Though it's still just a rumor, Sports Illustrated is reporting that it's likely that the Who will perform at Super Bowl XLIV, which will be held in Miami on February 7, 2010. The classic British rock band — which consists of guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey, the only two members who are still alive — would be playing their first show in North America in two years and would continue the recent tradition of featuring older legends during the most-watched television broadcast of the year. The past few years have included Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Prince, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney.
Some would say that these acts are a great coup for the NFL and the networks who broadcast the big game (the honor this year goes to CBS), but it seems like they may be in a bit of a rut. Plus, they're going to run out of classic bands pretty soon (assuming they don't want to dip into any one well a second time). Unless they can convince Led Zeppelin to do it (and odds are against that), there aren't many left who could qualify.
Which is why the producers of the Super Bowl halftime show should switch up their approach. The Who are excellent (it's hard to argue with the band that brought the world "Baba O'Riley"), but the halftime show could use some new blood. But they also need a storyline and an opportunity.
That's why Kanye West should play the Super Bowl halftime show.
Think about it: He's one of the biggest young stars in music. He's got a parade of TV-friendly hits. He could invited any number of artists out on stage with him. His performances are visually interesting. Plus, it would be a fitting end to his current storyline. America loves a good comeback, and what better place to re-emerge in the public eye than at a distinctly American event like the Super Bowl? West could even invite Taylor Swift along to interrupt his performance, just to bring it full circle and completely bury the "Kanye West Interrupts" meme forever.
So get on it, NFL. Tell Townshend and Daltrey that they'll have to wait until next year, because this year belongs to Mr. West. And if Kanye says no, you're still in Miami, which is full of artists who can reflect the spirit of the city and the event better than the Who. Rick Ross and Jennifer Lopez are probably both available.
What do you think? Who should perform at the Super Bowl in 2010? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Last week, in the run-up to Super Bowl XLIII, I did an interview with die-hard Steelers fan/ Arizona resident/ "Rock of Love" lady magnet Bret Michaels about his pick for the big game. As it turns out, he's as good at predictions as he is at wrangling ladies on a tour bus: He came within one point of nailing the final score.
Michaels said the Steelers would beat the Cardinals 27-24. As it turns out, they won 27-23. Seriously, it's like Bret has ESP or something.
Anyway, despite his amazing accuracy with regard to the game's score, he apparently didn't remember his prediction for around 48 hours. So on Tuesday, he called to remind me of his prognostication skills. He also filled me in on his big Super Bowl weekend (Playboy mansion, kicking ass, playing rock and roll), and used the term "awesome" approximately 25 times ...
It was the second time in less than a week that he's left an amazing voicemail for an MTV News employee (read how he made Christina Garibaldi's day, which means that not only is Bret Michaels great at predicting the outcomes of major sporting events, but he seems like a pretty great dude).
Hear the voicemail after the jump! Read more...
By Eric Ditzian
We've already weighed in on the best and worst Super Bowl movie ads — now, we tackle the rest.
Best
Hulu: Alec in Hollywood
Baldwin is in full Jack Donaghy mode, popping off flawless line readings, including "Hello, Earth, I'm Alec Baldwin, TV star" and "TV only softens the brain like a ripe banana." He also coins the finest, funniest description of the effects of near-constant 21st-century exposure to entertainment on TVs, computers and portable devices: "cerebral gelatinizing." To top it all off, the tagline is just so amazing — "Hulu: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy."
Pedigree: Crazy Pets
I've had about enough with the chimps shilling for motor oil and the horses and dogs pitching beer. Finally, we get an ad in which the involvement of animals is more than a mere sight gag — not that there weren't plenty of those (Rhino in the living room! Little old lady chasing an ostrich!). But who can't get behind the cause of dog adoption? This spot brought the funny and warmed my heart long after the buffalo wings had gone cold. Read more...
So, after having a full 12 hours to digest last night's Bob Dylan/Will.I.Am Pepsi commercial, I have come to this conclusion: It certainly could have been worse.
Which also means that it's probably the best thing Will.I.Am has ever done. But let's not let my feelings for the man cloud the issue: For all the hype, the Pepsi commercial — dubbed "The Refresh Anthem" — was not nearly as terrible as I expected it to be. It took Dylan's "Forever Young" (from his '74 album Planet Waves) and, uh, "mashed" it into a duet with Will (or, more specifically, he raps a verse), and the end result was a surprisingly satisfactory hip-pop tune, not — as I had feared — a pornographically harrowing violation of a treasured artist's legacy, as is usually the case with these sort of things.
Still, while I am (relatively) at peace with the song, there's one thing about the spot that still bugs me: the sentiment. Are we asked to believe, just because they trade verses — and a pair of Ray-Bans — that Will is this generation's Dylan? That he is the voice of our times, a rambling, shambling wordsmith who battled injustice and unrest with his songs? If that's the case, then is "Let's Get it Started" the answer to "Blowin' in the Wind?" Read more...
By Adrienne Day
Who were you rooting for last night: the Steelers, the Cardinals, or Team Springsteen? Plus, we have the story behind the Boss' mysterious halftime quip, "I'm going to Disneyland!"
Which Super Bowl movie ads scored big and which got sacked in their own end zone? (Hint: We thought the one for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" was kind of awesome.)
Diddy's Hitmen production team dish on their involvement with Jay-Z's top-secret American Gangster, which is now up for a Best Rap Album Grammy.
If you missed it, check out the very first footage to be released from "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra," which debuted during last night's game.
"Madden NFL 2009" correctly predicted the Super Bowl winner. Multiplayer looks back at how the football franchise has forecast the victors in years past.
Just in case you're wondering, that was not Steve Perry singing "Don't Stop Believin' " with Journey during the Super Bowl pregame, nor was it a Journey tribute band. It was, indeed, Journey, with new singer Arnel Pineda, who joined the band in 2007 after being spotted by them singing Journey songs on YouTube.
Of course, "Don't Stop Believin' " gained a whole new life after being played in the last scene of "The Sopranos" finale in June of 2007. MTV News tracked down Perry himself, who revealed that he actually insisted on knowing the end of the show before granting permission for it to be used.
"I was not excited about [the possibility of] the Soprano family being whacked to 'Don't Stop Believin'," Perry told MTV News after the show had aired. "I told them, 'Unless I know what happens -- and I will swear to secrecy -- I can't in good conscience feel good about its use.'" The show's producers made Perry promise to keep it under his lid, which he did, and then they spilled the beans on how the song was used and how the show ends, after which Perry signed off. Read more...
By Christina Garibaldi
One of the many perks of working at MTV News is the people you get to meet and talk to. Yet only a few have ever gotten me really excited, like my teen dreams the Backstreet Boys, Yankees slugger Derek Jeter, and now ... Poison frontman/ "Rock of Love" star Bret Michaels!
Well, I didn't actually get to talk to Bret directly, but he did leave me a pretty kick-ass voicemail. See, yesterday, two of my co-workers were talking about doing a phone interview with Michaels about his picks for the Super Bowl (since he's a Pennsylvania native but an Arizona resident, that's a bit of a dilemma — read what Bret's got to say about it here).
Upon hearing that, I was completely envious and begged just to listen in. I mean, who wouldn't want to talk to him? Isn't every girl's guilty pleasure a little "Rock of Love"? Well, it certainly is mine.
So today was the big day — and although, unfortunately, I couldn't listen in, my two co-workers had a little surprise for waiting for me. Once the interview was over, I went back to my desk and found the voicemail light blinking, and this is what I heard.
Read more...
Are you ready for football season? We know we are. But if your enthusiasm for the start of this year's NFL season could use a little kick in the pants, check out the planned — and rumored — musical performances associated with the launch and conclusion of it.
The NFL has now confirmed that its 89th season will be ushered in by ... well, none other than Usher.
The R&B star will perform during a special and (more importantly) free pregame event on September 4 at 3 p.m. in New York's Columbus Circle. Country crooner Keith Urban will also take the stage, right before the defending Super Bowl champs, the New York Giants, face the Washington Redskins in this year's season opener.
Read more...
The wardrobe malfunction seen 'round the world wasn't so indecent after all. Federal judges threw out the $550,000 fine against CBS Corp. on Monday for the incident during the 2004 Super Bowl during which Justin Timberlake famously ripped off part of Janet Jackson's top and momentarily exposed her breast on live TV.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia found that the Federal Communications Commission acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" in fining the network more than a half-million dollars for the "fleeting image of nudity."
According to the report, the judges found that by fining the network, the FCC broke with a decades-old policy that said, "Brief and isolated incidents, including impromptu expletives, did not violate rules designed to keep children from seeing indecent material broadcast between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m." The panel also ruled that CBS was not liable for the fine because Jackson and Timberlake were independent contractors, not network employees.
The incident led to a near-zero-tolerance policy from the FCC on the use of some expletives, even in unscripted scenarios as well as Congress raising indecency fines from $32,500 per incident per station to $325,000.
