By Natasha Julius
Whelp, aside from a glaringly obvious set list and some predictably unfortunate dancing, The Weeknd defied expectations. No covers, no scantily-clad dancers, and he did the one thing Brandon explicitly predicted he wouldn’t do – played tracks from the mixtapes.
He also found some clever and entertaining ways to get around the fact that half the audience was made out of cardboard.
I’ll probably never understand the symbolism of the robed choir scattered amongst neon skyscrapers, but it looked cool. Who knew the inside of the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium included a mirrored gold maze? Could’ve done without the face jockstraps, but I did appreciate the illuminated Up With People tribute at the end. And it must be said (because it’s often not the case), his vocals were flawless.
Also predictably, the Zoomers were ascendant in this year’s halftime show wager. It’s a split decision between Anthony’s whopping six correct song choices and Tiki’s 100% perfect record – she was also the only person with a correct costuming or set prediction. Honorable mention to SJ, whose extremely detailed guesses wound up sorta halfway right if you turned your head to the side and kinda squinted at them.
So congratulations to Anthony and Tiki. The halftime bet is in good hands. And congratulations to everyone on this e-mail list who was born in the 20th century – you are old.
Until next year,
nj
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Previously In Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Coverage:
* The 2009 Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Bracket: Bruce Springsteen Edition.
* The Who’s 2010 Super Bowl Suckage.
* Let’s Not Get It Started And Say We Did: The 2011 Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Prop Bet.
* The 2012 Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Bet: Madonna Edition.
* The 2013 Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Bet: Beyoncé Knowles Edition.
* Tweeting The 2014 Super Bowl Suckage: Bruno Mars & Red Hot Chili Peppers Edition.
* The 2015 Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Prop Bet: Katy Perry Edition.
* The 8th Annual (More Or Less) Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bet: Coldplay Edition.
* The 9th Annual (More Or Less) Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bet: Lady Gaga Edition.
* The 10th Annual (More Or Less) Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bet: Justin Timberlake Edition.
* The 11th Annual (More Or Less) Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bet: Maroon 5 Edition.
* Postscript: The 11th Annual (More Or Less) Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bet: Maroon 5 Edition.
* ‘I Just Couldn’t Be a Sellout’ | Why Rihanna Turned Down The Super Bowl Halftime Show.
* The 12th Annual (More Or Less) Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bet: Shakira & JLo Edition.
* The 13th Annual (More Or Less) Beachwood Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bet: Mr. Weeknd?
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Comments/wagers.
Posted on February 8, 2021