When will the Super Bowl 53 halftime show start?
The music choice for the Super Bowl’s half time show has been mired in controversy, but Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine is promising that there will be surprises during the halftime show.
Super Bowl is finally upon us, and no surprise, it’s the Patriots again, in their ninth SB outing, hoping to defeat the Los Angeles Rams on their way to a sixth Vince Lombardi trophy. It was against the same team, then the St. Louis Rams, that the underdog Patriots—with star quarterback Tom Brady, aged 24 at the time— clinched their first victory 17 years ago.
A lot’s changed since then, including the power of the half time show. Once a rite of passage for a major musical act, narrowing down the performer this year has been mired in controversy. Several acts turned down the gig, due to relations between the NFL and 49ers’ former quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, over his “take a knee stance.” Signing up a musical act has been similar to the Academy Awards trying to find a host.
However, with the 53rd Big Game taking place in Atlanta, a bourgeoning hip-hop scene, many were hoping for a dream half time show that could include a whole slew of home city talent, such as Outkast, Lil Jon, 2 Chainz, among others. Instead, the NFL skewed more conservative and went with a Los Angeles main act, Maroon 5. However, Travis Scott and Big Boi (half of Outkast) will be joining the “Girls Like You”- hit band.
Maroon 5’s lead singer, Adam Levine, said that Atlanta will be well represented during Super Bowl LIII.
“So Travis … he is it right now. He is the one,” Levine said, during an Entertainment Tonight interview. “We love what he represents … this is the show that will have the biggest hip-hop presence that there has ever been on the show. I mean, I can’t look back and find that to be the case before. He’s it, he’s the man right now and he comes in hot.”
It’s the Super Bowl half time show, so expect surprises, including rumors of an Outkast reunion between Big Boi and Andre 3000, which would help alleviate some of the disappointment from fans and ignite the hometown crowd.
“I cannot divulge the details on that level ’cause that will be spoiling it — we don’t want to do that — but Big Boi is my dude,” Levine sheepishly added.
Super Bowl LIII will begin at 6 p. m. EST, with kickoff taking place a half an hour later. The half time show takes place at the midway point of the game. Depending on penalty calls, timeouts, or replays, it is hard to pin down the exact time that the musical acts will take stage. But if you only tune in for the talent, or watch to see if any controversy (like “nipple gate” years ago with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake) to talk about around the water cooler, you should probably start paying attention to the telecast around 8 p. m., EST. Give or take, the half time show will likely begin between 8 and 8:30 p. m.
Marron 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi, and any surprises will likely be an improvement upon Justin Timberlake’s uninspired performance last year. However, for me, the recent gold standard was set by Lady Gaga two years ago, the last time the Patriots won (and Brady was named MVP), who put on a spellbinding performance.
The Super Bowl game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots (go Pats!) will be broadcast on CBS and their streaming platform Sunday night, February 3.