Maroon 5 Tease Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show With New Promo

Maroon 5 released a hype video to celebrate becoming the Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Haltime Show [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Maroon 5 released a hype video to celebrate becoming the Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Haltime Show performers on Sunday.

The video shows footage from the group's successful Red Pill Blues Tour of North America, interspersed with footage of their guest stars, rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi. At the end of the minute-long clip, the halftime show logo appeared.

Maroon 5 posted the video a short time before the NFL released the formal announcement during halftime at the Patriots-Chargers divisional playoff game.

Fans of the group might be excited, but many others responded to the tweet by asking where Spongebob Squarepants was. This was in reference to a viral petition that asked for David Glen Eisley's "Sweet Victory" to be performed in tribute to Spongebob's late creator, Stephen Hillenburg. The song famously appeared in the episode "Band Geeks," in which Spongebob and his friends performed the song during a halftime show. More than 1.1 million people have signed the petition.

Maroon 5's performance will come during a break of their Red Pill Blues tour, before they head off to Australia in late February. It will also be between shows for Travis Scott, who is on his Astroworld stadium tour. Big Boi, who co-founded Outkast with Andre 3000, worked with Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine on the single "Mic Jack."

The NFL's announcement came after months of speculation, as it was first reported back in September that the league had Maroon 5 in their sights. After Scott entered the picture, it was reported that Jay-Z was trying to get Scott to back out as a sign of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who kneeled during the National Anthem during the 2016 season to protest racial injustice and police violence. Others, including rapper Meek Mill and Al Shaprton, publicly criticized Scott for signing on.

"I think anyone that goes into the halftime show is in offense, directly violating those that want to raise the question that the NFL should come to terms with what they have done and continue to do to Colin Kaepernick and those that protest on the criminal justice issue," Sharpton told TMZ.

Actor Michael B. Jordan also told TMZ he thought Scott should drop out, adding, "Hopefully it's a rumor. I mean, I haven't seen that much on it besides the headlines and the click-bait and all that good stuff, but hopefully it doesn't work out."

In response to the criticism, sources told Variety that Scott and the NFL will donate $500,000 to the non-profit Dream Corps and other initiatives, including Black Lives Matter.

Super Bowl LIII kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 3 from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Photo credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

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