Miley leaned right into a pep rally theme, which feels right. The set list for this actually looked... pretty good?!? This is honestly the one FOMO moment I had about the Super Bowl. This would have ruled at halftime, and I bet Miley could have even ridden a damn wrecking ball above the stadium.
She does not go halfway. There was never NOT going to be matching leather pom-poms. She looks like a roller derby mascot, or a cheerleader at a Starlight Express train race.
The BREATHING IN THIS PHOTO. It's going to be awhile before I can watch someone sing in another person's face without thinking, "HOW OFTEN WERE YOU TESTED???" (I'm sure they spent a LOT of money on being careful here.)
Billy, seriously, you could dance with yourself. It would be okay. They could have duetted that from six feet apart. TWELVE feet apart, even.
TikTok tailgate party, Super Bowl LV, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, USA - 07 Feb 2021
Obviously.
H.E.R.
She (S.H.E.) sang "America the Beautiful," nailed the vocal, and casually shredded the guitar in the middle. Here it is; it's really great.
Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church
It was a wide-legged pants kind of day, apparently. These two teamed up for the anthem. I do not know why we needed him. If we wanted the country music community represented, I'd have loved to have Mickey Guyton out there duetting with her instead; I just heard Mickey sing on Colbert the other night (it may have been a rerun, for all I know), and her voice is UNREAL. But she was also super pregnant so maybe that wouldn't have been feasible anyway. She did not need him. He just sort of looked like reheated Blake Shelton and added very little. She belted it out with power, and looked stunning.
Sarah Thomas
Oh HEY THERE, Sarah Thomas, First Woman to Officiate a Super Bowl! You look fantastic, too. AND you got to wear stripes, which you know is Fug Nation approved. Congratulations. First of many.