talkFORUM

Shedboy wrote:That's that for another year then.

Eaststand wrote:todays half time show was one of the most pathetic things Ive ever seen. Maroon 5 and outcast? They were complete shit in 2005. Its almost as though the NFL is in some kind of money trouble, although that cant possibly be true, but that was the equivalent of paying chas and dave to perform in your pub in 2012.

Eaststand wrote:todays half time show was one of the most pathetic things Ive ever seen. Maroon 5 and outcast? They were complete shit in 2005. Its almost as though the NFL is in some kind of money trouble, although that cant possibly be true, but that was the equivalent of paying chas and dave to perform in your pub in 2012.

Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and Big Boi have faced criticism for their decision to perform at the halftime show due to the NFL's treatment and alleged blacklisting of Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem before games.[9][14][15][16] Several artists, including Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Cardi B, reportedly turned down offers to perform at the show to support the protests.[17][18] In an interview, Kaepernick's attorney Mark Geragos compared Maroon 5's participation to strikebreaking, and argued that if the band wanted to cross the "intellectual picket line", they needed to "own it", explaining that "if anything, it's a cop out when you start talking about, 'I'm not a politician, I'm just doing the music.' Most of the musicians who have any kind of consciousness whatsoever understand what's going on here."[19]

In response to the controversy, Scott agreed to participate in the halftime show only if the NFL joined him in donating $500,000 to Dream Corps, an organization founded by Van Jones that supports social justice efforts.[20] Maroon 5 subsequently announced that they had joined with the NFL and their label Interscope Records to donate the same amount to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.[21]

A pre-game press conference regarding the halftime show was cancelled. Although the NFL stated that Maroon 5 had wanted to focus on their preparations for the show, media outlets theorized that the band was trying to avoid the possibility of having to discuss Kaepernick.[22][23][24] In an interview with the news program Entertainment Tonight, the band's lead singer Adam Levine discussed the band's decision to accept the gig, explaining that "I silenced all the noise and listened to myself and made my decision based upon how I felt", and that "I'm not in the right profession if I can't handle a little bit of controversy. It's what it is. We expected it. We'd like to move on from it and speak through the music".[25]
Critical response
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2019)

Maroon 5's performance received mostly negative reviews. Deadline Hollywood called the show "terrible" and stated it lacked "lift-off or soul."[26] Entertainment Weekly called it "lackluster."[27] The Baltimore Sun called it an "empty-calorie display of corporate-pop competence."[28] The Independent gave it two stars out of five and stated it "failed to impress."[29] The New York Times wrote "in a performance that was dynamically flat, mushy at the edges, worthy of something much worse than derision: a shrug. It was an inessential performance from a band that might have lost some moral authority if it had any moral authority to lose."[30] NME said it was "surprise-free, trite, and soulless" and "with Maroon 5's set, [Levine]'s given the world an easy target – one that’s boring, trite, and saying absolutely nothing of any value whatsoever."[31] The Guardian also gave the performance two out of five stars, writing "Adam Levine's torso can't save tedious affair."[32] Omaha World-Herald however said "it was exactly what it needed to be."[33]

It was reported that viewers of the halftime show "wanted more SpongeBob", seeing what they got as an unsatisfactory tribute to Hillenburg as per the petition's purpose.[34]

Eaststand wrote:todays half time show was one of the most pathetic things Ive ever seen. Maroon 5 and outcast? They were complete shit in 2005. Its almost as though the NFL is in some kind of money trouble, although that cant possibly be true, but that was the equivalent of paying chas and dave to perform in your pub in 2012.