Super Bowl XLV: Were the Black Eyed Peas Really That Bad?

Wow, talk about a change of heart.

A little over a year ago, the Black Eyed Peas were widely praised for their flash mob performance to help kick off the new season of Oprah.

After Sunday's Super Bowl XLV halftime performance, they have gone from praise to disappointment, and I don't get it.

I've seen words like "disappointment", "butchered", and even "underwhelmed". One writer even wrote that the Black Eyed Peas were "a mindless fit".

The Black Eyed Peas are not my favorite band, but I don't mind their music either. It's got rhythm, it's got a beat, and above all, it's catchy.

The National Basketball Association and even the National Football League have taken their songs and incorporated them into their official tunes for the season. Remember when the NBA took and ran with their hit song "Lets get it started in here"?

What about the NFL Playing "Tonight's gonna be a good night" during their commercials trying to sell Green Bay Packers championship gear?

Granted, Sunday's Super Bowl halftime performance had it's bad moments.

Slash was a waste of time. I still don't get what the Black Eyed Peas, or Fergie for that matter, had to do with Slash. Can anybody explain?

Then Usher dropped by for his No. 1 hit song, "OMG". Usher didn't "sing" his song, he just ran through the chorus line about 35 times and did a small dance  that ended with a jump split over Will.I.Am, and then he was done.

Overall, I thought the Black Eyed Peas performance wasn't great, but solid. Aside from the microphone being off on Fergie, it was a solid performance.

The Black Eyed Peas are entertainers and they did what they were supposed to do. They attracted a younger audience and put on a good show. Even if you don't know the lyrics, or like the Black Eyed Peas themselves, you've heard their songs.

In the end, was the Black Eyed Peas performance really that bad? Was it really worse than when Areosmith was joined by NSYNC and Britney Spears?