addition to producing
one of the biggest Super Bowl halftime shows we've ever
seen this year, you also made history last year. Is
(40:32):
the first black woman, the first woman of color to
produce a Super Bowl halftime show. And there was so
much intentionality across the board with everyone who was hired
to bring this to life. Talk to us about that impact,
what that means to you. I mean it, you don't
even think about it. It's someone just set it in
passing last year and I was like, what, oh, that's crazy.
(40:55):
I had no idea. And you know, there is uh
just a sense of pride and a sense of responsibility.
And we had a lot of women in key roles
on the show, and it wasn't even like we gotta
get a bunch of women in here. These women are
(41:16):
truly the top of their field and and the best
people to come put this show together, which had so
many challenges because of COVID. But um Lila Nicole, she
was the first Latina department had. She ran wardrobe. She's
coming back this year as well. Um As Devlin, who
(41:41):
was the creative mind behind the design of the Weekends
set and is also the creative director for US this year,
so it's amazing to have her back. For Tima Robinson,
who is a choreographer who has worked on two or
three Super Bowls in the past, asked and she's coming
(42:02):
back and joining us. So, you know, another year with
a lot of really strong women in in key positions.
And this show is made even more special by the
fact that Mary J. Blige will be the only female
headliner on the stage. When I think about Mary, there
is a Mary J. Blige song for every moment in
(42:22):
my life. If I'm happy, if I'm sad, if I'm mad,
if I'm frustrated, um if I'm in love, if I
had a breakup. And I think that she has this
voice that people connect with and she's down to earth.
I mean, she's like your girlfriend that you can have
(42:44):
drinks with and hang out with. There's no pretenses about her.
And for her to be such a huge star and
to have sold millions and millions of records and toward
the world many times over all of the awards has
remained grounded and you know, just continues to inspire the
(43:07):
next generation of singers, but is still also out there
making music and touring and being the big star that
that she is. I think in this lineup, she is
one of the few women that can stand and hold
her own next to these humongous personalities that are around her.
(43:27):
I couldn't let Dion and quest Love go without asking
them for their dream halftime lineups. Not that you asked,
but mine would be a nod to nineties female hip
hop and rap artists including Lauren Hill, Ms Elliott, Little Kim,
Foxy Brown, and TLC. You know what I would love
to see and it could still happen, and I'm certain
(43:48):
that you know I. I think I would love to
see kind of a p funk red out Chili Peppers,
just just George Clinton kind of lead, because he's theatrical
and he fits right into it. And I mean he's
a staple whether America wants. I mean, he's just as
(44:10):
American as apple pious, you know, and he's he's a
he's I don't even consider McCall artist, like what he's
done for funk music, which should be acknowledged. Like I
feel as though George Clinton. That could be very interesting
to see. I think I would love to see just
for the creativity and theatrics of it, Tyler the Creator
(44:35):
and Frank Ocean that if that there's nothing more inside
baseball than this pairing, but it would be like the
most really stunning create. I would have to obviously, are
you ready? Because you know and I know that if
(44:56):
Tyler ever given, if you give Tyler an inch, I'm sorry.
I did his last two performances A m As where
it's snowed on him and he rode off in a
Vespa and the b DT Awards where he was blown
away with debris. I love working with him like I
(45:17):
love his team. I feel like if you give him
this canvas of this field and say come up with
thirteen minutes, I would just be like, what is it?
Tell me? I'm ready, let's do it. Well, Commissioner Cadell,
if you're listening, Tyler the Creator Frank Ocean as the producer,
(45:38):
we're gonna put that out in the universe. Oh you
better believe I will make sure he's listening. Uh. He
doesn't always love my input over the dinner table, but
when I tell him tonight that it came from Dion
and Quest Love. Well, I'll tell you what those two
are the dream line up for the finale of our
first season of The urn in It Podcast. A huge
thanks to both Dion harm In and Quest Love for
(46:02):
being game to take us on a ride through halftime history. Jane,
this has been a blast. Thank you for forcing me
to this, Mike, and for trusting me with the task
of bringing your ideas to life. Well, Sam, I would
say thank you because you're the one who actually brought
them to life. I felt like the interviews we got
from the biggest names, starting with the commissioner and the
(46:24):
head coaches, the Ron Riveraz and Sean McDermott and come on,
Billy Jean King, you brought them to life because it's
the people who know you and trust you who opened up.
And I feel like we got terrific interviews because of that.
But also people came on the pod who just knew
of you, and they respected you so much and they
trusted you to open up. So thank you for making
(46:44):
it such a blast. And a special shout out to
the incredible badass I Heart Media team, Sean Jason, Mike, Julia,
Kurt Grace. Thank you for making us sound amazing all season.
Wow for many zooms. I'm not sure that this season
could get any more exciting, but let's go watch some football.
(47:05):
Do it.
On this special edition of Earning It, I've never been
to call you. Bat Ray was the best thing that
ever happened to him. It almost it was like he's managed.
We take you inside the greatest show on Earth, can't
We can't? The Super Bowl Halftime Show. Hello, and welcome
(00:31):
back to Earning It. I'm Sam Rappaport. For those of
you who haven't listened to our earlier episodes, this show
is about a pipeline I helped create within the NFL
to bring more women into the game, both on and
off the field. I'm a former professional quarterback and work
at the league. My producer, Jane Skinner Goodell, is an
NFL super fan and veteran journalist. She actually dreamed up
(00:53):
the show and pitched me as the host. We should
also point out, Sam, that I'm married to the commissioner,
so I am the lucky one. Have seen a whole
lot of halftime shows in person. I pitched you because
I think you have the perfect voice to tell this story. First,
you know football like nobody's business. I've seen you beat
Roger Goodell on a football field. Second, you're responsible for
(01:15):
so many women that we're seeing in the NFL today.
On the field, in the front office. And third, and
this is probably the most important of all for me.
When I told you that I was going to pitch
you as the host, you immediately said, uh, can I swear?
What an incredible season? I had more pinched me moments
than I can explain. And I'm not sure my feet
(01:35):
touched the ground during any of these interviews. You know,
we spoke to NFL head coaches, owners, the commissioner, who
I cursed at whoops and he cried on the episode.
That certainly stood out to me, you know, and icons
like Billy Jean King, who I've looked up to since
I was a kid. And so just how the NFL
season ends with a big bang. Jane and I wanted
(01:56):
to finish our first season with a bang. And the
cool thing is you don't even need to like football
to be into this one. I'm talking about the Super
Bowl halftime show. It's a very very big deal. It's
a big deal for the NFL, it's a big deal
for music. It's a huge deal for television. I mean,
each year it's the most watched twelve minutes on TV.
(02:16):
Can you imagine putting on basically a concert in twelve minutes.
They have to put up that set, breakdown that set,
and make sure everything goes flawlessly, not just for people
in the stadium, but really more so for people on television.
So the hype for this game is so incredible, and
to understand what goes into making that twelve minutes of
(02:38):
TV is pretty mind boggling. There is a woman behind that.
She's so smart and she is so chill. I think
she has to be to have that role to make
everything goes so perfectly. So I knew about Dion Harmon.
I had to find a way to get to her,
so I went through a friend of a friend of
a friend. She was so nice. She got on a
call with me and I said, I can't have this idea.
(03:01):
We don't want to blow any surprises, but could you
kind of take us behind the scenes. What goes into
your thinking when you're creating the halftime show, particularly for
Super Bowl fifty six. She's got five performers, that's a
lot and there's a lot of pressure on her. And
I said, I also love to know how much history
you take into account when you're planning a show, when
(03:23):
you're looking at the creative and she said, a lot
and I said, Okay. That leads me to my next question.
I'm thinking we could bring along someone who could act
as a halftime historian. And I have an idea. I
think quest Love is the perfect person for that. He's
such a student of history. He's a musical genius. I
know he goes to the Super Bowls. Wouldn't that be
(03:43):
fun to have the two of you do it together?
And she said, oh, I'll text him if you don't
know quest Love. He's the co founder of The Roots,
now the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
He directs movies like Summer of Soul. He's been a professor. Basically,
he's perfect for this assignment. So Deon convinced quest Love
(04:03):
to do it. He said, I normally don't do stuff
like this, but she asked me, and I'm into it,
and there we have it. Dion is a force. She's
produced the Oscars, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the American
Music Awards, the b ET Awards. She produced Kendrick Lamar's
Coachella performance, which eventually became his world tour. She's also
(04:24):
dj professionally for years, which she says is a lot
like producing it's the music. And again it's creating a moment,
an environment that you know, people can just come and
you're shaping this experience. So in a way, producing is
the same thing visually as Deejaying is are. She was
responsible for the Super Bowl halftime show featuring The Weekend,
(04:48):
which she called the most nerve racking show of her
life until of course, this year. This year we have
Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick
Lamar and all of them are amazing and could headline
this on their own. And the good thing is that
(05:09):
we have worked with each of these artists for many years,
so we're familiar with them and we're familiar with their teams.
And one thing that I love about this process is
that they are all working together, like there's no conflict
or ego around any of this. I came into it like,
oh my God, like, how are we going to deal
(05:30):
with all of these people? But it's been really amazing
and they're all excited. They all want to make this
the best thing, the best super Bowl that there ever
has been, and um, you know, they're just coming together
to make a moment. Sam, I have to ask you.
We're about to ask Dion and quest Love what their
(05:53):
favorite shows are, what the most iconic shows are, what
the most important halftime shows are. I've actually never asked
you what is your favorite super Bowl halftime show? I
think my most memorable super Bowl halftime show was the
first super Bowl I ever attended in two thousand and four,
when I could not believe I was in the stands
of that game, and that was when Janet Jackson and
(06:13):
Justin Timberlake performed, and in the stands, we didn't know
what happened right when he ripped that piece of clothing
off her chest and until until I got home. You know,
social media wasn't even burgeoning at that point until I
got home to I really know what happened. Um, but
I'm a big Beyonce fan, and Beyonce's show a couple
of years ago was one that I'll never forget. Which
(06:34):
of the Beyonces did you like better? There's that was
when the lights went out two plays into it. I'll
never forget that game. And I remember watching Beyonce and
then Destiny's Child come out and thinking that that was
(06:56):
the best and most entertaining super Bowl halftime show that
I had witnessed in person. It was mind blowing and
as a Beyonce fan, to be breathing the same error
as her in the stadium was really cool experience. Which
that's what happens when leaves to feel Yeah, she she
took all the energy with her. Jane, you've been to
many super Bowls. What's the one super Bowl halftime show
(07:17):
that sticks out for you? The one that I actually
rewatch about once a year on YouTube and literally I
get choked up every single time is right after nine eleven.
It was the two thousand two year with YouTube playing America. Um,
(07:39):
you know it's for people who were too young at
the time. Um, it was just the strangest time in
our country. People were still very nervous. There was a real,
real strong sense of patriotism, but a gathering like the
super Bowl people were particularly a nervous. And we also
had a band playing that wasn't a ma Akin, so
(08:00):
you didn't really know what's to come. I love you too,
but I wasn't quite sure what they were going to
do with it. They actually I didn't even remember this
at the time. They only played three songs and they
were just mesmerizing and what they did at the end
when they had this ginormous screen and they rolled scrolled
the names of the victims of nine eleven, and then
(08:22):
Bono at the end opens his leather jacket and inside
is an American flag, and it just reminded you reminded
me of how powerful the halftime show is and what
that platform is and the tribute that they paid to
the victims. I just thought it was really really the
(08:43):
most gorgeous moment that I've seen at halftime. There are
so many incredible moments in Super Bowl history, culturally, musically.
Our halftime historian says the most important one came in
I think Michael Jackson up the production anti. I think
(09:05):
before the super Bowl halftime show was for most people
just a break to sort of do re up on
refreshments and bathroom breaks. But since the super Bowl halftime show,
I think has almost become the epicenter and almost a
(09:26):
guarantee of what draws in non sports people to watch
the Super Bowl. Today's halftime shows are star studded, but
it wasn't always that way. For decades, they were similar
to something you'd see at a college football game. Marching bands,
Kids with the Music nonprofit up with people, maybe the
occasional music celebrity Duke Ellington or Chubby Checker Dion. Was
(09:49):
that a turning point in your mind? Like what was
what did MJ's show mean to you? And what did
that do to the Super Bowl halftime show? I mean
it's yeah, I feel like every show just established as
kind of a new, a better or a different bar. Right.
So for him, I just remember like the magic of
(10:12):
him popping up on all of these jumbo tron's and
then popping up on the stage. I mean, no one
had seen something like that, like live on TV. And
then even when they took all of the paper, which
is also funny to think about how that's changed to
like led now. But when everybody held up their paper
(10:34):
and made like all the kids around the whole stadium
for he healed the world, I mean it just became like,
what are the big theatrical things that we can do now?
Like Diana Ross who performed for the thirtieth anniversary of
the Super Bowl and had a chopper lift her out
of the stadium because I mean Diana with her helicopter,
(10:56):
which people are still asking for helicopters. We get knows,
but they're like she hid it. You know, so people
are like, how do we get dropped in? How we
get lifted out? Like in a drone? Bring me in.
There are all these things and prints. I don't think
anyone will ever, ever, ever, ever ever be able to
(11:16):
up prints for the simple fact that it started raining
during Purple Rain. Seven in the rain, I mean God
participated and is performance, I mean that was. It's like
(11:39):
I watch it to this day. It like brings me
to tears, like the big curtain and his shadow and
the rain and the music. The production value of these
shows is incredible. It has to be for a lot
of artists, even huge names like Prince. It's their best
shot to appeal to broader audience of fans. I heard
(12:01):
a story from art commissioner Roger Goodell about Bruce Springsteen
when he was rehearsing and he was about to go
on stage, and he told Roger like, I'm really nervous
for this, and he usually isn't nervous. So quest of Dion,
what is it about the Super Bowl halftime show in
particular that makes artists anxious compared to their normal sets
and concerts. You know, an artists like Springsteen like Springsteen
(12:24):
is actually even though he's an a lost artist Springsteen
and the same can also be safe for Prince. Uh,
those are there, they are called artists. They're called artists
with millions of followers. So like, it's not like Springsteen
is so much in the mainstream that he's easily like
(12:47):
a person like Michael Jackson sort of falls into that
that realm where you're so ubiquitous that you're kind of
like bread or water or accident or as you know,
with both Prince and Springsteen their niche artists. So it's
like Springsteen fans come in the millions to support him,
(13:09):
and it's not necessarily guaranteed, uh that their brand will
easily resonate with whom we think is watching be halftime.
Of course it's silly because basically all of America is watching.
But you know that's also it's it's easy for Bruce
(13:32):
to be relaxed in at his own concerts because he
knows that everyone is there specifically has emotional investment in
Bruce Springsteen, whereas now he's sort of being put in
a vulnerable position where he has to uh prove that
he has the goods. That's an interesting perspective because able
(13:56):
the Weekend. He was nervous too, And I think it
was our last rehearsal before show, which crazy is three
days before the show. It happens on Friday, and you
don't do it again until Sunday at halftime. So we're
in that crazy pass and you know, we get through
(14:18):
it and it's really good, and we're just kind of
standing there looking out and he's like, this is crazy.
He was like, this is crazy. I don't know how
people get out here and do this every week, like
as an athlete, as he was just like, it's it's
a trip. And what you said plus of about you know,
(14:42):
the Weekend is not a super mainstream artist. He's a
big star, but he's specific. So the thought of a
hundred and twenty million people, not people who came to
see you, but just people who are watching to either
cheer you on or look for something that you messed
up on. It's got to be a crazy experience. And
(15:02):
it's fully live, which comes with its own nervousness. If
you are the unicorn who didn't see The Weekend's performance
during the halftime show in Tampa, do yourself a favor
and go watch it. There's a socially distanced choir, lots
of dancers in COVID masks, and he moves around in
this fun room type maze that you actually couldn't see
(15:24):
if you were there in person, but it blew up online.
Quest Love called the show a paradigm shift. I realized
watching his performance live as as a fifty year old,
you know, I was like, well, okay, this is interesting,
this whatever. But I realized that because we live in
a place where social media is is our our epicenter,
(15:48):
are are our life? Weekend all all ready won the
Super Bowl because out of that whole performance came a
three seconds of us, okay in the room looking right.
You see it all over him. Yeah, when the smoke
is cleared and it's and it's and it's twenty five,
(16:13):
that Jeff will still be here beyond his music, beyond
I don't know who you're using England. You know you're
laughing because I'm telling the truth, you know, I will
say that was definitely a different experience. I mean, all
of this is primarily for TV. You want you want
(16:33):
the people in the stadium to have a good experience,
but ultimately you're playing to cameras we talked about what
the halftime show might look like ten even twenty years
from now. I fully expect by maybe the conversation of, uh, well,
like what you Houston's doing it right now in Vegas
(16:54):
where her hologram is about to perform and go on tour.
So I wouldn't be at all shocked by maybe the
first hologram performance will halftime show. You know, over in
Japan there are sort of like anime start like celebrities
that are in the avatars, right, yeah, avatars that are
(17:18):
you know even real anymore? Like I mean there's space
for that. What about like the Oculus headsets, so like
instead of watching it on TV, everybody's in their virtual
world watching it. Maybe you're on the stage, maybe you're
on the field like there that that could I don't
even see that as like that could potentially be in
(17:41):
the next two years, you know. Dion and quest Love
share a theory that in the past, production teams would
go all in with one idea one year and then
have to readjust based on content or budget. So the
year after Michael Jackson performed it was Travis Tripp, Tanya Tucker,
Clint Black and the Judgs. They go back like it
(18:01):
was almost like a pushback like okay, no for that
another you guys coming to our we we're gonna keep
American football, so let's go. And even a year after that,
I think there was I remember, yeah, maybe that was
based on on you know, ratings going down after halftime
that they realized like, oh, we have to have somebody
(18:22):
just sustained us. Because then by that point I remember
like MTV like other shows, saw the Living Color example
and then said Okay, come halftime, We're going to steal
the the super Bowl crowd away and bring him to
and that's what was happening. So yeah, I almost feel
like the Dina Ross moment was the moment where the
NFL realized that we we have to We came to
(18:44):
play and we have full budget. Could have easily eaten
up the budget for the following two years, so they
might have had to catch up and then to worth Worth.
So we can kind of categorize super Bowl halftime shows
as before Michael and Deanna, after Michael and Diana. Then
(19:06):
there are the shows that become iconic because they take
place during a significant moment in time, like the one
Jane talked about. You too. Actually, I think maybe that
was the first time I went to the Super Bowl.
I remember I started going to all of them. I
(19:27):
believe that was my my very first one that I
went to. UM So, I definitely remember the feeling in
the air, like you know, two thousand two was post
like the seven months after UH nine eleven. It was.
It was a different feeling, you know. I'm not saying
it was a kindler, gentler nation or whatever, but I
(19:50):
definitely remember like wanting to stay to see what YouTube like, Okay,
we know that they're going to do something special for
the tribute, for the moral all those things, and so yeah,
I remember that being a moment there was It was
almost like an innocence lost nine eleven was because a
(20:11):
lot of people hadn't dealt with acts of war like
World War you know, certain generations they remember World War two,
World War One, whatever it was, and I think there
were a lot of people that were like, wait a minute,
you know this were this kind of false sense of
(20:32):
security and a nervousness about being in groups, being in
places that could be targeted. There's a lot of security,
so it was almost like raising the flag, no pun intended,
but but really just showing the resiliency, honoring the people
who have been lost, showing that we can still do
(20:53):
this big cultural thing in the country despite what just happened.
I think it was full for people. And then there
are the shows that make headlines for well totally unexpected reasons,
like Super Bowl thirty eight. The Panthers are playing the
Patriots and the halftime show is stacked, MTV is producing,
(21:14):
and some of the year's biggest names are there. Did
He Nellie, Kid Rock, Jessica Simpson you don't remember, here's why.
Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were there too. I think
this is the first time that did He truly got
upstay about you talk about the elements of the eight
(21:41):
minutes that came of the seven minutes and fifty three
seconds before that that moment nobody I forgot about him.
I don't mean I forgot he was in it. Like
there not to mention, you know, all those hits like
(22:06):
Nellie was there doing hot near like that. Two thousand
four was like the best of the early arts. That
was like the first I remember that just being a mixtape,
you know, a mix tape of groups that you wouldn't
put together, like Kid Rock in any other circumstance. I
mean as many times if I've set next to him,
(22:26):
like near the Grammys or whatever, and just look at
his facial expressions at like you know that whoever the
trl darling on the moment was so it's it's only
only in this very specific situation could you have like
Jessica Simpson and Kid Rock and we could devote a
(22:47):
full episode or even a series to that show alone.
Here are the broad strokes. The show kicks off with
a video montage of celebrities encouraging viewers to vote in
that year's presidential elections. Then Jessica Simpson appears with a
marching band. Headliner Janet Jackson takes the stage, followed by Diddy,
Nellie and Kid Rock. Then Janet comes back to close
(23:10):
out the show and is joined by Justin Timberlake for
his hit rock Your Body. Then, in the final seconds
this happens, Justin reaches over and rips Janet's top to
reveal a pasty. Then all hell breaks loose, at least
for those watching at home and the producers of the show.
That was my first Super Bowl in stadium, and I
(23:32):
remember not we didn't really know what just happened. We
thought something happened. We just couldn't really tell was there. Like,
we didn't really didn't see it. I don't think anything.
We saw a look of horror, but we didn't know
if maybe you know that we didn't see any part
(23:53):
of her body or my seats. I didn't see any
part of her body. But we knew something happened, We
just didn't know what. In social media wasn't a thing
what happened, Yeah, exactly. It didn't take long. Both MTV
and CBS apologized right away and said that they had
no knowledge that the show would involve partial nudity. Janet
and Justin did the same, calling it a wardrobe malfunction
(24:16):
and said the initial plan was to reveal a bra.
There were FCC fines and lawsuits. Viacom, which owns CBS,
ended up paying three and a half million dollars to
settle indecency complaints. For Janet Jackson, it was especially devastating.
She was banned from presenting at the Grammys that year
and discouraged from attending. Justin Timberlake, though was allowed to
(24:38):
attend and present as long as he apologized during the show.
Her subsequent album was blacklisted by Viacom subsidiaries, which include
VH one, MTV and Clear Channel, one of the largest
radio broadcasters. Really, I mean you know, if you don't
know that was the ripping, I mean what you know,
(25:04):
but it was it was really sad, uh and discouraging
to see how she how Janet was vilified in this.
And it always confused me because I was like, she
got the thing ripped off of She didn't rip it
off like at that frustrated it was like he did it.
(25:26):
If you want to blame somebody, blame the person who
ripped the material, not the person whose material got ripped.
And it's just like this culture blaming women. You know,
I saw that a showbiz moment, okay, you know, controversy,
sales or whatever. However, we learned quickly that if uh,
(25:48):
a black woman does a stunt like that, then there's
a price to pay for it. And you know, I
for one, like my life, it wasn't ended with the
showing of a nipple. I mean, to be honest with you,
I've missed it, Like you know, I wasn't like it
(26:08):
wasn't like my eyes were blue to the to the
TV like what you know, I think it was in
the kitchen and everyone started screaming like, oh my god,
like they didn't know what they saw. But as far
as the outrage was concerned, UM, I see it as
as fake outrage. There's not a single thing that happens
in that show that is not run by every single
(26:30):
stakeholder in the Super Bowl world, from the NFL to
PEPSI in our case, to whatever network it's on, Like
everybody literally gets a minute by minute of what you
will see, who's gonna do, what, what they're wearing. Everything
(26:51):
has to be approved in advance. Well in advance they're
they're so you're saying, like they would have had to
come completely, never rehearse it, never talk about it, never anything.
I just don't. I do think that's possible, but I
(27:12):
also think that that is really, really, really risky for
a lot of reasons. And if the producer said she
felt betrayed, that would make me feel like some people
were like, oh, do it, It'll be fine. And then
when everybody was like plutches pearls, they were like, point
the figures she did this, Like that would make me
(27:35):
be like, but you guys approved this. Next up, Dion
takes us inside this year's halftime show. You know, I
think they all feel a responsibility, like we are doing
this for our community. We're coming back to our community,
and this is for them. I think there's some added
weight to this that maybe hasn't been a part of
(27:56):
other super Bowls. You know, they owe this to their community. Plus,
she and quest Love share their favorite shows in halftime
history and what they dreamed to see in halftime future.
This year's halftime show super Bowl fifty six has what
(28:19):
I consider a dream line up. Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar,
Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem Dion called it the
blackest show in Super Bowl history. It's also a way
to honor l a where this game is being held
in the brand new, beautiful Sofi Stadium. The most significant
thing about the Super Bowl is the fact that it's
(28:40):
in Englewood. When we found out that these were the artists,
it was what I hoped. When I found out it
was so Fi, I was like, oh my god, it
would be so amazing if it were like Dre and
Snoop And it was this whole West Coast moment. And
you know, we got the call from Rock Nation that
that's who the art stour and we were thrilled, and
(29:03):
I think the full circle moment of you know, these
artists and you know, Mary's from New York and Eminem's
from Detroit, but Dre, Snoop, and Kendrick came up in
really rough parts of Los Angeles, you know, really tough upbringings.
They overcame a lot to get where they are. So
(29:27):
the full circle moment of kind of imagining them as
youth navigating the streets of l A during the times,
you know, some of the worst times in this city
to now being on the biggest world stage in their city.
You know, I think they all feel a responsibility, like
(29:49):
we are doing this for our community. We're coming back
to our community, and this is for them. I asked
her for a tease of what to you expect. She
smiled and would only say that Dr Dre plays a
central role in the story. He is the the glue
that holds all of this together. You know, Dre was
responsible for Snoop. You know Dre was responsible for Eminem
(30:12):
and Kendrick. You know, he had a huge hand in
Mary's career and has produced albums for her. So in
the way that he's a producer. He is like the
artist producer of the super Bowl. She hopes the show
will go down in history as one of those iconic
performances like You two and O two, Prince in Oh
(30:35):
seven or Beyonce Times Too. Was he the formation that
to me was the the the the blackest moment at
a super Bowl halftime show And I loved I was
there for that. Quest Love called it one of the
most magical things he's seen on stage. A lot of
people say she stole the show from the headliner, Coalplay
(30:56):
with her tribute to black culture. It's interesting because I
I think Beyonce is really the only artist who could
have done that because she just I don't know, I
don't even know how to explain what I mean by that,
But you know, such a blatant, clear message of just
(31:16):
like um, black lives matter, pride and resistance and protest.
But you know, there there was a world when you know,
a black woman would definitely be canceled like, oh my god,
that's angry, that's scary, Like we don't do that all
(31:38):
lives whatever it is, um. But she was able to
perform that message loud and clear, and it resonated to
to everybody um, and I didn't seem much negative about it.
I mean, some of it could have been that maybe
people didn't even understand how truly black that moment. It
(32:02):
was like that might have been super inside her baseball.
But we were all like, you know, but it it.
It was empowering, especially in that moment of time. It
was a huge moment in Beyonce's career. The Super Bowl
has a way of moving the needle for artists, even
when they're already household names. I felt that the moment
(32:24):
was a game changer for her, and she flew, which
you don't see a lot. The Lady Gaga Show was
one of my producer Jane's top moments too. On the
top of the roof and then she comes down and
she's singing and moving and doing acrobatics. She is all
over that stage. Then she's at the piano. She stops,
(32:44):
says HI to her mom and dad. It is so incredible,
it's so aerobic. Her voice sounded good. She did the
perfect you know medley of her songs. She kind of
paid tribute to the league, I thought in a really
great way. And I thought she said that are so
high for everybody coming after her. For me, that was
such a moment for Goda to prove that that was her.
(33:08):
That was her moment, in my opinion, to really deliver
on the promise of what we wanted her to be.
And I almost feel as though that an entire moment
um that she rose the occasion and really showed not
(33:29):
even America, but the world as a creative, as an artist,
as as an a list celebrity, that she indeed had
the goods to deliver. That's just one of those moments
that I felt allowed her the leverage to continue to
(33:49):
go on. It's crazy this surprise element too, because when
she starts, since she's singing America the Beautiful, You're like, wait,
didn't this already happen in the pre show? Like what
are we doing? Like this not what I'm here for,
you know, disrespect that patriotic, but you're like and then
for her to just dive down and she's hanging, she's flying,
(34:11):
she's doing all of these things. I think that surprise
element made it hit that much harder. So Lady Gaga
makes the list of the best we've covered YouTube Diana Ross, Beyonce,
Michael Jackson as for the very best in halftime history,
(34:32):
though we all agreed it's one name I want to
see see Leven in the that that was probably be
(34:53):
I thought that was the first genuine moment that an
artist that really didn't fall in line with the unspoken
white elephant of quote unquote American values. Like, you know,
I would like to think that when they're choosing, you know,
you're either choosing someone who's like next to God, like
(35:14):
with Michael Jackson's like that's next to God. With Diana
Ross that's like, well, she's part of the Motown ILK.
So you know, all Motown artists sort of get that
that past, so you know, it's it's it's easier. You know,
there was a year where then the then the Blues
Brothers once to do a year or two, like I
remember at ROYD when Blues Brothers, uh, the sequel came out,
(35:37):
I think they were the halftime at So it's almost right.
So I almost feel as though that Prince was the
first time that an artist that clearly his younger self
would have given the middle finger to the idea of
this sort of amalgamation Americana. And you know, he's playing
(36:04):
ball because it's different than like the Rolling Stones doing it,
or the year that Paul McCartney did it. You know,
Prince is not like he didn't come to us in
American Pie or Next to God format that the Stones
and Michael Jackson did, so for him to do it,
(36:26):
that was the first time where I finally saw the
NFL organization and the Super Bowl sort of coming to
our side of the fence, you know, like you have
to meet in the middle. And he cleared, he delivered
like that rain was the best thing that ever happened
to him. It almost it was like he's magic. He's
actually magic. Yes, he made this happen. This is another
(36:48):
one of those shows you have to go back and watch.
It's pouring rain and Princes performing with pyrotechnics, electric guitars
and a full band. When he starts playing purple rain,
entire stadium sings along just to see him in that environment.
(37:14):
And it can just nighttime. This beautiful curtain blowing in
the wind and the shadow on it, with this simple
guitar and the rain. I mean, it was just really
it gives me goose bumps even to this day thinking
about it. Every time I see it, every time I
(37:36):
hear like hearing the roar of that room, stadium. It
just really I don't know if you could ever top that,
because every single element combined to make that happen. And
in two thousand seventy on it was it wasn't just raining,
(37:56):
it was we woke up and it was poor rain,
good buckets of rain, right and right before the show
was about the halftime show was about to start. To
As a producer, now, how how would you have handled that?
I feel like my entire job is like the problem solutions,
something happens, deal with the the show must go on.
So there's nothing you can do in that moment. I
(38:19):
mean you can't, you know, phone the weather and say, hey,
can you stop this for fifteen minutes? So you really
just have to you know, there are contingencies. I'm sure
they had some contingencies in place, and and it's really
a game time decision, and there are a lot of them.
What this team does is mind boggling. The show itself
(38:42):
is a precisely produced twelve minutes, made more challenging by
the fact that the crew has roughly five minutes to
set everything up and another five to break everything down.
I mean literally, the moment halftime starts that exact second
everyone gets out and they start building, and then once
(39:02):
everything is done, you'll kind of have lights down. That
moment you'll hear the voice, you know, welcome to the
Pepsi super Bowl fifty six at times show. And then boom,
your show starts right there. And I mean from that
last kind of hero shot, you know, you think your
white shot, all of the bells and whistles. The moment
(39:25):
that that's done, that clock starts counting down and then
you're taking everything off in this perfect choreograph routine, and
then it's over and it goes by like a like
a snap. It's crazy, like you look up and you're like,
oh my god, I can't believe, like that just happened.
(39:46):
It's an incredibly complicated dance that hundreds of people spend
weeks practicing. This year, Dion's team has constructed the set
at a nearby airplane hangar where they're rehearsing every single
move by every single person from stage hand to superstar. Well,
the good thing is that's what rehearsals are for. So
in those rehearsals, we will run through, everything will stop down,
(40:10):
we'll go, we'll stop rewind, we'll look you know what,
this camera is great, and you're really planning all of
that in advance so that hopefully by game day you're
kind of moving on autopilot. Dion. In addition to producing
one of the biggest Super Bowl halftime shows we've ever
seen this year, you also made history last year. Is
(40:32):
the first black woman, the first woman of color to
produce a Super Bowl halftime show. And there was so
much intentionality across the board with everyone who was hired
to bring this to life. Talk to us about that impact,
what that means to you. I mean it, you don't
even think about it. It's someone just set it in
passing last year and I was like, what, oh, that's crazy.
(40:55):
I had no idea. And you know, there is uh
just a sense of pride and a sense of responsibility.
And we had a lot of women in key roles
on the show, and it wasn't even like we gotta
get a bunch of women in here. These women are
(41:16):
truly the top of their field and and the best
people to come put this show together, which had so
many challenges because of COVID. But um Lila Nicole, she
was the first Latina department had. She ran wardrobe. She's
coming back this year as well. Um As Devlin, who
(41:41):
was the creative mind behind the design of the Weekends
set and is also the creative director for US this year,
so it's amazing to have her back. For Tima Robinson,
who is a choreographer who has worked on two or
three Super Bowls in the past, asked and she's coming
(42:02):
back and joining us. So, you know, another year with
a lot of really strong women in in key positions.
And this show is made even more special by the
fact that Mary J. Blige will be the only female
headliner on the stage. When I think about Mary, there
is a Mary J. Blige song for every moment in
(42:22):
my life. If I'm happy, if I'm sad, if I'm mad,
if I'm frustrated, um if I'm in love, if I
had a breakup. And I think that she has this
voice that people connect with and she's down to earth.
I mean, she's like your girlfriend that you can have
(42:44):
drinks with and hang out with. There's no pretenses about her.
And for her to be such a huge star and
to have sold millions and millions of records and toward
the world many times over all of the awards has
remained grounded and you know, just continues to inspire the
(43:07):
next generation of singers, but is still also out there
making music and touring and being the big star that
that she is. I think in this lineup, she is
one of the few women that can stand and hold
her own next to these humongous personalities that are around her.
(43:27):
I couldn't let Dion and quest Love go without asking
them for their dream halftime lineups. Not that you asked,
but mine would be a nod to nineties female hip
hop and rap artists including Lauren Hill, Ms Elliott, Little Kim,
Foxy Brown, and TLC. You know what I would love
to see and it could still happen, and I'm certain
(43:48):
that you know I. I think I would love to
see kind of a p funk red out Chili Peppers,
just just George Clinton kind of lead, because he's theatrical
and he fits right into it. And I mean he's
a staple whether America wants. I mean, he's just as
(44:10):
American as apple pious, you know, and he's he's a
he's I don't even consider McCall artist, like what he's
done for funk music, which should be acknowledged. Like I
feel as though George Clinton. That could be very interesting
to see. I think I would love to see just
for the creativity and theatrics of it, Tyler the Creator
(44:35):
and Frank Ocean that if that there's nothing more inside
baseball than this pairing, but it would be like the
most really stunning create. I would have to obviously, are
you ready? Because you know and I know that if
(44:56):
Tyler ever given, if you give Tyler an inch, I'm sorry.
I did his last two performances A m As where
it's snowed on him and he rode off in a
Vespa and the b DT Awards where he was blown
away with debris. I love working with him like I
(45:17):
love his team. I feel like if you give him
this canvas of this field and say come up with
thirteen minutes, I would just be like, what is it?
Tell me? I'm ready, let's do it. Well, Commissioner Cadell,
if you're listening, Tyler the Creator Frank Ocean as the producer,
(45:38):
we're gonna put that out in the universe. Oh you
better believe I will make sure he's listening. Uh. He
doesn't always love my input over the dinner table, but
when I tell him tonight that it came from Dion
and Quest Love. Well, I'll tell you what those two
are the dream line up for the finale of our
first season of The urn in It Podcast. A huge
thanks to both Dion harm In and Quest Love for
(46:02):
being game to take us on a ride through halftime history. Jane,
this has been a blast. Thank you for forcing me
to this, Mike, and for trusting me with the task
of bringing your ideas to life. Well, Sam, I would
say thank you because you're the one who actually brought
them to life. I felt like the interviews we got
from the biggest names, starting with the commissioner and the
(46:24):
head coaches, the Ron Riveraz and Sean McDermott and come on,
Billy Jean King, you brought them to life because it's
the people who know you and trust you who opened up.
And I feel like we got terrific interviews because of that.
But also people came on the pod who just knew
of you, and they respected you so much and they
trusted you to open up. So thank you for making
(46:44):
it such a blast. And a special shout out to
the incredible badass I Heart Media team, Sean Jason, Mike, Julia,
Kurt Grace. Thank you for making us sound amazing all season.
Wow for many zooms. I'm not sure that this season
could get any more exciting, but let's go watch some football.
(47:05):
Do it.
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