Oh, say, can you sing? That question is most definitely a yes for Jennifer Hudson who did a great job of performing the National Anthem on the Super Bowl XLIII, and even though it was a previously recorded live track, the song was recorded well.
Faith Hill also sang an amazing rendition of “America the Beautiful” that brought out the emotions in the crowd and even some of the football players from both sides.
Journey and John Legend gave an excellent pre-game performance, especially with a surprise appearance from rapper and auto-tune king, T-Pain.
Bruce Springsteen did not let the momentum of the day slow down when he hit the stage. And now I know why he is called, “The Boss.” The way he commanded the crowd’s attention was truly something worth seeing.
He did a great job and even though some people would rather see the Super Bowl affiliates choose more current performers for the halftime show, most people were not disappointed with the performance.
Considering the going rate for a 30-second spot during a Super Bowl commercial break is now $3 million, I’m betting any and every company that wanted their product to be seen during the Super Bowl break was hoping that their payment was worth it.
Careerbuilder, Sobe Lifewater, and the Coke commercial full of nature’s little wonders were, in my opinion, the highlights of the advertising aspect of this great American tradition.
The new Pepsi ad that featured the bridging of gaps from the past to the present featuring legend Bob Dylan and new age musician Will.i.am was very cool and very creative.
MC Hammer and Ed McMahon’s Cash4Gold ad was also a good laugh.
Pepsi Max’s ad with the “I’m good” phrase for men sounds like it could be the catchphrase of the year, which reminded me of the 2002 Budweiser commercial with the phrase, “Waazzup?”
The infamous baby from the E*Trade ad was accompanied by a new little friend who was practicing his “windpipes.” I don’t know about anyone else, but the Miller High Life spot, which consisted all of two seconds, was not only funny but also memorable.
Although it was nice seeing Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head in a commercial again, I have to say it was even nicer seeing Vin Diesel and Paul Walker together in the commercial for the new movie “Fast and Furious: Get Furious.” That wasn’t the only movie trailer that caught my attention.
“Land of the Lost” starring Will Ferrell looks really funny, and of course it will be because, I mean, come on, it is Will Ferrell.
“Up,” the new Disney Pixar movie seems like it will be a cute and popular movie among the little ones and any of us bigger kids with children’s hearts. “Monsters vs. Aliens,” also a Pixar movie, is just as cute for kids.
The upcoming “Star Trek,” although it has no monsters, parallels the latter film but is more for an older audience.
Perhaps the most anticipated movie trailer had to be “Transformers 2,” which although it was quick, certainly did not disappoint.
With the return of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, the film did its job of leaving the viewers wanting more because it was, hands down, the fastest 30 seconds of the night.
Of course, NBC took full use of having home network advantage by plugging all of their returning shows for this week, which was perfectly fine because between “Chuck” and “Heroes,” the commercials were quite amusing.
Overall, Super Bowl XLIII kept the majority of us entertained, which is exactly what it was supposed to do.
By the way, congratulations to the new Super Bowl XLIII champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rating: 5 out of 5