Delirious: Prince Draws Positive Reviews For Halftime Show

Purple Rain: Prince, Weather Make Impression During Halftime

Prince performed the halftime show at Super Bowl XLI in Miami last night, and the front-page of USA TODAY reads, “Regal ‘A’ For Prince” (THE DAILY). In Ft. Lauderdale, pop music writer Sean Piccoli writes Prince had 12 minutes “to make his mark without upstaging the game. He did both.” Prince had “great help” from the Florida A&M Univ. marching band, and spectators “played a scenic role by lighting up thousands of flashlights during ‘Purple Rain’” (SUN-SENTINEL, 2/5). DAILY VARIETY’s Brian Lowry writes Prince “delivered a true superstar-quality halftime show” (DAILY VARIETY, 2/5). In N.Y., Kelefa Sanneh: “Super Bowl XLI will surely go down as one of the most thrilling halftime shows ever; certainly the most unpredictable, and perhaps the best” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/5). In Detroit, pop culture writer Julie Hinds writes Prince “livened things up with a halftime show as powerful as it was energetic” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/5). In California, Bob Keisser writes Prince gave the Super Bowl’s “only one standout performance.” It was the “most entertaining since Michael Jackson at Super Bowl XXVII” (Long Beach PRESS TELEGRAM, 2/5). In Chicago, entertainment writer Mark Caro wrote the halftime show was “kind of cool” and the “whole choreographed thing felt spontaneous while serving as an apt refutation of the lip-synch age” (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 2/4).

OTHER OPINIONS: In Milwaukee, Dave Tianen writes the halftime show, “like the game, will likely be remembered as much for the conditions as the performance itself.” Super Bowl halftime shows “always trade spectacle for content, and this was no exception” (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 2/5). In N.Y., Adam Buckman writes Prince’s “clothes remained secure” during his performance, but there “was a moment during the performance of ‘Purple Rain’ — when Prince was seen in shadow against a giant curtain — that the position of his guitar in relation to his body could have been interpreted as phallic” (N.Y. POST, 2/5). In Miami, Evelyn McDonnell: “The Super Bowl hopes to retain its dominant position in sports and TV culture by speaking to a middle. Prince is a pop legend with rock and R&B fans — but apparently even he felt the need to borrow from other artists’ set lists. The show’s producers also are eager to present it as a family affair” (MIAMI HERALD, 2/5).

THEATRE ON THE GREEN: Cirque du Soleil performed for CBS’ pregame show, and the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL’s Tianen writes the “lavish production of Cirque du Soleil works well in theaters where the splashy color and multiple spectacles overwhelm your senses. On TV, it’s far less compelling” (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 2/5).