Big changes for the Super Bowl halftime show.
First of all, Pepsi is out as sponsor after many years. In comes Apple Music, with very deep pockets and lots of influence.
The word is Taylor Swift will be the lead musical performer, which makes sense. Apple would be pushing her and Swift will be well into the release of her “Midnights” album coming October 21st.
The Swift-Apple combo is formidable, certainly, since Swift — who used to be opposed to streaming — is also busy replacing her older albums with re-recorded versions.
Previously the NFL had been in a deal with Jay Z and Roc Nation to supply artists for the half time show. Because of the Colin Kaepernick situation, the NFL was trying to appease Black fans by having artists like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira (2020), the Weeknd (2021) and this past year’s hip-hop spectacular guided by Dr. Dre and featuring Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent, with Anderson.Paak.
My guess is Swift will not be alone. She will definitely have guest stars and at least one of them will have to be from the R&B world, maybe one from country since that was where she had her start. But this will definitely be a more white bread Super Bowl show than we’ve seen in many years.
