Super Bowl XXVII halftime show

Prior to Super Bowl XXVII, the game's halftime show often featured performances by marching bands, and later drill teams and ensembles such as Up with People—acts that, by the 1990s, were considered to be culturally outdated. The previous year's halftime show had featured a salute to the 1992 Winter Olympics, with figure skating performances by Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill, and musical guest Gloria Estefan. Future NFL broadcaster Fox famously aired a special episode of its sketch comedy series In Living Color against the halftime period, which caused viewership of the game on CBS to decrease by 22%. Although the league does not pay appearance fees for Super Bowl halftime performers, the NFL and Frito-Lay agreed to make a donation of $100,000 to Jackson's Heal the World Foundation, and provide commercial time during the game for the foundation's Heal L.A. campaign, which aimed to provide health care, drug education, and mentorship for Los Angeles youth in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. More than 250 volunteers were required in order to erect and disassemble the show's 10-ton stage. The stage was on all-terrain tires in order to limit damage to the playing surface. ==Performance==

The show was staged and choreographed by Vincent Paterson. The performance began with James Earl Jones' voice introducing an, "unprecedented Super Bowl spectacular starring Michael Jackson". Jackson then seemed to appear at the top of the stadium's two jumbotrons (using body doubles). He then catapulted from center stage and stood completely frozen and silent for almost two minutes before his long-time guitarist Jennifer Batten began the performance. Jackson's performance included a medley consisting of "Jam" (with the beginning of "Why You Wanna Trip On Me"), "Billie Jean" and "Black or White" (includes beginning of "Another Part of Me") including the ending of Batten's guitar solo. The finale featured an audience card stunt, a video montage showing Jackson participating in various humanitarian efforts around the world, and a choir of over 3,000 local Los Angeles area children singing "We Are the World", later joining Jackson as he sang his single "Heal the World" with an inflatable globe. The globe resembled the single's cover art. ==Commercial reception==

The halftime show was a major success, marking the first time in Super Bowl history that ratings increased between halves during the game. However, NBC Sports president at the time, Dick Ebersol, stated that the record-high numbers were largely due to the half-time show, which gave a 45.5 rating during the half hour from 8 to 8:30 p.m. EST. In comparison, the previous year game had a 40.3 rating and 61 share. On the heels of his appearance at the 1993 American Music Awards, Jackson's 1991 album Dangerous saw a 83% increase in sales, moving 21,000 copies in the United States in the week following the Super Bowl. Sales increased further after the airing of a Michael Jackson interview special with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, and at the 35th Grammy Awards (accepting the Grammy Legend Award), causing Dangerous to reach the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and surpass 5 million in total sales. ==Critical reception==

The Associated Press described the show as, "flashy". In a 2022 article, Brian Moylan of Vulture, ranking the performance the tenth-best Super Bowl halftime show up through that year's, credited Jackson's show with turning Super Bowl halftime shows into "must-watch television". However, Moylan also opined, ==Set list==

The following songs were performed during the halftime show: • "Jam" (includes the beginning of "Why You Wanna Trip On Me") • "Billie Jean" • "Black or White" (includes the beginning of "Another Part of Me") • "We Are the World" (children's choir) • "Heal the World" The performance of Heal the World appeared on the VHS Dangerous: The Short Films. ==References==