(NEXSTAR) — Super Bowl Sunday is upon us, which can only mean one thing: It’s nearly time for the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Five hip hop stars will take the stage during halftime at SoFi Stadium: Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and Snoop Dogg. Pepsi, the main sponsor of the performance, is already referring to it as “what could be the greatest 12 minutes in music entertainment the world has ever seen.”
While this will be the first-ever halftime performance with rap at its center, according to the New York Times, it isn’t the first to include rap music. Rappers Nelly, P. Diddy, Missy Elliott, Will.i.am., Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott and M.I.A. have all made appearances during recent halftime shows.
Here are three more things you should know about this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show:
Who’s performing during the Super Bowl Halftime Show?
Combined, the five artists performing during Sunday’s show have 44 Grammys. Eminem has the most at 15.
Blige is the only to have performed during the big game before. She was part of an ensemble cast that featured Aerosmith, NSYNC, Britney Spears and Nelly back in 2001.
Dre emerged from the West Coast rap scene alongside Eazy-E and Ice Cube to help form the group N.W.A., which made a major mark in the music industry in the late 1980s. Dre is responsible for promoting rap stars such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Lamar. Dre also produced Blige’s No. 1 hit song “Family Affair.”
Dre, Snoop, Eminem, Blige and Lamar join a list of celebrated musicians who have played during Super Bowl halftime shows, including Beyoncé, Madonna, Coldplay, Katy Perry, U2, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and most recently The Weeknd.
It’s been a few years since we’ve had this many performers during the Super Bowl Halftime Show. In 2016, five acts captured our attention – Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, and the University of California marching band. Four years prior, six artists took the stage – Madonna, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Cee Lo Green, and L.M.F.A.O. (the duo comprised of Redfoo and Sky Blu).
In 2004, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Kid Rock, P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson, and Nelly performed with the University of Houston and Texas Southern University marching bands.
When does the Super Bowl Halftime Show start?
If you aren’t a football fan, saying the halftime show is at halftime may not really answer your question. So let’s break it down.
The NFL plays four 15-minute quarters – two before halftime and two after. At the end of the first and third quarters, there are two-minute breaks as each team changes ends of the field.
But this doesn’t include the play clock stopping, teams taking timeouts or commercial breaks. With all of this, the average NFL game takes about three hours and 12 minutes.
Super Bowl LVI kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET and is scheduled to last until about 10:15 p.m. ET, according to local TV listings. Subtracting the time allotted for the halftime show, post-game coverage, and commercial breaks, that leaves slightly more than three hours for the game.
By dividing that in two, the first half of the game should take about an hour and a half. So, if you’re planning to tune in just for the halftime show, you might expect it to begin between 8 and 8:30 p.m. ET.
What songs will be performed?
With five individual artists performing, it’s hard to predict which of their countless songs will be performed.
If the full trailer for the show is any indicator, we could see:
- “Rap God” by Eminem
- “The One and Only” by Snoop Dogg
- “The Next Episode” by Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg
- “Family Affair” by Mary J. Blige
- “HUMBLE.” by Kendrick Lamar
- “Still Dre” by Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg
- “California Love” by Tupac ft. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog
Because of the location of Super Bowl LVI – Los Angeles – there’s a pretty good chance we’ll hear “California Love.” As one of the many songs featuring Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre, they could easily cover Tupac’s portion.
There are a few fan-favorite songs that could be performed as well, the L.A. Times reports. Among those are “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” and “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” by Dr. Dre featuring – you guess it – Snoop Dogg.
The halftime show is only slated to be 12 minutes, so you can expect to see about six to 12 songs, depending how much of each song we actually hear. Last year, for example, The Weeknd performed nine songs.
Super Bowl LVI kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
