The Black Eyed Peas had the privledge of being the first pop act since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's 2004's Nipplegate to grace the Super Bowl halftime spot. But they also had the disadvantage of being the first act not playing their own instruments and as a result, often came off muted following memories of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Who and Prince. But fans on Twitter and Facebook were blaming that more on a faulty mix.
"My haircut for the superbowl halftime show!yep yep," he tweeted at one point with a photo of the back of his head, which bared the words BEP XLV shaved into his head."
The quartet descended from the top of the football stadium on individual platforms and sang a medley of "I Gotta Feeling," "Boom Boom Pow," "Pump It," "Get It Started," "Time of My Life" and a new version of "Where Is the Love?" featuring a message to President Obama.
Singing against a backdrop of glow-in-the-dark words that spelled out "love," will.i.am changed the words to the hit song in order to include a plea for Bam's help to improve the nation.
"In America we need to get things straight/Obama let's get these kids educated/Create jobs so the country stays stimulated/This is dedicated to all the innovators," he sang.
The Peas' performance lit up the field in the middle of the game, with Fergie appearing nervous as she descended onto the stage on her tiny platform. Her husband, Josh Duhamel, revealed on Saturday at DirecTV's Celebrity Beach Bowl that she was nervous about the stunt.
Fergie and will.i.am. kicked off the elaborate show with 'I Gotta Feeling' and as the medley went on to 'Boom Boom Pow,' the field at Cowboys Stadium became crowded with glowing dancers. The amount of performers made the show feel almost like an Olympics opening ceremony.
Slash rose from a lifter onto the stage and performed Guns 'N Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine' with Fergie doing her best to pull off an Axl Rose impression.
Usher swarmed the stage to take 'OMG,' his hit with the Peas. The band, dancing on a glowing 'Love' sign, united with the hundreds of dancers on 'The Time (Dirty Bit)' before wrapping it up with a reprise of 'I Gotta Feeling.'
On the televised broadcast, sound problems flooded the mix including Fergie's vocals coming in late on several songs. But nothing compared to the musical mayhem of Christina Aguilera's flubbed national anthem before the big game.
"So the Peas did not sound amazing, but they were very entertaining!" tweeted Perez Hilton. "Much better than The Who last year or Tom Petty before!"
"The Black Eyed Peas just kicked ass at the Super Bowl," raved Avril Lavigne. "Great performance!!!! It was perfect. The dancers were insane."
David Spade wasn't so kind: "wtf is usher doing here? Did black eyes peas run out of songs in 8 minutes?"
Fergie does not have a fan in funnyman Steve Martin either. "I learned so much about love during the halftime show," he tweeted. "And then at the end when it said, "The Beginning," I thought 'Wow.' Just. Wow."
