How Come These 10 Rock Artists Have Never Played the Super Bowl?
There was a time when rock acts dominated the Super Bowl halftime show.
In the past, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Prince have all taken the headlining spot, while ZZ Top, Aerosmith and Sting are just some of the rockers to make cameos alongside other artists. Yes, that's a formidable list of rock stars, but in recent memory, the event has been a decidedly pop-focused affair. The last band to headline the Super Bowl halftime show was Maroon 5 in 2019. You have to go back to 2010 to find a classic rock act, when the Who took center stage.
Shakira and Jennifer Lopez played the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show. Chart-topping pop/R&B star The Weeknd headlined the 2021 event. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem led an all-star hip-hop performance in 2022, and so on. Even though rock’s biggest acts can sell-out arenas and headline major festivals, the NFL excludes them from the biggest spectacle in sports.
Rather than question the league’s choice for this year’s entertainment, we at UCR would like to look ahead to future Super Bowls. Below are 10 candidates, all bonafide stars who could handle the massive halftime show spotlight. The next few years will see the big game played in Las Vegas and New Orleans, with San Francisco rumored for the 2026 big game. Our hope is that some of these artists will be given the halftime show honor at one of those events: