Black Eyed Peas, Super Bowl Ads and Monday's Early B/R Swagger Buzz
From the Black Eyed Peas' halftime performance, to the best, worst and just plain weird Super Bowl commercials, we've got plenty of B/R Swagger buzz for you today!
We're bringing you all of the latest news on the spectacle surrounding Super Bowl, from the performances, to the commercials, to Darth Vader charming the pants off of America.
There's plenty of ground to cover, so let's get rolling, shall we?
Black Eyed Peas: Halftime Show Proves NFL Should Have Stuck With The Who
1 of 9
The Black Eyed Peas' halftime show at Super Bowl XLV was one of the most widely anticipated performances in recent history. After all, the Peas are one of the hottest acts in the world right now, and after several years of using bands who put audiences to sleep (I'm looking at you, Paul McCartney), most people thought the Peas would provide us with a halftime jolt of excitement.
In the end, though, there was only one word to describe the Peas' performance: disappointing.
From serious techincal issues (why wasn't Fergie's mic working right? This was only the biggest performance of their careers. And don't get me started on the fact that Slash's amp was turned down so far we could barely hear him) to some musical slips (it's hard to get excited about a live performance from a group that uses so many in-studio enhancements on their album), the Peas failed to deliver on their considerable hype.
That's not to say the show was all bad: Fergie's rendition of Sweet Child Of Mine wasn't the worst I'd ever heard, and Usher nearly stole the show with his dance moves. Plus, the additions of the dancers to the show near the stage made things look a lot cooler on screen, even if their suits didn't work right, and there were at least two points when it didn't look like they were in the right places.
Given the fact that The Who showed us last year that they could get the job done in their 60's, the fact that the Peas couldn't give a consistently solid performance was disappointing, to say the least. While this wasn't the worst halftime show in recent memory (still looking at you, McCartney), it certainly wasn't the best.
Christina Aguilera National Anthem: Maybe Next Time, She'll Remember the Words
2 of 9
The national anthem at this year's Super Bowl was brought to us by five-time Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera. Christina has always had some of the best pipes in the music industry, so this was widely seen as a good thing.
And, for the most part, it was. Aguilera flexed her vocal prowess throughout the anthem, showing some impressive range and hitting most of the notes (no small feat, considering you're singing a capella, and that the anthem might be the highest-pressure situation imaginable). All in all, it was a solid performance of a tough song on the biggest stage this side of the World Cup.
But, that doesn't mean she was perfect. After all, just about everyone heard her gaffe early in the song, when she sang, "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming," combining two lines that didn't go together, while leaving out another entirely.
And if Christina has the range to hit the high notes, why didn't she hold them, particularly at "the land of the free"? She hit the right note, then dropped down into a completely different octave. Why not hold the high note and impress us all?
Now, once again, I realize how incredibly hard it has to be to sing the anthem in public. But you've got one verse of a song you've heard your whole life; how do you mess up the words?
Where Does Christina's Rendition Rank?
3 of 9
When it was announced that Christina Aguilera would be singing the national anthem at this year's Super Bowl, the news was met with largely positive feedback. After all, Aguilera had one of the better voices in the music industry; surely she was capable of delivering a performance worthy of the Super Bowl, right?
Well, Sunday has come and gone, and things certainly didn't go as planned for Christina. Why?
She botched her lines. Early in the song, she sang "What so proudly we hailed, in the twilight's last gleaming", combining a pair of lines, and leaving the ramparts out completely.
That sort of gaffe is enough to knock you into the lower half of Super Bowl performances by itself (if doesn't matter how well you sing if you don't know the words), but the rest of Aguilera's performance was solid.
She hit the notes she was supposed to (even if, in the case of that high "Free", she didn't hold it long enough), and delivered a good, but not great show.
In the end, Christina's performance sits squarely in the middle of the national anthem performances all time. She was good, but never historically epic, and the botched lines meant she wasn't going to be one of the best ever. But, the fact that she's nearly in the top 20 even with a botched line and a note she could hit, but couldn't hold speaks to how good she could have been.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Best Super Bowl Commercials 2011: Volkswagen Vader Leads Solid Class
4 of 9Super Bowl XLV will go down in advertising history as one of the stranger Super Bowls in recent memory. The ads ran the gamut from inspirational to hilarious, to perplexing and even creepy (I'm looking at you, Doritos).
Despite the wide variety of ads in this year's big game, there was one that looked like the front-runner from the get-go.
Volkswagen, they of the talking Beetle (the car, not the insect) and the "Das Auto" campaign, delivered a gem in the form of a pint-sized Darth Vader, looking to hone his skills in The Force.
When his mind is unable to move even the smallest of objects (Mom has to push his sandwich to him; what a drag!), he seems forlorn.
But then, dad's home! He sprints to the car, not to say hi, but to give his powers one final check. With the wind rippling through his cape, Vader focuses all his power on the car, and, suddenly, it starts! Dad gives mom a quick smirk, while their son looks like he might pass out in excitement in the driveway.
The kid manages to look shocked (and a little freaked out) despite the mask, and this one hits home brilliantly. The clip has gone viral on YouTube (15 million views and counting), and it's easy to see why.
This one should go down as one of the best ads in Super Bowl history, right up there with the Budweiser Frogs, Mean Joe Green and Snickers' Betty White ad.
Darth Vader Commercial: Where Does Volkswagen Spot Rank Among All Time Greats?
5 of 9The votes are still being tallied regarding this year's Super Bowl commercials, but the runaway leader in the clubhouse appears to be Volkswagen's Darth Vader spot.
Starring a pint-sized Sith, the commercial shows tiny Darth trying to use his force powers on various household objects, but to no avail (I guess he doesn't get reception in the house). Finally, after all hope seems lost, and Vader is desperately trying to use the Force on his dad's car, the Volkswagen starts.
Vader can't see dad's wink in the kitchen, but that doesn't stop him from royally freaking out.
While this commercial is arguably this year's best, where does it rank among the all time great commercials? It faces some serious competition on the all-time ranks from such classics as Cindy Crawford's Diet Pepsi ad, Apple's "1984" spot and plenty more great commercials.
Still, this Volkswagen ad feels like it's got staying power. It's cute, clever, and hard to resist. Sure, you don't know much about the product, but that's not the point of the commercial. It's to get you to laugh, and remember the product when you're buying a car.
All in all, the Volkwagen Vader spot has to be considered one of the best commercials of all time, although it's not quite a top 10 or top 15 spot.
Super Bowl Commercials 2011: Chevy Just Can't Get It Done in Five Super Ads
6 of 9This year's Super Bowl commercials were mostly well-received. With a more humorous tone than in years past, the ads were lighter, brighter, and in many cases better than their predecessors.
There were, as always, some colossal disappointments, and one of the biggest losers of the day has to be Chevy.
The recovering automotive juggernaut had five commercials on during the Super Bowl, and only one of them (the one with the hard-of-hearing old people) came close to hitting the mark.
From Bumblebee to Lassie in truck form, we saw plenty of bad commercials from Chevy, but none were worse than the guy who checks Facebook after dropping a date off.
While the last one seemed cute, consider that Chevy is essentially touting how easy their car makes it to take your attention from the road to check Facebook or other social media sites. Does that sound like a bad idea to anyone else?
All in all, Chevy went 1-for-5 on the night, which puts them right at the Mendoza line. For $2.8 million per spot, that's not a great average at all.
Better luck next year, Chevy.
Super Bowl Commercials 2011: Snickers Hits Another Home Run With Lumberjack Spot
7 of 9Last year, one of the best ads that aired during the Super Bowl came from Snickers. Starring Betty White and Abe Vigoda, it was truly one of the funniest ads ever, if for no other reason than Betty White saying, "That's not what your girlfriend said."
Snickers delivered yet another gem in 2011, thanks to the comedic talents of Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr.
Lewis is playing a lumberjack, who's hungry and just doesn't feel like cutting logs. He launches straight into his trademark whiny complaints and mouths off to his boss. His friend hands him a Snickers, and, naturally sorts him out.
Then, Roseanne appears, complaining about her back. A log quickly makes her complain about her front, too.
While this ad isn't on the same level as the Betty White spot from last year's Super Bowl, it's still a hilarious commercial. The question is, will it jump start Lewis' or Barr's career the same way Betty White got a boost from her appearance?
Joan Rivers GoDaddy: Is Her Super Bowl Spot Funny, Or Terrifying?
8 of 9One of the biggest surprises of this year's crop of Super Bowl ads came to us from GoDaddy. The web hosts typically bring us sexy ladies in commercials where the "Good stuff" is "too hot for T.V.", just to get people to come to their site.
This year, with GoDaddy.co joining the original, the company changed things up a bit. We're shown a lovely figure on a stage, her face cast in shadow.
When the lights come up though, it's clear we've all been had, as it's Joan Rivers' face plastered on the fine figure.
This one was a welcome change of pace from the typical GoDaddy spot, in that rather than relying solely on sex appeal, it was also pretty hilarious. Admit it, you laughed when you saw Rivers' face atop that body, didn't you?
But, at the same time, this might have been one of the more terrifying ads of the Super Bowl, second only to the cross-dressing lumberjack from Livingsocial.com.
Why? Because seeing Rivers like that forced us to remember what she actually looks like, which could keep you up at night.
Top Super Bowl Commercials 2011: Where Do Ozzy and Bieber Rank?
9 of 9With most of the votes counted for Super Bowl XLV's top commercials, two have emerged as favorites: the Volkswagen Darth Vader spot, and the Best Buy commercial featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber.
In it, the longtime metal rocker is touting the latest 4G pho- no, make that 5G phone. But, just as he finishes shooting, they decide to replace him with the teen pop icon, while Ozzy, being Ozzy goes and stands in the back of the shot, forcing them to re-shoot the commercial again, because the metal god has wandered off, just like he's prone to doing at this point in his life.
The whole premise is that technology moves fast, and Best Buy will buy back anything when you need to upgrade your hardware to the latest tech.
But that's not what makes this commercial great; it's the end. Ozzy asking "What's a Bieber?" isn't just hilarious, it's also exactly what he would do. And the camera man's response is priceless, and perfect for the commercial.
This one's humor is spot-on, and effective in delivering the message Best Buy's trying to convey, which, in the end, is what they're after.
All in all, it's clear that Best Buy gets high marks and ranks among the best commercials of Super Bowl XLV.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
