Jennifer Lopez and Shakira have been announced as headliners for next year’s Super Bowl half-time show.
The pair shared the news via Twitter before sponsors Pepsi tweeted that it would be the first time they have performed together on stage. They follow in the footsteps of last year’s headliner, Maroon 5 supported by Big Boi and Travis Scott.
“These two remarkable artists are setting a new precedent for what this show can become, and we’re confident that this will be an incredible performance for the ages,” Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s vice-president of marketing, said in a statement.
The game will take place on 2 February in Miami and the show itself will be co-produced by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company, which recently signed a deal to consult with the NFL over entertainment content.
Pepsi
(@pepsi)Two ? ? First time together on stage…on the world’s biggest stage. Welcome @JLo and @shakira to #PepsiHalftime #SBLIV @RocNation @NFL pic.twitter.com/ks1p9FbMLB
Lopez has been rumoured as a headliner for a few months now and addressed reports back in July: “Yeah, I’ve thought about the Super Bowl and it’s in Miami. It’s a big deal, but we’ll see. They make their own decisions over there.”
The announcement arrives as the star is receiving Oscar buzz for her role in fact-based crime drama Hustlers. The film became one of the most acclaimed of the recent festival circuit and opened to $33m earlier this month, Lopez’s biggest live-action opening to date. She will next be seen in romantic comedy Marry Me opposite Owen Wilson.
Last year saw Shakira embark on a world tour, the latest step in a career that has seen her win 11 Latin Grammys and three Grammys. November sees the release of a film based on the tour entitled El Dorado.
The 2019 Super Bowl half-time show was met with mostly middling reviews with the Guardian’s Jake Nevins calling Maroon 5’s performance “staid” and “run-of-the-mill”.
