The National Football League (NFL) has drafted Paul McCartney as the headline performer for the Super Bowl XXXIX halftime show. The Feb. 6 performance will take place at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., and will be broadcast live on Fox.
“There’s nothing bigger then being asked to perform at the Super Bowl,” McCartney says. “We’re looking forward to rocking the millions at home and in the stadium.”
The Super Bowl qualifies as one of the world’s biggest stages, annually drawing the biggest U.S. viewership of any television broadcast. Last year’s game was seen by 144.4 million stateside viewers, according to the NFL, as well as in an additional 200 countries.
A large portion of that audience witnessed a little something extra during the last halftime show in Houston. The MTV-produced Feb. 1, 2004, performance ended with guest performer Justin Timberlake ripping away a piece of headliner Janet Jackson’s costume, revealing her breast.
Famously described as a “wardrobe malfunction,” the incident resulted in public outcry and an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). CBS, which broadcast the event, is protesting an FCC fine of $550,000.
The NFL is undoubtedly banking on McCartney’s performance in this year’s halftime show, which will be sponsored by Ameriquest Mortgage, to be less risqu
