It’s lit. Following past headliners including Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé, Maroon 5 made history as the latest act to headline the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show at Super Bowl LIII on Sunday (Feb. 3) with special guests Travis Scott and Big Boi.
Emerging on a giant M-shaped stage at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Grammy-winning band kicked off the 13-minute performance with their Songs About Jane hit “Harder to Breathe” before continuing with “This Love.”
Frontman Adam Levine dedicated the performance to the group’s late manager, Jordan Feldstein. “This one’s for you, Jordy,” he said at the start.
SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends from Bikini Bottom, including Patrick and Squidward, led a marching band to intro Travis, who crashed onto the field in a burning meteor. Donning leather pants and his own Air Jordan 6 sneakers, Young LaFlame ignited the stage with an explosive performance of “Sicko Mode.”
He then joined Levine for a rock mashup of the chart-topping Astroworld hit before exiting the stage by diving backwards into the crowd.
Maroon 5 continued with “Girls Like You,” complete with a gospel choir, and slowed things down with “She Will Be Loved.”
ATL’s own Big Boi rolled onto the field in style in the back of an old school Cadillac to “Kryptonite.” Rocking a fur coat, the OutKast legend performed “The Way You Move” with some help from Sleepy Brown. Levine joined in, wearing an “ATLiens” bomber.
Stripping off his shirt, a tatted Levine closed out the medley with a pair of Maroon 5 classics, “Sugar” and “Moves Like Jagger,” while playing a hot pink guitar.
There was controversy leading up to the halftime performance. Many artists including Rihanna, Cardi B, and JAY-Z reportedly turned down the gig in support of Colin Kaepernick, who was drummed out of the NFL for kneeling.
Travis, who kicked off the second leg of his “Astroworld: Wish You Were Here” tour last month, donated $500,000 in partnership with the NFL to social justice accelerator Dream Corps.