It is said that at this time of year, we are basically celebrating the Spring Festival, but Americans on the other side of the ocean also have their own "Spring Festival", that is, the Super Bowl.
As the highest-rated program in the United States, the Super Bowl is nicknamed the "American Spring Festival Gala", and the artists who can come to the Super Bowl to perform are all super celebrities without exception.
(Rihanna's performance last year)
Now, after a year, the Super Bowl is here again, and we will talk about it slowly in several aspects.
First, let's talk about the game itself, as is customary: the final is played by the Kansas Emirates, the last year's champion, against the San Francisco 49ers, who have won five times before.
Both sides were veteran powerhouses with both strengths, so they fought very hard and simply went to overtime - the second time in the 58-year history of the Super Bowl......
In the end, the Chiefs successfully defended their title by defeating the 49ers 25-22 in overtime.
(Chiefs team members raise their glasses)
-
Then came the main event, the Super Bowl halftime show.
This year's guest is Arthur the Kid (Usher), this time he prepared 8 songs, but almost all of them are old songs from the 00s and even 90s.
The only exception is the penultimate song "Turn Down For What", which is from 2013.
But the original singer of this song is not him, and the performance time is not long, so it can only be regarded as left at the end to stir up the atmosphere, and the remaining seven songs are all his own, all old songs......
(Tracklist)
It is not difficult to see from the repertoire that this performance is actually taking a relatively conservative and safe route, and there are not many surprises.
Some of the more straightforward media outlets even use the word "Fizzle" to describe it......
(Foreign media called it a "failure")
To put it mildly, it also means that "Usher has done a lot, but it still makes you feel like something is missing".
(Foreign media euphemistically said "almost meaning")
It is true that Usher's performance is more "expected to be exciting", but what everyone wants is actually "beyond imagination", and naturally they will feel that something is missing.
That being said, there is something remarkable about Usher's performance. First of all, he is 45 years old this year, but he sang and danced for 13 minutes, except for changing clothes in the middle, he almost kept working hard, and he was sweating profusely.
At least business ability and dedication are not to be picked.
(Screenshot of Usher's performance)
In the opening, Usher sits on a polygonal "throne", dressed in silver and white, which Dolce & Gabbana custom-made for him, and wears a very imposing cape.
When the music started, he stood up, and his cloak fell to the ground.
(All white Dolce & Gabbana)
It is worth mentioning the shiny gloves he wears on his hands.
Usher has said more than once in public that his idols are Michael Jackson (MJ) and Prince, especially MJ, so he took the opportunity to pay tribute to MJ, and this time was no exception.
MJ loves to wear gloves when he performs, and he did the same.......
(MJ's gloves in the past)
MJ performed at the Super Bowl back in 1993, as did his other idol, Prince, but in 2007.
(MJ in 1993)
(Prince in 2007)
Although the two superstars have passed away, their fan brother Usher is now standing on the same stage, which is also a kind of inheritance.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that the backup dance, in recent years, Usher has been performing in Las Vegas, and Vegas's main focus is a chaotic, lively,
This time, the backup dance also has a bit of a Las Vegas meaning, and it looks even slightly messy from a distance.
(Performing Vision)
The main one wears its own, but each has its own unique skills......
(The backup dancers show their talents)
After the last song is sung, so is the stop-motion Pose....
(The backup dancers show their talents)
About 4 minutes into the performance, Alicia Keys, a guest singer, appeared wearing a giant red dress and playing the red piano.
(Sister Gun's appearance)
The momentum was very strong, and the result was the second when the song started......
Sister Gun broke her voice......
Directly collapse the whole paragraph.
Now the official video has been revised, but this statement can be confirmed from the videos left by some netizens......
(Netizens can hear the broken sound when they keep the video)
In the next thirty seconds, Sister Gun was always in a state of wanting to laugh but not laughing, and forcibly held on.
(Sister Gun wants to laugh)
Fortunately, there were no more accidents in the next duet session, and Sister Gun and Usher still held on.
(duet)
Okay, at least prove that there is no lip-syncing.......
Next, I entered the Usher solo session, and there are two points worth saying,
The first is the stage, and this year's stage is a huge display, and as Usher sings, the stage "catches fire":
(Stage Effects)
There are also two rows of screens in the auditorium, which also show the flame effect.
(Coordination between the auditorium and the stage)
The second is that Usher sings and takes off his clothes.....
(Usher undressing)
I have to say that his figure is still managed quite well, especially on the back, and the traces of training are obvious:
(Body management is in place)
Of course, this dress is not purely to take off, he has to change into a special costume next, and prepare for the next part.
So the second guest, H.E.R., took over the stage and performed a guitar solo.
This section is mainly a transition time, and H.E.R. didn't even sing a word, so there is not much to say.
(H.E.R.'s Solo Section)
Dozens of seconds later, a group of backup dancers reappeared on the stage,
What's more interesting is that they are wearing ice skates.
(Dancers back on stage on roller skates)
Sure enough, the theme of this part is ice skates, and at this time, Usher also changed his clothes and wore skates on the field.
(Usher reappears)
This part is quite ingenious, using the big screen stage and skates to the extreme,
The optical illusion makes it seem like Usher is paddling far away, but in fact the person doesn't move at all.....
(coordinates of skates and stage)
Feel like a bit of a tribute to MJ's space walk?
It's speechless that this best part also broke down a little at the end:
Usher devised a move that drilled out of the guest's crotch, but because he was wearing skates, he didn't stand still when he came out, and he almost fell......
Then to hide the embarrassment, Usher spun around - -
(Usher Difference Point Reduction)
At this point, the show was nearing its end, and Usher was going back to take off his skates and get ready for the final song.
At this time, the most inexplicable part of the whole performance appeared: everything was shot, "Turn Down For What" began to play, and a group of people suddenly got so high that they couldn't do it and started jumping.......
(Jumping crowd that suddenly appeared)
I don't know if this group of people is an audience or an actor, anyway, it's everything in the camera, suddenly it came, and suddenly it was High, and it didn't make sense at all......
In addition, as mentioned earlier, "Turn Down For What" is not Usher at all, but it is very popular and suitable for stirring up the atmosphere, so it can only be said that this transition is a bit forced......
In the last song, Usher changed his shoes and reappeared, and the atmosphere was already warm up at this time, and the last song he chose was "yes!",
This should be his most well-known song in China, I believe many people have heard it, and it is also the kind of song that is relatively high.
（Usher表演《Yeah！》）
It seems that the abruptness of the previous part is for the last part not to be abrupt.
Usher sings and dances, and the last two helper singers, Lil Jon and Ludacris, take the atmosphere to a new climax.
(帮唱嘉宾Lil Jon和 Ludacris)
Then more dancers came on the stage, the audience sang together, everyone hi together...
(Large chorus)
Basically, the atmosphere reached this point, which also meant that it was over, and finally Usher kept repeating "yes", the lights faded and the show ended.
The whole halftime show is like this, it can only be said that there is no merit and no fault, and the evaluation of foreign media is not groundless.
-
Finally, it is worth mentioning the situation in the audience. The Super Bowl is called the "American Spring Festival Gala" for its own reason, because many celebrities will go to the audience to join in the fun even if they don't perform.
Probably the most popular one today is Taylor Swift. She just got married to a new boyfriend, Travis Kelce, a few months ago, and then became the world's hottest fan, and she would go to watch Kelce play when she had nothing to do.
Coincidentally, Kelce was a member of the Chiefs, and of course Mildew couldn't miss it.
After winning the championship, she rushed straight to the stadium to hug Kelce and celebrate, and kissed him hard in the middle.
(Mildew kisses Kelce)
Kelce has won at the moment. What championship trophy, it doesn't matter anymore (x
An interesting incident also happened during the game: the director deliberately cut the camera to the mold in the box.
And there's an unwritten rule for live sports: when the camera catches you, you either kiss the person next to you or drink.
Kelce was playing on the court, and of course it was impossible to kiss her, so Mildew grabbed a beer and drank it down.
(Mildew drinks all the beer in one go)
The director was particularly naughty today, and in addition to mildew, he also found Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber who came to watch the game.
Looking closely at the people around them, it turned out to be Ken Dou, who must have come with her best friend Hailey.
(Ken Dou, Hayley, Justin)
In short, after being discovered by the camera, Ken Dou hid, leaving Justin and Hailey in the center of the screen,
Justin was not ambiguous, and kissed Hayley directly, giving her a little embarrassed.....
(Bieber kisses Hayley)
It is worth mentioning that Justin has a close relationship with Usher, and the two are also teachers and friends, and the relationship is not generally good.
So when Usher was first revealed to be going to the Super Bowl, there was already speculation about whether he would invite Justin as a guest.
On the day of the start of the game, people found Justin sitting in the audience, and thought that "this matter is a certainty" - we all know the result, and we all looked forward to it for half a day, and Justin did not play in the end, which made many netizens feel that they had become clowns......
(From Twitter netizens)
In addition to the above, there are actually many celebrities who come.
For example, Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z, Beyoncé is in really good shape, and the whole person is so beautiful that she shines......
(Beyoncé, Jay-Z)
By the way, Beyoncé also appeared in the Super Bowl commercial today, and she announced at the end of the ad that the new album will be released soon, and the specific date is March 29, looking forward to it......
The Gaga...
（Gaga）
Another member of the Kardashian family, Sister Kim.
However, Sister Jin doesn't seem to be sitting with Ken Dou and them, and her style is relatively low-key this time, so she may not want to show her face......
(Low-key Sister Kim)
At the same time, Sister Jin's ex-husband Kanye also came with his new wife Bianca.
Kanye's style is still as outrageous as ever, and he seems to have been addicted to stocking pullovers recently.....
(Kanye and Bianca)
Then there is Sister A, who is slightly naughty.
(Sister A)
Sister Thunder. However, she is wearing a 49ers outfit and looks like a 49ers fan, and this time she may be disappointed......
(Sister Thunder)
Xiao Li, who is as strong as ever in hiding from the paparazzi, Leonardo......
The photos taken by the paparazzi are all paste...... It deserves to be him.
(Leonardo)
Finally, there's Ma Naduta.
(Musk brought his son)
The above is actually only a part, and there are many more that have not been mentioned, but the space is limited, and that's probably it.
This year's "American Spring Festival Gala" has been a little uneventful, and we look forward to bringing us more surprises next year......