BY JULIA PIZZUTO
Assistant A&E Editor
On Feb. 2, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez teamed up for the first time to headline the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. The performance took place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla., where the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the San Francisco 49ers. Over 102 million Americans tuned in to see the Chiefs earn their first Super Bowl title in 50 years, and to see Shakira and J. Lo perform at halftime.
There are now over 100 million views of the halftime show on a YouTube video, which can be found on the NFL’s channel.
“I knew those two would be absolutely fire together,” said Garvey. “I expected nothing less.”
The show marked the first ever entirely Latina-headlined Super Bowl halftime performance. Shakira was born in Colombia and J. Lo is of Puerto Rican descent. Shakira said “Hola Miami” to kick off the performance.
Shakira opened the show with her song “She Wolf” and an army of dancers. After a costume change, Shakira appeared in a red two piece as a nod to the “Zootopia” character she voiced in the 2016 film.
J. Lo opened her portion of the show with her 2002 song “Jenny from the Block.” Her performance, like Shakira’s, featured large group dances throughout.
To follow were several other Latin aspects to the show, including elements of the dances and J. Lo wrapped in a Puerto Rican flag. The performance also featured guests J Balvin and Bad Bunny, the latter of whom rapped entirely in Spanish.
According to AP News, the performance moved some U.S. Latinos to tears. Many of them took to social media to praise the awareness the duo brought to Latin Americans.
Near the end of J. Lo’s half of the performance, her 11-year-old daughter, Emme Maribel Muñiz, appeared on stage to sing the Bruce Springsteen song “Born in the U.S.A.”
“I loved how she brought her daughter on stage,” said freshmen Sophia Sippel. “It showed her singing potential at such a young age.”
During Muñiz’s performance, cameras tilted upwards for a birds-eye-view of a purple and yellow cross in honor of the passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers-colored cross was only on screen for a matter of seconds, though. Garvey said, “I did not notice that [the flag] at all.”
Freshman Gregory Allen said he heard there would be a tribute to Bryant, but thought the tribute should’ve been given more visibility, saying, “I thought it was going to be more noticeable.”
Freshman Abigail Lupinacci said, “I think it’s good they did that because other people died in the crash besides Kobe and his daughter.”
J. Lo exhibited pole dancing skills during the show, which produced varying reactions. “I wasn’t expecting the whole pole thing. I just wasn’t expecting her to do that on live TV,” said Allen.
“I think in today’s world I wouldn’t call it inappropriate, but I guess if a 12-year-old was watching . . .” said sophomore Jacob Liebert regarding J. Lo’s pole dancing and the featured dances. “I feel like everything is about being body-positive today.”
Some felt that the performance served as a comeback for Shakira, who has not had a chart-topping song since the 2000s.
“She just reminded us who she is,” said Garvey.
Many Sacred Heart students had a positive reaction to the performance overall.
“You really can’t go from Maroon 5 to J. Lo and Shakira,” said Garvey, comparing this year’s half time show with last year. “I thought it was absolutely amazing, 10 out of 10, stellar.”
