(Taking a skim of the NOW! tracklistings after the turn of the century is a testament to that.) True, top 40 has always been a buffet of various genres and artists, but 2001's mayhem was less about the array of music available, and more about the way we were expected to consume it - mainly, we were urged to listen to all of it, all the time. Random as that already was, it paled in comparison to 2001, in which Ja Rule and J Lo, Train ( Train!), Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, and Lifehouse rounded out the top five. In 2000, the hottest single of the year was Faith Hill's "Breathe," followed by "Smooth" by Santana, "I Wanna Know" by Joe, and "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon. And watching series like TRL, where all genres were represented with little rhyme or reason, often felt the same. 2001 marked the first year in which the Super Bowl was produced by MTV, which not only brought forth a union between pop music and major sporting events but also explained the TRL-like quality that defined the whole spectacle. The thing is, that mish-mash of "everything ever, all at once" embodied the decade as a whole from the way pop culture was marketed and consumed. Each artist took turns singing their latest singles, evoking the vibe of a wedding DJ who's never mixed a playlist in their life (improved only when Aerosmith was joined by Britney for their rendition of "Walk This Way," but ruined by JT and Britney singing together and reminding us all that at one point, these people dated and once wore matching denim outfits). (How dare he.)Īnd the hits just kept on coming. An in-character Ben Affleck amps up Aerosmith and *NSYNC to the point of body checks and shouts before the boy band runs out to the field, JC Chasez clad in the shiniest outfit to exist in this world and Justin Timberlake sans his famous curls. Even more astounding? The show was introduced by a pre-taped sketch centered around Dodgeball (a movie from the same year that I absolutely saw in theatres). Blige appeared to help further create an unparalleled sense of turmoil - a feeling only exacerbated by the realization that *NSYNC and Aerosmith were the headliners. *NSYNC squared off against Aerosmith, while Britney Spears, Nelly, Tremors (whomst?), and Mary J. I mean, to begin with, there was a sing-off. Left to right: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Nelly and Joe Perry of Aerosmith perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXV. We should've known then that we were watching the confirmation of a new norm. But Super Bowl XXXV, fresh into a century obsessed with everything happening all the time, shed any resemblance of order. The halftime show always seemed to reach out to an unrealistically wide cross-section of music fans. In 1999, Gloria Estefan appeared alongside Stevie Wonder (cool!) and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (huh?), while in 2000, Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, and Toni Braxton performed together - along with narration from Edward James Olmos (who, honestly, deserves a halftime show unto himself). As far as I saw it, there was nothing to glean from a pseudo-concert starring a handful of artists I may or may not have listened to sometimes. To me, sports existed in one realm, and music sat squarely in another. In fact, the halftime show was always a mystery - namely, I had no idea why it existed or why I should care. As a 15-year-old Alice Deejay enthusiast, I thought nothing of the Super Bowl or its impact on pop culture in general. But in the era of dial-up internet, how were we to know? In fact, thanks to such a public display of chaos and pandemonium, the 2001 halftime show officially laid the groundwork for a decade that was defined by pop culture gone rogue. That halftime show cemented exactly how messy the 2000s would turn out to be - a revelation first teased by the everything-goes nature of the new millennium and Y2K. The Baltimore Ravens won over the New York Giants, the Backstreet Boys sang the national anthem, and the chaos brought forth by the halftime show was nothing we could have prepared for. Donahue that explores and celebrates the pop culture that defined the '90s and 2000s and the way it affects us now (with, of course, a few personal anecdotes along the way).Īs you may or may not recall, Super Bowl XXXV took place on January 28, 2001. (Scott Gries/ImageDirect via Getty Images)Īnne-iversaries is a bi-weekly column by writer Anne T. Left to right: Chris Kirkpatrick and Justin Timberlake of NSYNC join Britney Spears, and Joe Perry of Aerosmith onstage during MTV's Super Bowl halftime show.
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