kanye west super bowl
The Super Bowl stands as one of the most watched and biggest sporting events around. But it is more than a football game, as sports, music and advertising combines together into massive cultural moment on the world stage. The halftime show is now a spectacle in itself, watched by millions of people every year. Some of the greatest artists that have ever lived performed on or around that stage at halftime, such as Michael Jackson, Beyonce and Prince.
Kanye West is an artist who has pushed the boundaries of music and fashion, his name synonymous with controversy as much as it was innovation. But would Kanye West playing the Super Bowl be a dream come true or is that too perfect of an idea?
Kanye West At The Super Bowl?
Celebrities have never been more powerful, and Kanye West is a touchstone since forever, an avatar of innovation and lunacy. For the last 20 years, his inimitable sound, aesthetic and style have continued to entrance listeners worldwide. It could be contended that Kanye West is more than just your average rapper or producer of today.
Meanwhile, the Super Bowl halftime show has grown into a cultural moment. It is now more than a halftime break during the game — an event that viewers would flock to from all corners of the globe, even those who may not be interested in football. What gives with the no-show Kanye? He hits all the halftime performer criteria:
Kanye West has been in the news — somewhere; his music, controversy and politically charged musings have all made headlines for better or worse.
Spotless discography: Kanye has released albums (including but not limited to The College Dropout, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the recent Ye) that could supply a halftime show’s worth of hits all on their own.
Visionary livestream performanceThe crossover genius of Kanye West extends to the visual arts with many coming for his music, but staying for work like this. He has worked with some of the most creative in stage design as well, so any performance he would deliver at the Super Bowl is guaranteed to be a complete spectacle.
Iconography: Post-rock spirit guide Kanye West influences much more than music (from sneakers to high fashion shows). His cultural footprint would just amplify the java-drenched nature of a Super Bowl show.
The Potential Challenges
While a Kanye West Super Bowl Halftime performance always seems appealing in theory, there are some hurdles to consider. Ranging from his erratic behavior, polarizing persona and a host of other concerns.
Kanye’s Unpredictability
If there are a couple things most everyone knows about Kanye, the first is obviously that he’s completely unpredictable. He’s the man to crash award shows or make public political statements – Kanye will do whatever he pleases whenever. We could be able to do that, but in an event like the Super Bowl — where everything is scripted with precise timing- it may prove a bit of a difficult task. But would the NFL and its sponsors be willing to gamble on actual breaking-news coverage occurring live?
Political Controversy
The ability of Kanye West to speak on politics, and his sometimes controversial support for various causes certainly puts the family-friendly brand the Super Bowl at risk. The NFL might not want to take that risk with a performer who could, in the context of what has emerged at these events globally over the last 16 months wrt getting angry about things being said and done differently than how you’d say or do them, start making political anyway. It is hardly a secret that the league has faced plenty of controversy, from player safety disputes and Colin Kaepernick taking a stand to off-field behavior. The fact that Kanye could be a wild card probably makes the NFL not want to go down this road.
Perception and Cancel Culture
Artists are more in the hot seat than they have been, or at least were — pre-cancel culture. Some fans have disconnected themselves from Kanye over the years due to isolated incidents, including a series of questionable statements about slavery and vocal support for various political figures. If the NFL were to hire Kanye for the Super Bowl, it may open itself up to a potential backlash from certain viewers and advertisers.
Why It Might Happen: The Bigger Redemption Story
With that said, Kanye West could ultimately save his reputation via a Super Bowl performance. They are artists who have had to face public scorn and used life size stages in an attempt of showing the world ones musical wizardry ensuring them they still run things round there.
A Memorable Stage
Everyone knows Kanye West ICONIC moments place him immediately into legendary status. One thing Kanye excels at is the visual experience and he nailed it again with his floating stage in Saint Pablo Tour to alianesque-out of this world production on Yeezus tour. With its over-the-top performances, the Super Bowl may provide just the right venue for him to showcase a whole different side of himself.
Kanye can go perform his music, which accompanied with visuals and choreographed routines would be sick just to see in itself… but then imagine him going on the balcony or flashing screens expressing different images. This could be one for the ages in Super Bowl history. This wouldn’t be too surprising, as Kanye doing a halftime show is considered to probably involve him changing the way we think of what constitutes nonzero half-time performance. His performance could feature high-concept art, custom fashion and innovative sound design that even the Super Bowl has never experienced.
The Music to Back It Up
Kanye has his discography.-period Between his work producing for Jay-Z in the early years to hit-factory singles, there are hours of Kanye music that could easily help fill a Super Bowl performance. Gold Digger, Stronger, Power and Runaway not only topped the charts but became anthems for entire generations in rap.
Kanye West collaborations are presumably on the cards as well for a Kanye Super Bowl event. He has worked over the years with such artists as Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Rihanna and Paul McCartney. Think of a halftime show, in which Kanye surprises everyone by bringing out some these superstar guests and rocks an impromptu but curated set. It could be anything, and this is Kanye West we’re talking about – The man has created classic moments in music time & again.
What the Fans Want
Kanye West has been rumored as a potential Super Bowl halftime act for years—and fans of controlled chaos from both have never stopped buzzing. While Kanye may also bring in a level of artistry and innovation that the Supe Bowl has not seen in years.
Though the Super Bowl has seen no shortage of memorable performances, Kanye West literally makes his bread and butter off rebranding himself — we might finally get a halftime show that will be remembered for generations to come in pop culture. Kanye WestF Okay, it isn’t going to be an unimaginable task but the joy of being a Kanyastan is that with his high fashion or live craziness there will always be something.
A Bold Move for the NFL?
It would be a ballsy move for the NFL if it could even get Kanye West to consider doing next year’s Super Bowl. During the last few years, we have seen the NFL really trying to use halftime performances with various artists reaching from The Weeknd, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Kanye is that multi-talented artist whose sound reaches all listeners on so many spectrums, and he may not only be able to add unique energy to the rest of this lineup.
For as much danger as comes with booking Kanye, the NFL would realize that having him perform puts any number of eyeballs on your halftime show — viewers who weren’t all inclined to tune in otherwise — and potentially changes what gets whispered about surrounding this game from “who’ll win” to “what happens next.”
Conclusion: Is This Ever Going to Happen?
Kanye West and the Super Bowl sounds like a match made in… somewhere. That he’s an artist made for the grandest of stages, and in turn how there is no bigger stage than a Super Bowl. His music and influence/his cultural relevance make him a no-brainer for anything like this.
But Kanye is unpredictable; even lightening rods are polarizing. So, while I’m sure plenty of people would be excited for Kanye to invade the Super Bowl half time show slate in 2015 pursuant this latest reportm but you have still fear those running things at both level just a bit from any risk.
In any case, we will just have to wait until Time announces it — or Kanye becomes the first counterpart in Super Bowl halftime show history. But one thing is for certain, if he does, it will go down as a show that the world never forgets.
Read more article: