5 questions about Super Bowl halftime show, from SpongeBob to shirtless Adam Levine
After months of controversy surrounding the Super Bowl halftime show, in which acts reportedly turned down the slot in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, Maroon 5 finally took the stage Sunday night with Travis Scott and Big Boi. And it was ... extremely tame.
Defying rumors, Scott did not propose to Kylie Jenner. Instead, he got a brief amount of time onstage, as did Big Boi, while Maroon 5 ran through their greatest hits: "Harder to Breathe," "She Will Be Loved," "This Love," "Sugar," "Girls Like You" and "Moves Like Jagger."
Here are five questions we have about the show.
1) What was up with the "SpongeBob" cameo?
Confused about the brief "SpongeBob SquarePants" scene that served as an intro into Scott's "Sicko Mode"? You are not alone. After the show's creator Stephen Hillenburg died last fall, mourning fans started an online campaign for "Sweet Victory," a song from a 2001 episode about a game called the Bubble Bowl, to be played during the halftime performance.
A Change.org petition got more than a million signatures, and producers played a clip of the cartoon.
2) Why was Adam Levine shirtless?
When is the Maroon 5 frontman not shirtless? "I just love being as naked as possible all the time - it feels really natural to me," Levine told Out magazine in 2011. He started in a long black coat, then went to a tracksuit, then a tank top, and then no shirt at all.
3) Where was Andre 3000?
Another rumor was that Andre 3000 would be a surprise guest, joining Big Boi for an Outkast reunion. And while Big Boi made a splash during the show, escorted onto the field in a car and wearing an enormous fur coat while rapping "The Way You Move," Andre 3000 was nowhere to be found.
4) How much did the gospel singer upstage Adam Levine?
Cardi B is featured on Maroon 5's "Girls Like You," but she told The Associated Press that she declined to join the show because she wanted to "stand behind" Kaepernick, the quarterback who hasn't played in the NFL since 2016, when he knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality. Instead, a gospel choir and drum line joined Maroon 5, though the lead female singer eclipsed Levine's vocal abilities and inspired tweets asking whether she could take over the show.
5) Why was Travis Scott wearing a fanny pack?
Unclear. Scott was onstage for just a few minutes, but people on social media were distracted by the fashion choice.