Madonna At The Super Bowl: Review Revue

Robbie Daw | February 6, 2012 8:57 am

Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime performance was a glowing spectacle that offered a sampling of the pop queen’s lengthy back catalog of hits and boasted a slew of guests like Nicki Minaj, Cee Lo Green and LMFAO. Of course, M.I.A. was there, too, and she made sure all of America knew the size and shape of her middle finger during “Give Me All Your Luvin'”. Naturally, the Internet at large chimed in with several opinions of the show. Catch our roundup of the reviews below! :: The Atlantic called Madge’s spectacle the perfect pep rally for pop music: “It’s a credit to cinematography and choreography that for the near entirety of a Super Bowl halftime performance with so, so much to look at, Madonna remained the center of attention.”

:: The Los Angeles Times thought the Material Girl shined: “In many ways, Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show delivered the Full Madonna. Who else could have gotten away with that superabundant spectacle of choreography and showmanship, booming beats and cheeky camp, replete with a phalanx of blinged and buffed faux gladiators?”

::Dlisted raved about the performance in a very Dlisted manner: “Madge LIP-SYNCHED FOR HER LIFE (and I think she fucked it up), LMFAO are like outcast Fraggles on low grade meth and Cee-Lo looked like a fat T-Rex dressed like a gay priest. Just every layer and shade of WTF. What I’m saying is, I think I liked it for that very reason.”

:: Chart Rigger got into M’s groove: “So many wigs were snatched, and Madge simply used them as pom poms.”

:: CNN noted the following: “Madonna had promised a performance without scandal, and for the most part that’s what she gave (one of the singer’s many guest performers, M.I.A., apparently didn’t get the memo).”

:: NPR wondered whether M.I.A.’s middle finger during “Give Me All Your Luvin'” was that big of a deal: “On the one hand (so to speak), it’s an obscene gesture and it theoretically might have been seen by more than 100 million Americans. On the other hand… middle fingers have been popping up with increasing frequency for several years now.”

:: Pitchfork gave M.I.A. a spanking: “…in the few bars Madonna was kind enough to grant her during the biggest television event of the year, M.I.A.’s message to America was simply, ‘Fuck you.’ Well, in M.I.A.’s own words, the little people will never win, but they can fuck shit up. Success might be the best revenge, but apparently, being an asshole is forever.”

:: The Guardian touched on the similarities between Madonna’s entrance and the theme of Kylie Minogue’s last tour: “Pop fandom in 2012 is characterized by a frenzied desire to pit female artists against each other in their own gladiatorial battle of who-copied-who, and Minogue fans immediately started squealing about similarities to Kylie’s Aphrodite Les Folies tour. Why can’t we all just get along?”

:: Finally, Pink Is The New Blog summed the whole performance up with this: “Let’s be real … Madonna killed it. Haters will hate, imitating popstars will try and emulate … but there can really only EVER be one Madonna.”

What did you think of Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime performance? Let us know in the comments below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!