Super Bowl 2020 halftime show review: JLo and Shakira let loose in blazing performance

Before we plunge into all things Jennifer Lopez and Shakira — the hips, the pole-dancing, JLo’s adorable daughter — let’s take stock of this year’s Super Bowl halftime show in Miami and its cultural implications, which reach far beyond those 12 minutes of booming stadium pop.

The fact that two Latina artists co-headlined on the country’s most visible stage — the first time a Latino star had led the bill since Gloria Estefan in 1999 — marked a seismic shift toward unity after the NFL was blasted last year for selecting the all-white, all-male Maroon 5 to headline in Atlanta. Such a choice felt particularly ham-fisted following the league’s crumbling relationship with dozens of its players, most of them Black, who chose to kneel for the national anthem during games in protest of police brutality and racism. Suspensions, fines and further punishments were threatened to protesting players as President Trump lambasted the athletes, calling in 2017 for them to be “fired.”

Now in 2020, not only were women of Puerto Rican and Colombian/Lebanese descent provided a historic spotlight for more than 100 million people to see, but the show was co-produced for the first time by Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by Jay-Z — once a staunch supporter of Colin Kaepernick, the ex-49ers quarterback who began the kneeling trend in 2016.

Does all of this mean the NFL has become an infallible bastion of equality and inclusion? Of course not, but Sunday’s explosive offering appeared to be a step toward greater representation for a league that has often felt archaic in its recent dealings.

Okay, on with the show, which was high-octane, relentless Latin pop fun delivered by two artists who know better than most how to blow a crowd’s hair back with their dance moves and magnetism.

Though both Shakira and JLo were given about the same amount of time on the relatively static circular stage, Shakira was the de-facto opener, ensnaring the spotlight first with her vaguely rebellious pop-rock attitude. While it was certainly a captivating six minutes, the showing was more or less what any Shak fan would expect: loads of provocative belly-dancing and a pounding guitar break (remember, before her 2002 English-language debut, Shakira was a terrific alt-rock artist in the late ’90s).

Still, it was a vibrant mini-set from the 43-year-old international star (Sunday was her birthday, talk about a gift), mixed with an appearance by Puerto Rican Reggaeton star Bad Bunny, who joined her for a quick cover of Cardi B’s “I Like It,” on which Bunny appears, as well as Shakira’s 2017 Spanish-language hit “Chantaje,” where Bunny filled in briefly for Maluma.

Shakira predictably finished with her monster No. 1 jam “Hips Don’t Lie” (without Wyclef Jean, New Jersey is slighted once more!) and then, posed on a riser 15 feet above the stage was her partner in crime: a leather-clad Lopez, who quickly descended and launched into an incendiary medley of “Jenny From The Block,” “Ain’t It Funny” and “Get Right,” backed by some two-dozen male dancers and putting most of them to shame.

After an enormous 2019 that culminated in a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the stripper-crime drama “Hustlers,” JLo changed into a scant, mosaic one-piece costume and climbed a towering pole for her ‘99 throwback “Waiting For Tonight,” twirling with ease and proving that she clearly did all her own, uh, stunts on the movie set.

The superstar, who turned 50 last summer and celebrated with a brilliant tour that dazzled in Newark last July, was joined by Colombian hip-hop star J Balvin, who will now be forever remembered by millions of non-rap fans as the guy who got to dance hip-to-hip with JLo. A snippet of Balvin’s smash “Mi Gente” was played somewhere amidst the chaos.

In a sweet moment, Lopez’s 11-year-old daughter Emme took centerstage and led a children’s chorus for a remix of “Let’s Get Loud” before mom took over with big, fluffy Puerto Rican flag as Emme mixed in a few lines of Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” — perhaps a commentary on strained post-Hurricane relations between Puerto Rico and the U.S. — and Shakira returned, jamming on a drum kit. Soon Shakira returned to centerstage and the pair finished with “Waka Waka,” the enormous worldwide Shakira hit written for the 2010 World Cup.

Top to bottom, it was a blazing performance that should challenge Lady Gaga and Beyonce as some of the best halftime sets of the past decade or so. There weren’t many tricks, not much political commentRY and there was no Kobe Bryant tribute during the performance, as was rumored (there was a moment of silence for the fallen basketball star during the pregame ceremony). Then again, no gimmicks are necessary when you two generational talents join forces, and the performance’s sheer existence speaks for itself.

This was a good one, folks. Let’s hope the NFL can build on it.

Shakira:

“She Wolf”

“Empire” (“Kashmir” Led Zeppelin outro)

“Whenever, Wherever”

“I Like It” (Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin cover, with Bad Bunny)

“Chantaje” (with Bad Bunny)

“Hips Don’t Lie”

Jennifer Lopez:

“Jenny From The Block”

“Ain’t It Funny”

“Get Right”

“Waiting For Tonight” (with J Balvin)

“Love Don’t Cost A Thing” (with J Balvin)

“On The Floor”

“Let’s Get Loud” (with daughter Emme and Shakira)

“Waka Waka” (Shakira song, with Shakira)

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.