As most people know Super Bowl Sunday was yesterday and Shakira and J. Lo were the halftime show entertainment. Anyone who opens any social media will be faced with opinion after opinion about the performance. Being from a small town my social media is filled with very few people are actually criticizing their music, they're freaking out about how "inappropriate" their outfits and dance moves were. Some even went as far to express they didn't like the performance because "this is America" and they couldn't understand what they were saying so they needed to get off stage (terrible, I know). There were many people appalled by their clothing or lack thereof. I have two things in response 1) If you were 50 and looked and could move like J. Lo can, I bet you'd be doing the same thing and 2) I didn't see any of them criticizing Adam Levine last year when he was completely shirtless the whole time. Their performances had much deeper meanings that represented Latino pride and cultural diversity and they deserve to be recognized for more than what they look like.
Since there were two major headlines each had to split the allotted 12 minute time frame and with this being the most songs performed ever during the halftime show, it was jam packed (see the full set list here). Shakira opened the show with "She Wolf" which lead to "Empire" while she rocked out on the guitar. This was personally one of my favorite parts of her performance because it is one of my favorite songs she sings. Her voice sounded so beautiful especially at the beginning of this transition. She finished her solo set with the iconic "My Hips Don't Lie", Shakira wouldn't be Shakira without this song.
J. Lo then took the stage and through it back with "Jenny From the Block" which was first released in 2002. Overall I enjoyed Shakira's solo performance better because it was more focused on vocals where in J. Lo's there seem to be a lot of lulls of just dancing with no vocals. She is a killer dancer and that is a huge part of what she is known for it just isn't as enjoyable for me. I really enjoyable the final portion of the performance. Both performers plus J. Lo's daughter, Emme Maribel Muñiz came together to perform "Let's Get Loud", "Born in the USA", and "Waka Waka". The energy and talent on that stage was truly remarkable. Many are still debating the politics of the performance but honestly, I think we just need to give these strong talented women credit where credit is due.
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