Madonna is probably ticked off, not so much because of the gesture or the expletive but because now no one is talking about Madonna or her show, but about M.I.A. That is never a good idea for a long and successful career.
Monday, February 06, 2012
M.I.A Flips The Bird & Maybe Says S**t During Halftime Show
In the annals of horrible things of Superbowl half time shows, the actions of M.I.A will be remembered simply because most Superbowl halftime shows are less than memorable on their own. For all the hype they receive, who really remembers the Aerosmith or U2 performances of yesteryear? During Madonna's performance of her new song which I call, "I Love Myself And You Should Love Me Enough To Spell It Wrong Repeatedly Over A 3 Minute Period," M.I.A finished off her part of the song by flipping the bird and probably saying the word s**t. I don't know what you expect when you ask M.I.A to perform but the NFL who hires the acts blamed NBC for not being quick enough with the censor button. Of course the NFL should probably have had some clue when they hired someone who was on a terror watch list for a year and wrote a song and published the phone number of a journalist on her Twitter after they wrote what she judged a bad article about her.
I laughed when I found out M.I.A. would be on, not surprised AT ALL that she did that.
ReplyDeleteIt was epic production and all, but Madonna seemed stiff. The lip-synching was awful, really obvious. Overall I felt a bit sad when she was done, as in, if she seems old, what does that make me? I forget that Holiday was twenty-something years ago.
Vadge needs to grow up. That new song blows! All I liked was "Like A Prayer" where she covered her butt up. She was trying WAY too hard.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to grow old in the spotlight, it's hard to grow old period.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes Madonna was working so hard and it showed..at this point in her career she really has very little to prove, I'm guessing she just can't let go.
Here is what I got out of it - Madonna is super tiny.
ReplyDeletemadonna's new song is awful. mia and nicki are being wasted in the video and playing backup when they both have way more talent than the now-madonna.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch, but the only good part for me was that lady gaga was conspicuously absent from this. I guess she and madge ain't getting on too well.
I didn't even know who those other people besides Madonna were.
ReplyDeleteClass acts though for sure...heh...
I'll take Aerosmith over that stuff any day.
M.I.A should have headlined.
ReplyDeleteI beg to differ, Prince was very memorable.
ReplyDeleteMadonna's performance was what I expected it to be, stiff and useless. And MIA does what she always does. To her, Relevancy denied.
Madonna was dancing like a 53 year old woman. She no longer has the moves of young Madonna, and I spent the entire time watching the choreography try to coverup for that.
ReplyDeleteAs for MIA - you get what you hire. I'm surprised it didn't become a showdown between MIA and Nicki Minaj to see who could upstage Madonna more.
The halftime show was better than I expected, but the new song is crap and narcisistic. Highlight was Like a Prayer. Dumbest moment was the World Peace words in lights at the end. Wow, because they spelled it in lights at the end at the Super Bowl, why now I think all the dictators of the world are changing their tune. Gag me.
Me: I wonder if Madonna will have a wardrobe malfunction.
ReplyDeleteMy wife: I hope not. I don't want to see Madonna's vajayjay - not even if it's vajazzled!
Madonna is Cher for my generation. It's hard for me to fault her.
ReplyDelete@Seachica - I hear you. I gagged on the World Peace lights, too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it. I liked Lmfao's part.
ReplyDeleteI did not notice the finger incident, although I did wonder why the screen went out for a second. Must've been that.
In MIA's defense, she probably thought she was singing Gwen Stefani's B-A-N-A-N-A-S song and was just saying the line...dis my shit. Cuz that's what Madge's song sounds like to me.
ReplyDeleteI thought the half time show was pretty decent. Better than the BEP last year.
ReplyDeleteIt was noted at the party I was at- all we need for world peace to occur is for Madonna to disappear in a puff of smoke lke a witch?!? We were all for it...lol
ReplyDeleteI'm just glad Madonna stayed covered up, it would be great if she could embrace her age more and be inspirational for the older ladies.
ReplyDeleteYou guys aren't really fair. Madonna BROUGHT IT and that was a very intricate and complex performance, not to mention challenging!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the new song sucks balls.
And it IS a little transparent to see her try to burnish her image with the "street cred" of Minaj and MIA, so that is a wee bit lame
but the show was impressive, c'mon
AND - yes, MDNA is totally gonna shank MIA in her sleep for this publicity hijacking
I thought the half time show was fine. It wasn't over the top.
ReplyDeleteI love it, all the old artists use the new artists to stay relevant. All MIA did was use Madonna back and got everybody talking about MIA.
ReplyDeleteI thought Madonna almost falling off the bleachers was the best part.
Didn't Madonna say she pulled something (hamstring, I think) last week? It seemed that she was struggling and it looked like it could've been because of an injury.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I thought it was great. I loved that a 54 year old woman could go up there and show everyone how it's done. I don't think LMFAO deserved to be on the same stage as her (they really are just the worst).
And her boots were extraordinary.
For what it's worth, Springsteen was the best half time show.
I don't usually evem watch the half-time show but did this year. It was fine. No big whoop. I think the best part was the guy on the wire. We were all waiting for him to miss and hurt himself.
ReplyDeletemadonna almost falling was definitely the best part. I think that she was having some difficulty dancing in those shoes, she was super stiff, the world peace lights were pretentious and contrived (IMO) and the lipsynching was very obvious, but i still thought the show was good overall. The backup performers were really good, as were LMFAO, Cee-lo, MIA and Nicki Minaj.
ReplyDeleteM.I.A. flipping the bird was just a distraction from the dark queen of the illuminati, aka "Muppet Madge" flipping us her crotch which is a known ritual for bringing on the NWO. But in all seriousness...these performers aren't even trying to hide the blatant occult symbolism anymore. I'll be impressed with a musical performance when it does doesn't have an Egyptian/Metropolios/Free Mason/Baphomet theme- aka something different for a change.
ReplyDeleteOkay Vicky...Uh huh...
ReplyDeleteHow about we stop drawing attention to celebrity bad behavior, and maybe they'll stop. There is absolutlely no reason to give the finger on live TV with millions of viewers, unless you're desperate for attention and a desperate need to stay relevant. Celebs are always trying to stay relevant. It must be exhausting.
ReplyDeleteI thought the performance was just okay. I missed MIA flipping the bird because I was too busy explaining who she was to half the room.
ReplyDeleteCompared to last years SHITSTORM of the Black Eyed Peas etc (at least they sang..i think),it was very entertaining & I was quite surprised. I HATE THE NEW SONG, it sounds like that Avril song "Girlfriend" SRSLY. (Don't ask me why I know an AL song) LISTEN. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEeutWolKMw&feature=fvsr
ReplyDeleteI would have enjoyed Madonna more --- and I am not a fan--if the production hadn't been so over done.
ReplyDeleteThe stage, lights, number of backups, and all the other distractions took away from her lip-synched, blah choreography, and silly costuming.
I didn't flat out hate it but it wasn't all that either.
I thought it was a pretty good show and Madonna did a good job. But I agree with what everyone here is saying. Time for her to stop pretending she can do now what she did 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt was just okay for me, the best part was the drummers of a marching band, I loved that!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very entertaining for the half time show and for Madonna, who I respect as the icon she is, but she usually gets on my last nerve these days. I was kind of embarrassed for Madonna bringing out MIA and Nicki Minaj and LMFAO. I mean, really. You're MADONNA! She does not need those people.
ReplyDeleteHer new song is all kinds of lame for many reasons mentioned above: Sounding like Holla Back Girl and that Avril Lavigne piece of shit Girlfriend song, the fact that love is spelled as "LUV," and should Madonna really be referring to herself as "girl" at this point. I mean, really?
I was impressed with her still trying to shake it. The lip synching was lame. Yes, I believe the Black Eyed Peas really did sing during their performance. And I agree with the poster who said that Springsteen was the best half time show in recent memory.
At least Madonna wasn't The Who.... Shudder!!
I thought she did pretty good.
Kelly Clarkson sounded awesome.
I'm confused. I thought all the singing was pre-recorded. Which means shit was in there the whole time. Or was just Madonna lip-syncing?
ReplyDeleteI thought the Givenchy fashion was fabulous, at least.
Madonna was stiff, but she's not superhuman, even though she thinks she is.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't bad. I didn't see last year's BEP disaster, so I can't compare the two. I agree that Cee-Lo, Nicki, and MIA stole it from Madge. (I can't stand LMFAO or Party Rock Out or whatever the f it's called...heh, I'm showing my age!)
The best recent halftime show, hands down, was U2.
The production was top notch, all the lights worked, poor BEP had problems with that.
ReplyDeleteMadonna should have worn a lower heel, she nearly lost it on the bleachers. Her dancing was limited to marching and her squat thrusts.
Her back up dancers were all good and clearly looking out for her.
I think Nicky and MIA saw a chance to upstage the old queen and took it, Madge still has some power, MIA may be sorry she did that.
All in all not bad, not great.
Kelly Clarkson's anthem was terrific.
I think Madonna needed to wear lower heels so that she could move easier. I didn't like her new single, too teeny-bopper-ish and, I agree with others, ego-inducing.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't watched the whole thing, but I did see Madonna's entrance with the horns...dressed in gold...on a throne that had horns...between two pillars...on a carriage pulled by slaves. I'm thinking it must have been a joke...*L* And I like her new song although the video is creepy as fuck.
ReplyDeleteWhat drives me NUTS about the lip-synching is that it is done to the ORIGINAL radio versions of the songs that we've all heard 1,000 times. If they're going to lip-synch (which dancers have to do), can't they at least re-record those originals, and pre-sweeten them as necessary, so it isn't as blatant?
ReplyDeleteMadonna meant A LOT to my teen years, but she should have started bowing out about 10 years ago. No logical person can really stay a top pop performer into their 50's. Broadway-yes, Standards--yes, Rock--maybe. But not Pop. Madge went from effortlessly cool to try hard after try hard. Time to give it up.
As others have mentioned, "Like A Prayer" was the only good song. I've never liked "Vogue," and the rest of the music (?) was crap. When the 'World Peace' lights came on, I said to the person watching with me: "Why are they promoting The Lakers?"
ReplyDelete@anitamark - Springsteen was really good, but he looked like he was constipated the whole time (my brother made that joke and now it's a family joke that we reference all the time). He sounded amazing though and gave a kick ass performance.
ReplyDelete@yourfaceisamess/Susan - When I heard the new song, I said the exact same thing! Sounds so much like that awful Avril song it's not even funny.
@Lioness70 - Totally agree. U2 blew it out of the water that year (2002). Still my favorite half-time show.
I thought Madonna was trying way too hard to be young & hip - which is really sad. Between the pulled muscle and those boots, she was having a hard time dancing and it showed. She's Madonna for goodness sakes, she doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. That said, she was still MUCH better than the BEPs were.
For me, LMFAO & CeeLo were by far the best parts, though I thought Michael K's description of them was absolutely hilarious (and somewhat spot on).
@Meg, Springsteen always looks like that. He doesn't half-ass a performance, he puts his whole heart and soul in it. He's my God.
ReplyDeleteWhen Madonna disappeared into the stage, I turned to my boyfriend and said "look. She's melted like the wicked witch of the west" at which point he said "or finally gone to hell".
ReplyDeleteUm... having been subjected to this song enough, MIA's part ends with her saying "I don't give a sh-" then it cuts away. Which is precisely what she sang during the halftime. So that's just the people trying to make this into a big deal trying to find something else to tack onto it.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if Madonna hadn't of brought up LMFAO and tried to shuffle- making herself look like the awkward moms trying to look hip and young at bar mitzvah's... it was a pretty good show. But that part just looked horrible.
Also, M's lip synching wouldn't have been so obvious if she hadn't used the album tracks for Vogue or Music. At least she had to re-record Express Yourself & Like a Prayer since it was a different arrangement
ReplyDelete@Vicky: The first thing I thought when they were hauling Madge out on that barge like some pagan goddess was that it looked like something out of a Bohemian Grove ceremony! People won't believe these things even when they're right in front of them.
ReplyDeleteI think it is hilarious she stole Madonna's thunder.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I still have zero desire to see the performance.
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ReplyDeleteGood lord, started reading the comments and had to stop because I was getting pissed off.
ReplyDeleteMadonna is 53- not fucking 100. She performed and did her thing for over 10 minutes straight, a feat many artists have trouble doing live.
Ya'll are policing her age like she (or any woman) should be ashamed of owning/declaring her sexuality and power during this performance, simply because she's been around for decades and isnt 'young'.
NOT feeling this thread or any of you right now. WOW
And M.I.A. killed it.
@Jasmine
ReplyDeleteI said I enjoyed it and so did several people.
So you did RenoBlondee, musta given up by that point and stopped reading.
ReplyDeleteApologies to the ones who werent on the age police patrol, castigating a woman for *gasp* performing to music that is hip and attempting dances that arent from the Stevie Nicks era.
Jasmine - I don't think everyone is knocking Madonna's age!!! And, I agree with you, tons of the oldies are goodies: Rolling Stones, Bruce, Aerosmith, etc... I would take them anyday over half the crap out there.
ReplyDeleteI thought Madonna looked fabulous. Period. I loathe when people say, "So and so looks good for her age." Say what?!?! Ha ha.
And apologies, for not giving U2 a shoutout. They were awesome. But they are always awesome, IMHO. My mommy brain can not remember back to 2002. Shit, I can't remember what happened yesterday.
@Jasmine, I can't agree more. I was just watching some stupid-ass entertainment show and two dumbfucks were on who thought they were the height of hilarity. They ragged on her so badly, kept calling her old and talking about her trying to stay relevant and inferring she should just find a dark corner in which to hide then die. It was infuriating. She went out there in front of millions and performed her ass off. I'm not a huge fan but she puts on a show. And let's look back at past half-time performers, Springsteen, The Who, U2, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Prince, Paul McCartney, etc. All the same age or older, how many of them were slagged for being too old? None.
ReplyDeleteI'm turning 40 next month and I'm not dealing well with it. I feel like I'm too old to be attractive anymore and comments like these don't help. I saw a beautiful fit woman who killed it. And she wasn't struggling to stay relevent, she's fucking Madonna. They should all consider themselves lucky to perform with her (especially LMFAO).
And those were seriously stunning boots.
Madonna's new song is so reductive.
ReplyDeleteJasmine- how does it feel to be the feminist police? For fuck's sake, not everyone is thinking about women's rights every time they write a comment about a woman. We all live with inequality, in some way, everyday. Personally, I don't want to think about it every time I want to snark on someone. I don't know why you feel like it's necessary to "champion the cause" on nearly every post and start arguments with people over comments that you seem to just read too much into. Seems like shit stirring to me.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the half-time show and thought Madonna did a good job. I didn't expect her to dance like a 20 year old. Why would anyone really expect that? It's a complaint that sounds more like an excuse to insult Madonna for her age.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Madonna and never have. Shes a super power though and they sure did put on a nice show yesterday. The choreography and lights were the real stars Madonna performed her part nicely.
ReplyDeleteIts shameful really what people will do to get talked about and create a buzz. I would love to see MIAs childish prank bite her back. It certainly should.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty good set, and definitely better than the BEP last year; don't care for the new song, but the older stuff is pretty much classic by now. I did have to laugh when she fell through the trapdoor w/the puff of smoke at the end of "Like a Prayer"--was she supposed to be going to hell? ;-) The intro was WAAAAAAAY over the top, but then again, it IS the Super Bowl...
ReplyDeleteDidn't actually see Prince's performance, although I heard it was awesome; of the ones I've seen, U2 is still my favorite. I'll never forget them doing "Where the Streets Have No Name" while scrolling the names of all the 9/11 victims, and Bono whipping open his jacket at the end to reveal an American flag--corny, yes, but he definitely knows how to make that kind of grand onstage gesture, and it still gave me chills.
@AnitaMark - As for Springsteen, like I said before, he gave a kick-ass performance. I totally don't knock him - just thought his expression was funny (after my brother made the comment). But you can tell he gives his heart and soul (and I realize the look my brother was referencing was probably him concentrating & pouring his emotion into his performance).
ReplyDeleteIf anyone took my comments that I was knocking Madonna's age, I didn't mean for it come across that way, but re-reading it I definitely can see that it came across that way.
I just felt her performance didn't need all the lights and everyone else (it felt like she was trying to pull in the teen demo w/ M.I.A, Nicki, LMFAO, etc)- like I said before she's Madonna for God's sake. It could have just been her, a spotlight and a mic and she would have killed it. But I *do* get she's a performer and likes to give a show. It's just my opinion that she didn't need everything. (Like I said before, my favorite was U2 and that was a more bare bones performance).
Do I think she was having a hard time dancing? Yes. Do I fault her for that? Hell no. I couldn't get my 20 something ass up there and pull off half those moves, let alone in those boots with a pulled muscle. She gets HUGE respect (& I already completely respected her).
I still think for me LMFAO & CeeLo were by far the best parts, but that's because I LOVE them and I don't like Madonna's new song (but that's just my tastes).
I commented on Madonna being reduced to marching and her squat thrusts. I did not see a lot of dancing, and Madonna is a great dancer, the lack of which I attributed to her very high heels and the surface she was on. Her choice, and it has nothing to do with age.
ReplyDeleteJasmine said M.I.A. *killed it* and so she did by choosing to use her face time on national TV in front of a million families to say Fuck you!
@Anita- THANK YOU for articulating why I was so frustrated in the first place.
ReplyDeleteSlightly OT but I am 29 and already I've been getting the 'when are you going to have kids or do you have a steady bf' shit from random ass people for the last 2 years or so now--I guess Ive noticed that as a woman ages past that 25 yr old bracket of socially acceptable youth/beauty, that she is now either a some to be mother and/or wife and later, in her 40s and 50s and so on, a person to be closely monitored/policed in terms of her actions/appearance/lifestyle and more and if she dares to act in ways that are identifable as 'youthful' or not 'her age', she gets fucking reamed and nudged back into her corner.
I think it happened/is happening with Demi Moore PERIOD and in Madge's case all the time but the Superbowl in particular.
SOOO glad you pointed out the comparison between her male counterparts not recieving the same age bashing shit.
Also, as for your personal upcoming age---I haveta say the handful of women i've met who are truly inspiring due in many reasons because of their glowing strength, wisdom, and owning who they are. whereever and whatever they happen to be in the moment, all were in touch with their womanness (read sexuality) and ALL happened to be in their 40s-50s-60s. This is not a coindence. Every woman older than me Ive talked to has said they expereince their sexuality deepen as they grow more into themselves, if this makes sense. So try not to read toxic shit like this thread, or like what is out there for women to bear right now. Turn inward for your next journey/phase of your life and dont allow the obviously heteronormative male dominated shit that is our western culture to tell you when you are sexual and what decade you should stop viewing yourself as such. Eff that!
looong day, realize the above has oodles of syntax errors and spelling typos, apologies~
ReplyDelete"how does it feel to be the feminist police?"
ReplyDeletePretty fucking awesome, I'm sure!
Jasmine, that "when are you going to have a baby?" never goes away. My brother finally had some kids so my mom doesn't bug me anymore. I stopped communicating with a colleague/friend because every sentence ended with "you should have a baby."
ReplyDelete@Jessasmess, I see your frustration. I got frustrated the otehr day in the Yankees manager comments because I'm tired of moral grandstanding. For this, I just got sick of everyone saying she's too old when hardly anyone ever says he's too old. Of course the jack-asses on tv that made me mad are on a Canadian reality tv show so that tells you how bottom of the barrel they are and I shouldn't have wasted my energy.
The old and fat comments are the last comments people can get away with. I thought it was fun that she came out on the Egyptian float, but when she started climbing all over throne and then with the squats I thought "give it a break. You're trying too hard." Did she forget she's Madonna?
ReplyDeleteAnd why the hell was MIA there? I barely remember who she is!