Super Bowl Halftime Show History: All First & Last Songs Performed

The halftime show at the Super Bowl was not always the spectacle that we know it to be today. The first 20 halftime shows were mostly filled with marching bands, high school bands, and some non-profit organizations putting on performances. Most of these shows all carried themes, generally saluting or providing tribute to a city or anniversary.

It wasn’t until 1993 that the halftime show really took off. This is all thanks to Fox network airing a special episode of In Living Color at the same time as Gloria Estefan’s 1992 Super Bowl halftime show, resulting in many lost viewers for CBS. After seeing all the lost viewership in 1992, we were treated to Michael Jackson in the 1993 halftime show.

Since then, the halftime show has taken on a life of its own, and even comes with its own set of props at sportsbooks. The two most popular halftime show props are the first and last songs performed during the show.

Fans will be treated to Rihanna’s first performance since 2018 at Super Bowl 57. The NFL has announced Rihanna will headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Who she brings with her is anyone’s guess at this point—which you can also bet on! If you’re trying to find some trends from past performances, you’ll see the performers as well as first and last songs played for every halftime show since Super Bowl 25.

Historical Halftime Show First/Last Songs | 2023 Halftime Show First & Last Song Odds

Super Bowl Halftime Show: First and Last Songs Every Year

Though Rihanna has not put out a new album since 2016, she did release the single “Lift Me Up” in October of 2022 and has been teasing a new album for the last few months. It seems likely she will release new music to go with her 2023 Super Bowl halftime performance.

But based on past halftime show trends, it is unlikely she is going to open with anything brand new. “Pon de Replay” will be a strong option, as it was her real breakout song. She has had a total of 14 songs hit no. 1 on the charts: “SOS,” “Umbrella,” “Take a Bow,” “Disturbia,” “Live Your Life,” “Rude Boy,” “Love the Way You Lie,” “What’s My Name?” “Only Girl,” “S&M,” “We Found Love,” “Diamonds,” “The Monster,” and “Work.”

Rihanna has also collaborated with a ton of other big names, including: Jay-Z (who discovered her), Eminem, Drake, Britney Spears, and T.I. among others.

The Super Bowl halftime show expects to get underway around 8pm ET.

The first song Rihanna performed was “B*tch Better Have My Money”. The last song Rihanna performed was “Diamonds”.

Halftime Show First and Last Song Trends

• Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl 52 halftime show is the only one in the last 16 years to begin with a song that is less than a year old – the single “Filthy” was released less than a month earlier
• Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl 51 halftime show is the only one in the last 13 years where the first song played was not a single from the performing artist – Gaga went political with a “God Bless America / This Land Is Your Land” mashup
• Only 4 of the last 12 first songs played at Super Bowl halftime shows featuring modern artists were less than three years old, with 7 of them being less than seven years old – Gaga’s political choice joins Coldplay (Yellow), Maroon 5 (Harder to Breathe), and Rihanna (Better Have My Money) as the only first songs played that were released more than seven years before the halftime show; the Super Bowl 2022 Halftime Show was not counted towards this.
• The average age of the last songs performed during the last 11 Super Bowl halftime shows featuring modern artists is five years; seven of them were less than five years old, though – J-Lo and Shakira performed the ten-year old single “Waka Waka”, Maroon 5 went with the eight-year old “Moves Like Jagger”, Lady Gaga went with the eight-year old “Bad Romance”, and Rihanna went with 11-year-old “Diamonds”; the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show was also not considered “modern artists”.
• Each last song performed in the last 21 Super Bowl halftime shows has been a single released by one of the performing artists in the show

Super Bowl 2023 Halftime Show Props

FanDuel Sportsbook has released odds for the first and last songs Rihanna will perform during the Super Bowl 57 halftime show. If you’re not already betting at FanDuel, don’t miss out on our FanDuel promo code for a great bonus when registering. Unfortunately, many of these props have not been taken down with too many potential leaks coming out Super Bowl Sunday.

“Diamonds”, “B**ch Better Have My Money”, and “Don’t Stop the Music” are all listed as co-favorites to be the first song performed at +400 odds each. “This Is What You Came For” is next up at +500 odds. If you bet $20 on any of the three songs listed as co-favorites, you would stand to win $80 and return $100.

“Umbrella” is given the best odds to be the last song Rihanna performs at +300 odds. “Run This Town”, “SOS”, and “Don’t Stop the Music” are next on the board at +500 odds each. If you bet $20 on “Umbrella” to be the final song played, you would stand to win $60 and return $80.

FanDuel also has a prop for which artists will make guest appearances. Both Calvin Harris and JAY-Z are seen as heavy favorites to join Rihanna on stage, with both given -200 odds. This means a $20 bet on either of these artists to appear would only win you $10 and return $30. Other names like Drake (+100), A$AP Rocky (+150), and DJ Khaled (+200) are also given shorter odds to make an appearance.

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Did you find this Super Bowl Halftime Show data useful? You’ll want to check out our other Super Bowl resources below:

• Super Bowl Odds History
• Gatorade Color Dump at Super Bowl
• Super Bowl National Anthem Length History
• Super Bowl Coin Toss Results