Dance again: Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will bring excitement back to Super Bowl halftime

Lyndsey Parker
·Editor in Chief, Yahoo Music
Updated

Following lackluster and critically panned Super Bowl halftime show performances from Maroon 5 this year and Justin Timberlake in 2018, we can finally look forward to some real excitement and show-woman-ship at next year’s Super Bowl LIV in Miami — when dazzling entertainers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira hit the stage at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Their joint halftime performance was officially announced Thursday afternoon.

It can be expected that the two Latin music superstars will bring some Miami flavor and fire to the proceedings, and their appearance is important in another way: To have two women of color, one of whom just turned 50 years old, performing at the most widely televised sporting event in the country is momentous. This actually marks the first time in Super Bowl history that the two Latina artists will take the stage together.

“Ever since I saw Diana Ross fly off into the sky at the halftime show, I dreamed of performing at the Super Bowl,” Lopez said in a statement. “And now it’s made even more special not only because it’s the NFL’s 100th anniversary, but also because I am performing with a fellow Latina. I can’t wait to show what us girls can do on the world’s biggest stage.”

“I’m so honored to be taking on one of the world’s biggest stages in the company of a fellow female artist to represent Latinos and Latinas from the U.S. and all over the world — and to top it off, on my birthday!” said Shakira. “This is a true American dream and we are going to bring the show of a lifetime!”

Both women have enjoyed massive crossover success in both pop and Latin music over the past two decades. Shakira has won three Grammys, 13 Latin Grammy Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, and 39 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Lopez has won two American Music Awards, seven Billboard Latin Music Awards, three VMAs, and is a recipient of the Billboard Music Awards’ Icon honor and the VMAs’ Video Vanguard Award; she was also nominated for her titular role in Selena in 1998. Lopez has sold 80 million records globally.

(EXCLUSIVE, Premium Rates Apply) Shakira and Jennifer Lopez **Exclusive Coverage** (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage for The Recording Academy)
(EXCLUSIVE, Premium Rates Apply) Shakira and Jennifer Lopez **Exclusive Coverage** (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage for The Recording Academy)

This Super Bowl news caps off an especially banner year for Lopez, who just celebrated her 50th birthday with her first concert tour in nearly seven years (grossing an estimated $54.7 million from 38 shows) and is currently generating Best Actress Oscars buzz for Hustlers, which she also executive-produced. When recently asked about rumors of her halftime performance, Lopez told Entertainment Tonight, “It would be awesome. I think, like, when you’re a little girl and you’re dreaming, you want to be an actress or you want to be a singer. There are certain things you hope to accomplish one day, and that's definitely one of those.”

Super Bowl LIV will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Feb. 2, 2020.

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