Shinedown is one of rock’s most commercially successful bands. If the genre was called on to deliver a high-profile performance, would the band step up? Absolutely!
Frontman Brent Smith said in a new interview that if Shinedown were offered the Super Bowl Halftime show, the band would play “in a heartbeat.” Smith also weighed in on Usher being tapped for the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime show. He called the R&B superstar “a bad mofo” and an “incredible performer.”
Additionally, Smith showed some love for Rihanna, who headlined the Halftime Show earlier this year. He called the singer “a true boss” for unveiling her pregnancy and performing such a high-profile gig while pregnant.
Of course, it’s been a minute since rock has taken to the Super Bowl Halftime Show stage. It had quite the run in the mid-aughts following Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at the hand of Justin Timberlake in 2004. Following “Nipplegate,” the Super Bowl Halftime Show featured Paul McCartney (2005), The Rolling Stones (2006), Prince (2007), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (2008), Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (2009) and The Who (2010).
After that run, there have been few rockers to appear during the halftime show in a headlining capacity. Slash had a brief cameo in 2001 with The Black Eyed Peas. Red Hot Chili Peppers joined Bruno Mars in 2014. Lenny Kravitz appeared during the 2015 halftime show headlined by Katy Perry. If you count Coldplay as rock, they headlined the halftime show in 2016, but Beyoncé upstaged them.
It bears mentioning that the NFL dropped the ball in 2016. Since the Super Bowl took place at Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay area, it would’ve been the perfect time to book Metallica for a hometown moment. Alas, that didn’t happen.