Maroon 5’s Super Bowl halftime show was just as dull as the first half

ICMYI: You didn’t miss anything if you missed Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi’s Super Bowl halftime show.

The Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show was not exactly highly anticipated. Maroon 5, despite being an aggressively qualified choice, lacked the buzz, excitement or sheer curiosity quotient of past performers like Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga and Beyonce. It certainly didn’t help that the run-up and fallout to their announcement was dominated by news of hometown heroes and chart-toppers alike declining to participate, often for political reasons. But the show must go on, etc., etc., and circa 7:45 p.m. ET, Maroon 5 took the rapidly-constructed stage in the center of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The band started with a very brief Songs About Jane medley (is it a medley if it’s only two songs?) before a clip of Spongebob, a recording of Drake and an astroid introduced Travis Scott. Big Boi made his entrance after “She Will Be Loved.” Some other stuff happened, Adam Levine took off his shirt, and then it was over.

The thing is, Maroon 5 does have hits. Travis Scott has hits. Big Boi, Big Boi definitely has hits. But the arrangement was lackluster. There were lanterns with words of affirmation (“smile” “love” “feel”), but there were no viral moments, no instant memes, no riffs that made you want to dance.

Frankly, if you used that time to refill snacks, or go to the bathroom, or do anything else, you absolutely did not miss anything.

Here was the set-list:

• “Harder to Breathe,” Songs About Jane
• “This Love,” Songs About Jane 
• “Jamba Juice,” Astroworld (Travis Scott)
• “Like a Light,” Astroworld (Travis Scott)
• “Girls Like You,” Red Pill Blues
• “She Will Be Loved,” Songs About Jane
• “I Like the Way You Move,” Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (Big Boi)
• “Sugar,” V
• “Moves Like Jagger,” Hands All Over

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