Halftime Show

Though Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer probably has his players buying into the one-game-at-a-time mantra, the same can't be said of the school's marching band. For weeks, the Ohio State marching band has been putting some Michigan smackdown elements into its halftime shows, despite the fact the Buckeyes won't line up against their longtime rivals until Nov. 30. Much like everyone else outside of Ann Arbor, Mich., the Ohio State band knows the Buckeyes are better than the Wolverines this season, and this brash confidence has inspired some truly incredible halftime shows.

Though Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer probably has his players buying into the one-game-at-a-time mantra, the same can't be said of the school's marching band. For weeks, the Ohio State marching band has been putting some Michigan smackdown elements into its halftime shows, despite the fact the Buckeyes won't line up against their longtime rivals until Nov. 30. Much like everyone else outside of Ann Arbor, Mich., the Ohio State band knows the Buckeyes are better than the Wolverines this season, and this brash confidence has inspired some truly incredible halftime shows.

Bruno Mars may have been locked out of heaven, but it's looking like he'll have a ticket to the Super Bowl. The crooner is expected to be tapped to perform at the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVIII next February, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. An announcement could come as early as this Sunday. Neither the NFL, which produces the Pepsi-sponsored halftime show, or Fox, which is carrying the Super Bowl this season, would comment. An NFL spokesman would only jokingly say that Janet Jackson and Miley Cyrus have been ruled out as performers.

M.I.A. is calling foul over the NFL's reaction to her 2012 Super Bowl halftime performance. The British-Sri Lankan pop star has been embroiled for months in a behind-the-scenes battle with pro football officials over her Super Bowl XLVI show. According to the Hollywood Reporter , the league is upset because during a number with headliner Madonna, M.I.A. raised her middle finger and mouthed, "I don't give a .... " Casual viewers of NBC's live telecast could easily have missed the gesture and mouthed obscenity, which lasted only a second before the cameras cut away.

A source familiar with this season's Super Bowl told the Associated Press that Beyonce will be the performer at the halftime show on Feb. 3, 2013, at the Superdome in New Orleans. The official announcement is expected Wednesday. Beyonce has won 16 Grammy Awards and sang the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. Madonna performed at halftime of last season's Super Bowl in February with guests CeeLo Green, Nicki Minaj, LMFAO and M.I.A. Her performance was seen by 114 million people, a higher average than the game itself, which was seen by an estimated 111.3 million people, according to the Nielsen Co. The Black Eyed Peas performed at the 2011 Super Bowl, with The Who singing in 2010.

M.I.A. is calling foul over the NFL's reaction to her 2012 Super Bowl halftime performance. The British-Sri Lankan pop star has been embroiled for months in a behind-the-scenes battle with pro football officials over her Super Bowl XLVI show. According to the Hollywood Reporter , the league is upset because during a number with headliner Madonna, M.I.A. raised her middle finger and mouthed, "I don't give a .... " Casual viewers of NBC's live telecast could easily have missed the gesture and mouthed obscenity, which lasted only a second before the cameras cut away.

Rumors continue to rumble about who will join Beyonce at the Feb. 3 Super Bowl halftime show and what song she'll perform first. Inquiring minds also are preoccupied with whether the pop superstar plans to actually sing at all on Super Sunday or will lip-sync, as she did while delivering "The Star-Spangled Banner" at President Obama's inauguration, according to the Times of London. In certain dark corners of the Internet, there are even forums devoted to the urgent question of whether Beyonce should or shouldn't lip-sync at America's premier sporting event.

Fifty contest winners will be selected to join Beyonce onstage during her halftime performance at Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Pepsi announced Friday that it is sponsoring a photo contest beginning Saturday on its website , with 50 winners getting to bring one guest each to the game to appear onstage during the show. No word on whether Beyonce's husband, Jay-Z, will take part, or whether there will be a Destiny's Child reunion. Entrants are to post photos of themselves posing in Beyonce-style positions -- finger-snapping, toe-tapping, hip-shaking poses, of course -- that could be used in ads promoting her performance.

FOOTBALL URBAN LEGEND : The first pro football halftime show was designed as a way to sell dogs. Today, halftime shows are a consistent part of any NFL game, with the Super Bowl halftime show routinely being the most lavish example. However, in the early days of pro football, halftime shows were non-existent. The players would go into the locker rooms and that was it. Even in college football, halftime shows by the 1920s were a rarity. This changed with the introduction of a new football team in 1922 that was designed all around one very important function...selling dogs.

Mick Jagger and his bandmates may be nearing senior citizenship, but Super Bowl planners want only people 45 and younger to take the field during the Rolling Stones' halftime show. The NFL is offering 2,000 people a chance to watch the Stones play during the Feb. 5 extravaganza. They will be expected to dance, sing and cheer. People are asked to apply in groups of 20 or more and be at least 18 years old and no older than 45.

How does a Hooligan follow a Queen Bey? That's the task awaiting Bruno Mars as he prepares to play the halftime show at next year's Super Bowl. He'll follow a set from Beyoncé Knowles that is widely regarded as being one of the best in recent years. Mars, a genial performer and regular arena-touring act with his Hooligans band, might face some bigger challenges in living up to those expectations. But the selection does signal the Super Bowl's steady return to youthful pop acts as performers.

Bruno Mars may have been locked out of heaven, but it's looking like he'll have a ticket to the Super Bowl. The crooner is expected to be tapped to perform at the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVIII next February, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. An announcement could come as early as this Sunday. Neither the NFL, which produces the Pepsi-sponsored halftime show, or Fox, which is carrying the Super Bowl this season, would comment. An NFL spokesman would only jokingly say that Janet Jackson and Miley Cyrus have been ruled out as performers.

Millions of fans cheered on Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams during their Destiny's Child reunion at Sunday's Super Bowl. But there are a few particular fans who are making sure everyone knows they're team players, even if they were off the team long ago.  LaTavia Roberson, who was part of Destiny's Child in its first incarnation, said she had nothing but love for the ladies.  "Obviously, seeing Beyonce perform was the...

Beyonce shut it down during the Super Bowl halftime show  - literally. Only a few minutes after the pop superstar's electrifying performance, which included a Destiny's Child reunion, dazzling visual effects and light displays, and a medley of solo hits such as “Single Ladies” and “Crazy in Love,” about half of the lights at the 73,000-seat Superdome suddenly went out. New Orleans is nothing if not a city used to running on generators, and...

Few lips in 2013 have been as scrutinized as Beyoncé Knowles'. On Sunday evening during the Super Bowl halftime show, while the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers were recovering from an hour of head-bashing action, Knowles' lips and the ringing, pitch-perfect voice behind them were the focus of a national drama that had unfolded in the weeks prior. Drama and halftime shows: not your usual combo. Last year's tension, after all, was mostly centered on how well Madonna would market her forthcoming record.

Seven-layer dip? Check. Appropriate jersey? Check. Friends and loved ones gathered near a TV? Check. What time is the Super Bowl?... Oh for Pete Rozelle's sake, what time is the Super Bowl? Calm down. The Super Bowl may be prime-time viewing on the East Coast, but on the West Coast it's an afternoon affair. Super Bowl XLVII with the Baltimore Ravens versus the San Francisco 49ers playing in New Orleans' Superdome will kick off at 3:15 p.m. PST on CBS. TIMELINES:   Super Bowl History |  Best Super Bowl commercials While the TV audience is growing increasingly fragmented, the Super Bowl has done the near-impossible by drawing larger and larger audiences every year.

Weeks before the world saw what would become the most analyzed Super Bowl halftime show in history, MTV announced it would air "The Making of the AOL Superbowl Half-Time Show" today at 1 p.m. The announcement promised behind-the-scenes footage of the musical stars, comedians and athletes "as they put on an MTV concert like no other for the big game."

Stanford's marching band has been banned from the football field as punishment for offending fans in Oregon last weekend. The suspension was announced Tuesday by Alan Cummings, Stanford's acting athletic director. The band's activities will resume this season only if it presents an "agreeable show format" to govern its performances. Cummings said the band "displayed an insensitivity and disrespect to the Oregon community."

With pretty much every news outlet still buzzing about Beyonce's Inauguration Day lip sync, the pop diva is finally offering some clues as to what her headlining spectacle at Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show will look like. After singing an astounding and unaccompanied redux of the national anthem during a press conference Thursday, she issued a second glimpse of how rehearsals are coming together. Cheekily dubbed “Countdown to Touchdown,” the less-than-one-minute videos offer snippets of action.

Beyonce is previewing her Super Bowl halftime show Thursday but she's likely to face a different kind of music over her alleged lip synching performance at the presidential inauguration earlier this month. The "Single Ladies" singer will be involved in a pre-game press conference at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Thursday where she'll likely address claims from the Marine Band that she wasn't actually singing her rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" live, according to the Associated Press.