Despite a chorus of their peers in the music industry pushing for them to boycott the Super Bowl halftime show, headlining acts Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and Big Boi left the politics out of their performances and let the music do the talking.
At Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta on Sunday, Maroon 5 led by singer Adam Levine, delivered a strong performance of their hits including “Harder to Breathe”, “This Love”, “Girls Like You” and “Sugar.” Then Levine removed his shirt to reveal his toned and tattooed frame during the performance of “Moves Like Jagger.”
Scott got the crowd going with his hit “Sicko Mode,” albeit with beeps censoring its expletives. Big Boi played his big hit to his hometown Atlanta crowd, “The Way You Move,” with Levine joining in to sing the hook.
Many were pushing the three music artists that performed in Sunday’s halftime show to boycott appearing altogether in a statement of solidarity with ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s, whose kneeling during the national anthem in protest against police brutality and racial oppression influenced a slew of NFL players to do the same, resulting in a national controversy, with many fans divided over the issue.
Other artists, including Cardi B and Rihanna declined offers to perform at halftime this year in solidarity with Kaepernick.
Maroon 5’s lead singer Adam Levine was slammed by Kaepernick’s attorney, Mark Geragos, who called their performance and Levine’s comments about showing “one love” a “cop-out.”
In a post on Instagram, Levine shared a picture of the words “One Love” that lit up in the stadium during the band’s performance. Levine wrote on Instagram:
“When we accepted the responsibility to perform at the SBHTS, I took out my pen and just wrote. Some of the words that came to me in that moment eventually made their way onto the incredible lanterns that flew high and low tonight. We thank the universe for this historic opportunity to play on the world’s biggest stage. We thank our fans for making our dreams possible. And we thank our critics for always pushing us to do better. One Love.”
Continuing, Levine added:
“And the list of words is… Forgive, Laugh, Cry, Smile, Share, Live, Endure, Embrace, Remember, Enlighten, Preserve, Inspire, Sweat, Fight, Express, Give, Receive, Elevate, Climb, Unify, Fortify, Soften, Dance, Scream, Dream, Educate, Provide, Inhale, Exhale, Persevere, Stand, Kneel, Overcome, Love, Listen.”
Punctuated by a flyover from the US Air Force Thunderbirds, the Empress of Soul, Atlanta-born, 74-year-old singer Gladys Knight delivered a stellar performance of the US national anthem, the “Star-Spangled Banner” backed by a highly cinematic orchestral arrangement.
In spite of the controversy by other artists encouraging their fellow artists to boycott the event, Knight defended her decision to perform by saying she wanted to “give the anthem back its voice.” She also justified her appearance by her lifelong involvement in civil rights work.
“It is unfortunate that our national anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the national anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone,” Knight told entertainment magazine Variety in a statement.
