Contributed by Nija Packer
The lineup for one of the biggest televised events is finally here – the Superbowl LIV halftime show.
This year’s headliners are singers Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, both of which are huge figures in the Latin American community. The two confirmed the news on their social media accounts, Shakira captioning an Instagram picture of both of them with, “It doesn’t get any bigger than this!”
J-Lo and Shakira are a logical choice for this year’s show, which is happening at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Their performance will be the first one in 20 years to feature Hispanic performers, the last time being in 2000 when Enrique Iglesias took the stage. Considering the city’s huge Hispanic population, a lot of locals are excited for the upcoming collaboration. The Miami Herald even joked that Pitbull should join the lineup.
The announcement comes around the same time as yet another NFL controversy. The league recently entered into a deal with Roc Nation, an entertainment company headed by rapper and mogul Jay-Z, inciting waves of backlash from Jay-Z fans. The deal means that Roc Nation will now advise the NFL on picking artists for major performances, such as the Super Bowl, implying that Jay-Z could have played a part in bringing J-Lo and Shakira to the show.
Some people aren’t too happy about this decision, most notably Miami rapper Uncle Luke. He told TMZ that Jay-Z is the NFL’s “token black guy” after the half-time show news dropped, notably angry that he didn’t pick other local artists such as Trick Daddy or Rick Ross. Jay-Z has not responded to his comments.