The appearance of Maroon 5 during the break of the Super Bowl could count on little applause on Sunday night. American media had a lot of commentary on the concert of Adam Levine and his band.
Deadline wrote that Maroon 5’s “awful” halftime show lacked the necessary soul and did not seem to start. Esquire noticed that Adam “at least pulled off his shirt” but also joked that the band’s appearance was overshadowed by SpongeBob. The cartoon figure was just in the picture to introduce guest Travis Scott.
USA Today stated that Maroon 5 played it safe during the performance. According to the newspaper that was exactly what the NFL was looking for after the necessary criticism and the refusal of stars like Rihanna and Cardi B to perform at the Super Bowl. The reviewer judged that this boring approach was not enough to make the concert memorable.
Musical guests Big Boi and Travis Scott got more positive comments, although Travis made a very short contribution before he left the stage in crowdsurfing. Only television viewers could enjoy part of the Big Boi performance. The lyrics of the Outkast rapper were often too daring for American television, so the sound was turned off several times during his performance.