Maroon 5 was joined with rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi. Levine kicked off the disappointing show with fireworks and “Harder to Breathe” and their throwback tune “This Love.”
Travis Scott went on to perform a condensed rendition of “Sicko Mode,” featuring Bikini Bottom Super Band, and Adam Levine immediately broke into “Girl Like You” and one of their better songs “She Will Be Loved.” Rapper Big Boi performed a brief version of “The Way You Move.”
To make matters worse, after performing “Sugar,” Maroon 5 concluded their set with “Moves Like Jagger,” which has to be one of their most obnoxious songs of all-time; moreover, Levine took off his shirt during that song, which was completely unnecessary.
The Verdict
Overall, Adam Levine and his band Maroon 5 were lackluster at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. It was a complete mess on so many levels: the performances were too boring, they didn’t take any risks, and they played it too safe. They didn’t even have any additional surprises that could have spiced up their set a bit more, in an effort to enhance their audience’s interests and attention. It lacked heart and soul, and it will go down as one of the worst Super Bowl halftime shows in the last decade. In various instances, Levine’s pitch was all over the place.
The only positive thing about their performance is that Maroon 5 stayed true to themselves by singing their own hit songs, as opposed to covering songs by other artists (They learned from Justin Timberlake’s mistake last year). In recent years, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Katy Perry. Beyonce, all put on far superior Super Bowl halftime performances that were well-received and memorable. Maroon 5’s halftime set garnered one out of five stars.
