The Super Bowl halftime shows are as famous and exciting as the game itself, and they’ve only gotten bigger and more grandiose over the years. Since 1967, the Super Bowl halftime shows have been an annual thing to look forward to.
But wait – these stars aren’t just known for performing at the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl halftime show is often the pinnacle of many artists’ careers, but they all have long and historic careers preceding that moment.
But in this list we’re looking at fairly recent history, and how popular culture has influenced it. Since the ‘80s, video games have been a common household staple, and many Super Bowl halftime stars have given their talents to video games – or, at the very least, they’ve become tangentially related to them.
Yes, this is a breakdown of Super Bowl halftime stars that have been associated with video games in some way since the ‘80s. A bit niche? Maybe, but you know you want to see where we’re going with this.
1
Super Bowl XXII 1988 – Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker was at the 1988 Super Bowl along with The Rockettes and several marching band performances. It’s Chubby’s appearance that is most important to us here though. As reported by Polygon, a demo tape appeared in 2014 that featured Chubby Checker himself singing about Dig Dug. You can still listen to that demo now on Soundcloud. And yes, it’s a bop.
2
Super Bowl XXV 1991 – New Kids on the Block
The New Kids on the Block were a popular boy band in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and they very nearly had their own video game. The only current proof for that is a prototype box that was given to Electronic Gaming Monthly, and later sold on ebay. According to renowned programmer David Cran, via LostMediaWiki, the game was just an early concept, and never went past the initial design stage.
3
Super Bowl XXVI 1992 – Gloria Estefan
Being a renowned singer and songwriter, Gloria Estefan is on a number of video game soundtracks, including Rocksmith+, Samba De Amigo, Burnout Crash, and SingStar.
4
Super Bowl XXVII 1993 – Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson isn’t just in a video game, there is a Wikipedia page called ‘Michael Jackson in video games’. That really says it all. Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker released in arcades and on Sega’s Genesis (Mega Drive) and Master System consoles. That’s in addition to Jackson’s recently confirmed – though limited – involvement in Sonic The Hedgehog 3’s soundtrack.
Jackson also voiced the character Space Michael in Space Channel 5, released Michael Jackson: The Experience in 2010, and even had an MMORPG based on his music planned, to be played in the controversial Entropia Universe. The latter was scrapped, but when it comes to superstars making their mark in video games, few have done it to the same degree as Michael Jackson.
5
Super Bowl XXIX 1995 – Indiana Jones
Yep, Indiana Jones. In case you forgot, 1995’s Super Bowl featured a full stage show based on Indiana Jones, which capped off with a performance from Patti LaBelle, who really deserves a mention. Unfortunately though, only one of them has a history with video games, as there are multiple Indiana Jones games, including a Lego game. Make sure to watch this fascinating halftime performance on YouTube.
6
Super Bowl XXX 1996 – Diana Ross
Diana Ross has featured in video games because her music is iconic. I’m Coming Out? All-time club classic, and it doesn’t matter if you agree. That’s why it has been featured in Dance Dance Revolution, and her tracks can also be found in SingStar and even Mafia III.
7
Super Bowl XXXI 1997 – The Blues Brothers
As I’m sure everyone is aware, the infamous Blues Brothers had their own video game back in 1991 which was released across multiple consoles of the era. The Game Boy version is the best-reviewed, so if you’re interested in revisiting The Blues Brothers, maybe go for the handheld. ZZ Top also performed this year, and they’ve had songs in multiple video game soundtracks.
8
Super Bowl XXXII 1998 – Boyz II Men
Queen Latifah also appeared at this Super Bowl halftime show, but Boyz II Men really deserve the mention. On top of soundtrack appearances in SingStar and DDR, the song Motownphilly appeared in 2004’s iconic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and holds a place in the hearts of many players.
9
Super Bowl XXXIII 1999 – Stevie Wonder
For clarity, no, Stevie Wonder did not endorse Atari. That was a Photoshop from someone who thought it was funny. However his music has appeared in plenty of video games, from Rocksmith to Just Dance, Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, SingStar, and more.
10
Super Bowl XXXIV 2000 – Phil Collins
Yes, Christina Aguilera was present at this halftime show. Yep, Enrique Iglesias too. But forget about that lot – Phil Collins was here, and is one of few artists that can claim three different songs featured in the Grand Theft Auto series.
11
Super Bowl XXXV 2001 – Aerosmith
2008 saw the release of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. If there is a greater compliment for a band than that, I’d like to hear it.
12
Super Bowl XXXVI 2002 – U2
U2 have had songs appear in Rock Band, NBA, SingStar, and more, but not Guitar Hero. We can’t all live up to Aerosmith standards.
13
Super Bowl XXXVII 2003 – Shania Twain
As much as I’d like to rant about the number of games that feature No Doubt’s great songs, Shania Twain is the star of this Super Bowl, and coincidentally, she appeared in the mobile game Home Street in 2017, according to the AP. I say according to the AP, because I almost don’t believe it.
14
Super Bowl XXXVIII 2004 – Nelly
The halftime show at 2004’s Super Bowl was a stacked line up, and P. Diddy, Kid Rock, and Janet Jackson have songs that feature in video games. More importantly though, rapper Nelly actually starred in NBA Street Vol. 2 as a playable character. He also sang a rendition of Hot in Here in simlish for The Sims.
15
Super Bowl XXXIX 2005 – Paul McCartney
One of the founding members of The Beatles, Paul McCartney has had his music featured in countless games, but the most important is easily The Beatles: Rock Band.
16
Super Bowl XL 2006 – The Rolling Stones
Another classic rock band, The Rolling Stones have been featured in the likes of Guitar Hero, Mafia III, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Rocksmith, Tony Hawk, MLB The Show, and more.
17
Super Bowl XLI 2007 – Prince
Prince is another megastar, so it makes sense that the artist that’s now known as an unpronounceable symbol has a video game based on him. Prince Interactive is a 1994 game for Windows 3.1 and Mac OS which featured previously unreleased songs, full-length music videos, a mixing board, and more.
18
Super Bowl XLII 2008 – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty, both solo and with his team of Heartbreakers, has been featured in many games, including a pack of 14 (fourteen!) different tracks released as DLC for Rock Band 2.
19
Super Bowl XLIII 2009 – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
If you’re a Springsteen fan, you’ll be happy to know that the man himself along with the E Street Band have tracks available to play in Guitar Hero: World Tour thanks to post-launch DLC. These tracks launched on the same day as the album Working on a Dream.
20
Super Bowl XLIV 2010 – The Who
Another classic rock band? You know it, The Who have songs included in the usual lineup of games, including Grand Theft Auto, Sleeping Dogs, Need For Speed, Rock Band, Rocksmith, and more.
21
Super Bowl XLV 2011 – The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyes Peas were once one of the biggest groups in the world, and as proof, they had a video game of their own titled The Black Eyed Peas Experience. The Wii version of the game acts as a Just Dance clone, while the Kinect version tries a bit more to teach players dance choreography. We shouldn’t overlook The Urbz: Sims in the City either, which even featured BEP as characters, in addition to simlish versions of some of their songs.
22
Super Bowl XLVI 2012 – Madonna
While we could mention that Madonna’s music has been in a variety of games, including 2020’s Sackboy: A Big Adventure, it’s far more interesting to look at a game she inspired. Vigilante is a 1988 arcade game developed by Irem, and it’s a classic beat ‘em up where you fight against The Skinheads to save the blonde-haired Madonna. While we can’t guarantee the damsel in distress was based on Madonna the artist, her in-game name was later changed for the Sega home console ports, so someone was clearly concerned about there being too much of a resemblance.
23
Super Bowl XLVII 2013 – Beyoncé
Beyoncé has a bit of an interesting history with video games. Back in 2013, Beyoncé settled a lawsuit with game developer Gate Five after she pulled out of a partnership. Interestingly, it’s a struggle to find any other info online about Gate Five. In addition to that, there was a Beyoncé-inspired game called Lemonade Rage in 2017. Of course, she also has plenty of songs featured in video games too.
24
Super Bowl XLVIII 2014 – Bruno Mars
Another star with plenty of music in video games, but Bruno Mars’ biggest video game feature is in Fortnite. Mars’ group Silk Sonic had skins designed by the duo in the game, as well as characters that look just like Mars and his bandmate Anderson Paak.
25
Super Bowl XLIX 2015 – Katy Perry
Katy Perry has her songs featured in games, and she’s even made a music video that celebrates Pokémon. But most interestingly, in 2020 she released a playable game alongside her album, Smile. The game, Katy’s Quest, no longer appears to be online, but you can still see it in Katy Perry’s tweet from the release.
26
Super Bowl L/50 2016 – Coldplay
This is a weird one. In late 2021 Coldplay and BTS teamed up for the single My Universe, which you’ve likely already heard. But what you might’ve missed is that a video game based on the universe seen in the music video was released, titled Supernova 7. And yes, you can still play it as of the time of writing.
27
Super Bowl LI 2017 – Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga herself has been featured in the Just Dance series – the series debuted just a year after Lady Gaga’s own track, Just Dance, so the name seems unlikely to be a coincidence. But did you know Lady Gaga is a bit of a gamer herself? She’s tweeted in the past about playing Bayonetta, which suits her perfectly.
28
Super Bowl LII 2018 – Justin Timberlake
Say what you want about the former NSync member, but he has a place on the aforementioned The Black Eyed Peas Experience, as well as DDR, Just Dance, Fuser, Beatstar, and more.
29
Super Bowl LIII 2019 – Maroon 5
Maroon 5 has literally dozens of songs across loads of different games – possibly one of the most represented artists out of this whole list when it comes to video game soundtracks. If you can think of a music game series, Maroon 5 has probably featured on it somewhere.
30
Super Bowl LIV 2020 – Shakira and Jennifer Lopez
Truly this is the era of stars having their own video games, because for some reason Shakira had a game called Love Rocks Starring Shakira made by Rovio, the Angry Birds creators.
The game is no longer available, but her halftime co-star, Jennifer Lopez, has a strong history with video games too. J-Lo has her own game, Hit Play, which was released in 2021, has starred in Coin Master ads, and you can find both artists in various music games.
31
Super Bowl LV 2021 – The Weeknd
The Weeknd is another artist that has had a strong presence in video games for years now, and can boast 10 songs featured in Beat Saber.
32
Super Bowl LVI 2022 – Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre
The halftime show at Super Bowl LVI had a star-studded line up, and this team has had a place in video games. Dr. Dre and Eminem even starred in GTA Online expansion The Contract, which shared its title with the new song that debuted in the game. On top of that, Eminem was offered to star in a GTA movie back in the day. Snoop Dogg was also a playable character in Def Jam: Fight for NY, as well as working on Riders on the Storm with The Doors for Need for Speed: Underground 2, which is an all-timer.
But if you want to get really weird, we should mention that Eminem worked on 50 Cent: Bulletproof, provided consultancy for DJ Hero, and for the strangest one: Quake III: Arena – Dr. Dre & Eminem level and models. Yes, Interscope Records released an official custom Dre and Eminem Quake III Arena level, with models of the artists themselves that players could use. I told you, weird.
33
Super Bowl LVII 2023 – Rihanna
Rihanna has starred in the Battleship movie, which was based on a board game – but that’s not a video game, right? We can do better than that, or her music simply featuring in a game. Rihanna’s brand Fenty Beauty collaborated with Riot Games in 2021 to coincide with the release of Netflix’s Arcane, which is set in the Runeterra universe, shared with League of Legends. Fenty Beauty consulted on many of the makeup and design choices in both the series and game.
Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.
