With the Super Bowl 2018 around the corner, it is good to remember what happened in 1993 with Michael Jackson’s super show! Here an article written in Iconic Magazine #23 (for those who missed it):
Dallas Cowboys won 52 to 17 against Buffalo Bills! Right! That’s a fact you didn’t know about this Super Bowl which took place on January 31st 1993! And why is that? Well – who cares about who played or who won when Michael Jackson is doing the half time!
This was the biggest event of all time with 98,374 in the stadium and an estimate of 90.99 million viewers!
Through the years the Super Bowl was losing rates and the organisers thought of something big to gain the viewers back! What’s big in 1993? Well, there is the biggest entertainer in the World: Michael Jackson – and guess what, he accepted to do it!
Now I am not going to talk about how the game went as –first I do not have a clue about American Football –two, I don’t really care as the only thing I watch was… Michael Jackson!
Unusual for the Super Bowl, Michael Jackson was the only performer that day for the half time show! Usually they do have few performers but hey! We are talking about MICHAEL JACKSON here!
After some stunt or faux Michael Jackson, the man himself (the real one) just catapults himself out of the stage which was placed on the centre of the stadium [Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California – for those who didn’t know that either]!
Michael is on stage! Screams are surrounding the stadium… for a long time as Michael seems to be frozen [let it go…] and then BOOM! Michael move his head! BOOM he remove his glasses, through them and the moves and music and kicking and people jumping and screaming! Michael starts with ‘JAM’ with ‘Why You Wanna Trip On Me’ to continue with ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Black Or White’!
MAGICAL!
Even more impressive is the finale which featured an audience card stunt with the audience branding a card each and making a HUGE painting of children from around the world holding hands [I see you there! Hold your card or you will be removed from the Stadium, thank you!]. Videos of a montage showing Michael participating in various humanitarian efforts around the world is playing on the big screens around the stadium and a choir of children came on stage to sing ‘We Are The World’ – Did I mention that they were 3,500 of them from local Choirs in LA? Yeah that’s right! I guess that is one big choir! Michael then came on stage to sing one of his latest Album’s song: ‘Heal The World’! What a powerful moment!
The result is here and with the anniversary this year of Dangerous, the Super Bowl XXVII is still as today the biggest show ever and is still considered as one of the most watched television broadcasts in American television history!! Not only that but Fox Network declined to broadcast any counter-programmes against the halftime show ever since and all sorts of super starts went to do the Super Bowl after Michael!
It was the first Super Bowl where the audience figures actually increased during the half-time show.
Michael Jackson again broke barriers and made history! [and again, Dallas Cowboys won!]
While not every performer to follow in Michael’s footsteps has been successful as he was in recent years, the spectacle delivered by the A-list talent locked in by the NFL has more than lived up to his legacy. From Madonna to Bruno Mars to Lady Gaga the Super Bowl halftime show has consistently been the year’s hottest music ticket. And we owe it all to the King of Pop!
Source: MJVibe.com
This article has been edited and reproduced from Issue 23 of Iconic Magazine. Please do not copy or translate without permission of the author. Thank you.
