Making the Case for Jennifer Lopez to Headline the 2017 Super Bowl Halftime Show
Despite previous reports to the contrary, the NFL has not confirmed that Lady Gaga will headline Super Bowl LI in February. To Gaga’s credit, if she were booked for the gig, she’d likely pull out all the stops. I can easily see her flying into the NRG Stadium in Houston on the backs of flying monkeys that worked for Evilene in The Wiz. I’m sure she’d try to up the ante and upstage previous performers who've given us iconic Super Bowl moments. She'll probably nag Jesus - the Black one and maybe the one as depicted in Jesus Christ Superstar - for a duet with Prince’s ghost and Elton John. That would be super, but I think we can wait another year or three to see all that?
I think next year’s Super Bowl halftime show headline performer ought to be Jennifer Lopez. More than all the names we've heard associated with the event, Gaga and Adele, Lopez deserves this moment. She is known for multiple things - acting, dancing and fashion, but what I love most about Jennifer Lopez is her work as a performer. I have often referred to her as “Paula Abdul’s Revenge” and “Paula Abdul, If She Could Have Kept Herself Together.” Trust me, there are not many compliments from a gay man born in the 1980s higher than that.
It is the reason why her Las Vegas residency is doing so well. In August, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Lopez set a milestone when she made more than $1 million in box office sales for her residency at Planet Hollywood. The previous record holder? The Legendary Ms. Britney Spears. As Robin Leach noted in that report, “I think it now places J.Lo neck-and-neck with Celine Dion at Caesars Palace.”
It’s because Jennifer Lopez is one of the premiere performers of her generation, and well, even the generation that follows. At 47, Lopez dances better than many of her contemporaries. This would include Lady Gaga, though I would advise her Little Monsters from threatening my life for being factual. We saw this when she hosted the 2015 American Music Awards. You still see it if you look at any clip of her performing during her Vegas residency.
Now, considering she is 47 and the reality that life can be a hateful heifer, I would like to see Lopez do the Super Bowl when she can still dance full out. As much as I enjoyed Madonna’s Super Bowl performance, I do remember her slipping for a second. She played it off, but had she taken one wrong step and we would’ve watched LMFAO rushing to pick her back up. I need Lopez dancing down with her good knees!
And Lopez has an impressive and expansive catalog to choose from, so that's another check mark. I want to see her include her hits like “I’m Real,” “If You Had My Love,” “Ain’t It Funny,” “Waiting For Tonight,” and “Get Right.” Of course, she has to do “On The Floor” and bring out Pitbull, a man that has somehow managed to be the favorite of suburban moms (the hood remembers the old stuff, though). And to her credit, Lopez’s voice has gotten much, much stronger over time (thank you, Marc Anthony) so we can even get treated to some live vocals, too.
I’ll never get the Beyoncé residency at the Super Bowl that I long for, but this is one dream I believe should happen. That said, Lopez is the only performer capable of offering viewers that kind of performance that Janet Jackson used to be known for. I’m fairly certain that if Jenny was booked, she’d make sure everything was taped down. C’mon NFL, give it to iconic Jennifer Lopez.