How Super Bowl Halftime Shows Lead to Super Sales, From Michael Jackson to Kendrick Lamar

In 2002, successful the week aft the Feb. 3 show, performers U2 saw income for 3 of the band’s cardinal albums much than treble (All That You Can’t Leave Behind, up 142%; Best of 1980-1990, up 154%; The Joshua Tree, up 144%) .

In 2001 (Jan. 28), the all-star combo of Aerosmith, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Nelly and Mary J. Blige provided immoderate income punch. Aerosmith was successful promotion mode, hyping the upcoming March 6 merchandise of its medium Just Push Play by performing its pb azygous “Jaded.” As for the others, successful the week ending Feb. 4, *NSYNC’s existent merchandise No Strings Attached moved 46,000 (up 23%), Spears’ Oops! . . . I Did It Again shifted 39,000 (up 4%) and Nelly’s Country Grammar sold 76,000 (up 26%). Blige did not person a existent merchandise astatine the time.

2001 arguably marked a displacement successful however the halftime amusement was programmed and produced. While Michael Jackson did alteration the crippled successful 1993 with his solo headlining turn, it wasn’t until 2001 did the Super Bowl genuinely statesman embracing existent superstars.

Between 1997 and 2000, the amusement housed performances from a motley unit of folks ranging from Boyz II Men and Chaka Khan to Queen Latifah and ZZ Top. All 4 shows were ensemble affairs, with the 1998 amusement (a tribute to Motown’s 40th anniversary), featuring nary little than 5 acts. Yet, immoderate of those acts (like Marta Reeves and Smokey Robinson) hadn’t had a large popular deed successful galore years.

In 1996, Diana Ross was the show’s solo performer, treating the assemblage to a medley of her hits — some solo and with her erstwhile group, the Supremes. She closed the amusement with 2 caller recordings, a screen of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and an archetypal tune, “Take Me Higher.” The 2 songs were lifted from her then-current Take Me Higher album, which sold 3,000 the week aft the amusement (up 74%).

In 1994, state stars Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt and the Judds played, portion the adjacent year, Patti Labelle, Teddy Pendergrass and Tony Bennett were among the guests. Neither amusement caused a immense surge successful income for immoderate of the the acts.

We yet get astatine Jackson’s prima crook in 1993. During the Jan. 31 show, helium played 3 songs from his 1991 medium Dangerous, arsenic good arsenic the classical 1982 azygous “Billie Jean.”

Sales of Dangerous changeable up dramatically successful the week of the amusement arsenic good successful the pursuing weeks. In the week ending Jan. 31, it moved 21,000 (up 83%) for its champion income week extracurricular of the Christmas play since July the erstwhile year. In turn, the medium vaulted from No. 88 to No. 41 connected the Billboard 200 chart, the set’s highest fertile since June of the erstwhile year. The adjacent week, Dangerous climbed to No. 26 with 29,000 (up 40%) and past sold successful excess of 50,000 for the adjacent six consecutive weeks.