Super Bowl 2020 Halftime Show: Jennifer Lopez and Shakira Set Social Social Media on Fire

Super Bowl LIV is well underway, with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira‘s Pepsi Halftime Show taking social media by storm. The two pop music icons took the stage Sunday night inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where they lit up the night with their powerful hits. Twitter exploded with reactions during and after the show, which has been in the works for months.

Ahead of their performance, the duo were unfortunately tight-lipped about what kind of costume changes and surprises they had in store ahead of the show, but promised that the show would be “special.”

Continue on to see how social media reacted to the performance.

Photo credit: Elsa/Getty Images

‘International Hits’

Fans praised Shakira as a performer that could appeal to people from all over the world — perfect for a massive platform like the Super Bowl.

‘Decades’

Many fans also noted the impressive legacy Shakira brings to the stage. Even after years of performing, she can inspire awe in a way that few others can.

Guitar

Shakira’s guitar entrance got the crowd hyped up from the start, as they saw a new side of the singer. They joked that, in addition to her success in pop and R&B music, she was now a bona fide “rock star.”

Seeing Red

Shakira’s all-red stage presence had fans pumped, but it drew a few cartoonish comparisons as well. Some thought that the singer was almost too bright, if that’s even possible.

J. Lo’s Entrance

After Shakira’s heart-pumping performance, many felt that she had set the bar extremely high for Jennifer Lopez. In fact, some even doubted whether J. Lo could meet the standard Shakira had set.

‘Better Show’

Compared to the all-male football teams on the field, many fans thought that Shakira and J. Lo put on the superior show overall. Some joked that this settled an age-old score between genders.

‘Hustlers’

Between the dance marathon and the upright pole on the stage, fans could not help but notice that J. Lo’s performance took some influence from her recent movie Hustlers. Of course, for fans of the film, this was no problem at all.

What fans expected to see

“When you think about Shak and you think about what I do, the combination of that, I think of an explosion of fun and energy!” Lopez said when the halftime show was announced in September.

She also teased plenty of dancing in the high-octane performance. “I don’t know if any of you have been to any of my shows, but I love performing and I’m super excited. We had an amazing tour this summer, so I feel really in shape for a show right now. I’m excited!” she told Us Weekly.

The halftime show marked the first time two Latina performers took the stage together at the Super Bowl, a feat Lopez did not underestimate.

“It’s a huge platform, big stage to perform on — one of the biggest shows of the year — and every artist dreams of doing it,” Lopez said. “I’m so excited that they chose two stone women, but also Latinas.”

 

Before the game

Ahead of the game, Demi Lovato sang the National Anthem just before kickoff, which was just her second performance since her nearly fatal drug overdose in July 2018. Her first performance since then was a week ago at the Grammy Awards, where she debuted her new comeback single, “Anyone.”

On Sunday, Lovato joined the ranks of other iconic stars who have belted their own renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowls past, like Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Billy Joel, Beyoncé, Garth Brooks and Kelly Clarkson. Additionally, sound artist Christine Sun Kim provided ASL for the performance.

The San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will continue their head-to-head matchup in the second half of Super Bowl LIV, which is airing live on FOX.

Photo credit: Kevin Winter / Staff / Getty, Alex Pantling / Staff / Getty