On February 2nd, 2020, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will co-headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LIV in Miami. Both artists are circling three decades as entertainers, making this the perfect showcase of their individual global successes and record-shattering leaps for Latin pop artists.
There are no concerns about what the pair will be able to do with the too-short amount of time on stage: these are seasoned performers who have put on some of pops greatest stage shows and have hefty back catalogs of hits and beloved deep cuts worth choosing from. However, that also means the possibilities are endless: Who, if anyone, will join them on stage? Will J. Lo give a hat tip to her film career? How far back will they go in their catalogs? Here, we humbly offer some suggestions to the superstars as they begin preparing for the show.
J. Lo Reenacts her Hustlers Pole Dance
2020 is truly shaping up to be J. Los year, especially since she has been getting a healthy amount of Oscar buzz for her role as Hustlers stripper queenpin Ramona. Its still early in the Oscar game, but the Super Bowl just happens to be taking place one week before the ceremony. According to the award shows official page, voting for the 92nd Oscars telecast ends on February 4th, just two days after the Super Bowl.
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With that in mind: J. Lo should let this televised event be her final and second-most important appeal for her Oscar (after her actual Hustlers performance, of course). Therefore, future Oscar nominee Jennifer Lopez should re-create the acrobatic pole dance set to Fiona Apples Criminal where the audience meets Ramona. The standing ovation alone would delay the whole game!
A Stacked Guest List
Although Lopez and Shakira are superstars in their own right, theyre also known to thrive in a team environment. Lopez could pick any one of her co-stars from hip-hop classics past: from Ja Rule to Fat Joe to LL Cool J. Or, she and Shakira could help further the reggaeton agenda by inviting their more recent collaborators, like rising stars Bad Bunny, Ozuna and Maluma.
Yet it would be pure sacrilege to omit Cuban-Americans, who comprise Miamis largest ethnic group. Luckily theyre well-represented in pop music: theres 2019 Latin Grammy nominee Camila Cabello, whos dominated the U.S. charts with hits like Seorita and Havana. Then of course theres Miamis global ambassador, Pitbull, whos played partner in crime to J.Lo in On the Floor, and to Shakira in Rabiosa.
But above all, what would be more epic than the return of Gloria Estefan, who became the first Latina to headline a Super Bowl halftime show in 1992? Together onstage for the first time ever, Gloria, Shakira and Jenny would complete a formidable trifecta of living Latina American legends. It might be the rarest phenomenon to ever take place in Miami but no rarer than the Dolphins winning another Super Bowl.
A Cross-Cultural Dance-Off
J. Lo and Shakira are both known for their gravity-defying moves, many of which have become inextricable from several of their hits. Sure, they both have a ton of songs to pack into the always too-short halftime set but why not spare a couple minutes for some friendly competition? Think of it as an updated version of Shakira and Beyoncs Beautiful Liar video: they can mirror each other along with showing off some of their individual talents that have always made their live shows thrilling. Plus, maybe this could be an exchange of their backgrounds: let J. Lo show off her best Fly Girl moves while Shakira serves up some barefoot belly dancing and hip-shaking.
A Nineties Throwback Medley
Sustaining a music career for over two decades is no small feat, and if anyone in pop has proven their longevity, its Lopez and Shakira. For the loyal fans who followed their respective journeys from the beginning before Lopez became J.Lo, and Shakira made her English-language crossover with 2001s Laundry Service it would behoove the divas to bring back some of their Nineties megahits.
For Lopez, the show begs cuts from her debut album On the 6, which turned 20 this year. First, blend the genre-defying dance break from If You Had My Love with her Nuyorican Latin house anthem, Lets Get Loud. Then chase it with a sweltering rendition of Waiting for Tonight, outfitted with a jungle diorama and laser light show.
As for Shakira, nothing would stoke the Miami crowd like a revival of her era rockera: or that sweet spot in the Nineties when she was as much of a shredder as she was a pop singer. Take her 1995 breakout hit Estoy Aqui or Dnde Estan Los Ladrones? highlights like Inevitable and Ojos As, a Spanish-Arabic masterpiece that would break the brains of sentient M.A.G.A. hats across the country.
No Diet Latinidad
The Super Bowl halftime show is one of the most-watched televised events in the United States. And with Latin music reaching a historic number of listeners across the globe, J.Lo and Shakiras upcoming halftime show represents a ginormous milestone for the Latinx community, and further crystallizes the importance of Latinas and their role in shaping American pop culture. Translations be damned: Whether you speak English, Spanish, Spanglish, or any of the five languages Shakira happens to sing in, the international pop megastars are bound to put on a show that will be fun and accessible for people in the States and beyond.