Rapper Kendrick Lamar will try to do what Super Bowl halftime performers have attempted to accomplish every year since 2007 … top Prince‘s sensational performance at halftime of Super Bowl XLI in rain-soaked Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL.
Various media outlets continue to hail his effort as the Greatest of All Time (e.g. the GOAT). Here’s the rankings from Rolling Stone Magazine and FOX Sports and the New York Times/The Athletic.
The legend goes that the skies opened up moments before he was set to take the stage – a stage that was devoid of much traction to begin with – and a producer asked Prince if he wanted to cancel the show because of the rain. He allegedly responded, “Can you make it rain harder?”
And unlike the more modern halftimes when it’s a headliner and a some undercard that could, otherwise, be considered a headliner, back in 2007 it was just Prince, his band, and a pair of backing female vocalists, The Twinz – Maya and Nandy McLean. The Florida A&M University Marching 100 joined the fun about midway through.
The setlist represented several musical eras, with covers of Queen‘s “We Will Rock You,” Credence Clearwater Revival‘s “Proud Mary,” Bob Dylan‘s “All Along the Watchtower,” and the Foo Fighters‘ “Best of You.” His original works included “Let’s Go Crazy,” “1999,” “Baby I’m a Star,” and, of course, a searing rendition of “Purple Rain” in an actual driving rain.
Heck, Prince even dressed to impress the home fans, donning a pant and coat in Miami Dolphins’ aqua and a shirt in the team’s secondary color, coral.
Because the NFL has its content on lockdown, we’re not able to embed the video here, but it’s worth the 12 minutes to revisit Prince’s performance at this link.
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