SUPER BOWL

Sorry Rihanna… Jimmy Eat World is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show!

Could you imagine that? If, instead of the thrilling performance we got in 2023, we got an aging pop-punk band whose peak of popularity came a decade and half before? According to some music and sports fans on social media, that’s exactly what should have happened.

In case you’ve missed the kerfuffle over the upcoming Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in 2025, here’s a quick recap: Kendrick Lamar is headlining, but some folks are big mad it isn’t Lil Wayne, because the Super Bowl is being held in Wayne’s hometown, New Orleans.

That’s the general idea of the outcry of the past couple of days, but in fact, the discourse has gotten… shall we say, a little more salty than the subject warrants — and also, a bit unhinged. Cam’ron and Mase are sharing conspiracy theories on their show, Nicki Minaj is crashing out on Twitter, Boosie is involved… it’s kind of a lot.

Especially when you consider one simple fact that none of these people appear to be considering: The Super Bowl has only had a hometown act as the headliner a handful of times in the whole history of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. There is no tradition being stepped on here; hometown acts don’t headline the Super Bowl.

Hell, hometown teams rarely even play in the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl Halftime Show has never been the hometown celebration people are trying to make it out to be online. And if it was, there are artists from New Orleans that would be a far safer bet for the NFL.

Leaving aside Lil Wayne’s wild card status — he’s known for frequent show cancelations, sometimes right in the middle of a performance, while other times delivering some half-hearted renditions of fan faves and even admitting that he forgets his own lyrics — someone like Jon Batiste, a native of Metairie, Louisiana, would be a far more likely choice.

He’s got multigenerational appeal, his image and music are as non-threatening and party-ready as it gets, and he’s an Album Of The Year Grammy Award winner, who has composed for Disney, directed the music for late-night TV, and helps curate the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He’s a showbiz superathlete.

Looking around the league, if hometown performers were actually a tradition, you’d have to go back and rewrite several of the most memorable performances of the last 30 years. Michael Jackson? Not from Los Angeles. Prince? Not from Miami. BEYONCÉ (you have to say it like Tiffany Pollard)??? Not from New Orleans (although her mama from Louisiana).

Even in the past half-decade, you’d have to replace Shakira and Jennifer Lopez with Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine (who previously performed in 1999, one of the only four hometown headliners at the Super Bowl), The Weeknd with Outlaws (basically the only non-metal band on the Tampa music acts Wiki page with any level of mainstream notoriety), Usher with Ne-Yo, and Rihanna with, yes, Jimmy Eat World. No offense to these alternatives, but you get the drift: The stage demands an equal level of popularity and a reliable selection of absolutely massive hits.

And look, we all loved seeing Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg rock out for their hometown crowd in LA in 2022, but keep in mind that these two are 30 years deep in careers that comprise at least three of the most pivotal records in hip-hop’s history, a branding empire encompassing everything from cooking shows with Martha Stewart to on-site Olympics coverage, and more identity changes than Spider-Man in the ’90s.

They also had to bring a slew of fellow stars, from 50 Cent and Eminem to Mary J. Blige and, yes, Kendrick Lamar to expand their show’s appeal past California hip-hop heads in their ’50s. Because, yes, there are stadiums with 50,000 people to entertain, but the Super Bowl is a national event, averaging well over 120 million viewers. Those 50,000 attendees — many of whom aren’t even from the host cities in the first place — are a drop in the bucket compared to all the viewers tuning in at home.

So, yes, the NFL has greater priorities than simply paying homage to host cities’ hometown heroes. The whole reason the halftime show exists in its current form is because someone figured out pop stars keep viewers from changing the channel better than marching bands. So while it’ll be nice if Lil Wayne or Juvenile or Trombone Shorty or Big Freedia pop out during Kendrick’s set, Kendrick is headlining for a whole lot of good reasons — none of which were ever hometown pride.