Madonna's World Cup halftime show: a 'criminal' waste of pop royalty
The first-ever World Cup halftime show, an attempt to replicate the Super Bowl's spectacle, has been widely condemned as a 'parody' of the tournament. The 11-minute performance, orchestrated by Coldplay's Chris Martin, featured a pre-recorded Madonna miming in a car park, driven into the stadium by Brazilian football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Metro columnist Adam Miller described it as 'one of the most agonising 11 minutes of my life' and 'an unmitigated disaster from start to finish'.
The show's chaotic lineup
The halftime show included BTS, a 'weirdly downbeat' Justin Bieber, Shakira and Burna Boy performing the official World Cup song, and Coldplay with children from around the world under a 'LOVE' banner. Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem, and Tom Cruise gave a rousing speech. Commentator Guy Mowbray mistakenly called Pharrell 'AKA Rocky', confusing him with A$AP Rocky, summing up the show's disjointed nature.
Madonna's dream performance turned nightmare
Madonna had 'been bugging and harassing my manager for over a year' about performing at the World Cup, calling it a 'long-held dream'. She said, 'I'm just a really big football fan... and it's always been my dream.' However, her slot was reduced to a pre-recorded mime act. Miller argues, 'If Madonna is literally begging to perform, give her everything she wants. Give her the entire slot and watch her blow every Super Bowl half-time show out of the water.'
Wayne Rooney's verdict: 'It was crap'
Wayne Rooney, commentating for the BBC, summed up the performance in three words: 'It was crap.' Miller echoes this sentiment, calling the show 'painfully inauthentic and classically Chris Martin'. He suggests that the dreary Coldplay frontman has 'ensured there should never be another World Cup half-time show'.
A missed opportunity for pop culture
Miller laments what could have been: a full rendition of Madonna's hit 'Danceteria', a duet with Sabrina Carpenter, or Madonna pointing a finger at Donald Trump in the audience. 'That would have been peak Madonna. Peak camp. Peak entertainment,' he writes. Instead, the show felt like a 'cynical cash grab' that disgraced Madonna, her fans, and the World Cup.
