The Super Bowl LIX Jeep halftime show was a lot to unpack. With more than 70,000 people in the stadium watching it live and more than 127 million people streaming the Super Bowl online, it was a nice break in the game. The Eagles were leading 24-0 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and there was a divide amongst the fans rooting for each team. But what many people look forward to every year is the chosen artist to perform their music and give an immersive experience to the crowd and viewers. In 2025, the performing artists not only included Kendrick Lamar but also featured Sza in the show. This was very exciting for many people as Lamar is very popular amongst most people who listen to music. A majority of the population has at least heard one of his songs before. 

My name is Dylan Reed. I want to ask the DHS students about their thoughts on the 2025 halftime show. I’m curious to see if their opinions are similar or if their feelings are mixed. This year’s halftime show told a story that many people may not have noticed. The story starts with Uncle Sam as the narrator. He guides us through the events. Then, Kendrick sings, expressing the American people’s struggles and successes. One more thing I would like to point out is that Kendrick decided to only have black backup dancers as a way to send a bigger message to visualize America’s ongoing racial and political division. He also chose to make his set four different shapes, a circle, an X, a triangle, and a square, all of which are shapes of the buttons on a PlayStation controller. The reason behind his stage being a PlayStation controller was another layer on top of his hit song and diss track on another rapper, Drake. The company behind PlayStation is known as Sony. The company is known for signing Drake’s music label. At the end of the show, the words “game over” are displayed, showing that Kendrick has won the feud between himself and Drake.

I wanted to include opinions from each grade to see if opinions vary depending on age, starting with the freshmen at DHS. I asked Jackson Miller what he thought about the halftime show, this is what he had to say about it, “I thought it was cool that Kendrick got one of Drake’s exes on the stage to dance because Kendrick still doesn’t like Drake. I would give it a 7.5/10.” Next, I asked Emily Flood what she thought. Her opinion is, “As someone who doesn’t listen to rap, but rather just will randomly hear it online, it wasn’t the best but not bad at all. Sometimes, I like it more than other points in the show (such as “Not Like Us”). Overall, I’d rate it a 7.5/10 because it was not my type of music, but the show still had cool designs and choreography.” For the sophomores, I asked Gabby Trask what her opinion was. This is what she had to talk about, “I thought Kendrick’s performance was really good, however, the outfits were a little weird, especially Kendrick’s Jeans. I would rate it a 6/10.”  I asked Sarah Ramos, a junior at DHS, what she thought, and here’s what she said, “10/10 because Sza is amazing and Kendrick sent a very good message that not many people understood, and him bringing out Serena Williams was funny to diss on Drake.” Another junior at DHS, Cadence Mitchell, gave the show a “9/10 because I enjoyed the show and the choreography was cool.” Finally, let’s talk with the seniors. Baleigh Graziani had this to say, “I would give it a 10/10 because there are so many hidden easter eggs throughout his whole performance.” 

I also clarified to some of the interviewees how there was a hidden message behind the performance, this helped them better understand the reasons behind specific details and appreciate the experience more fully. One thing I pointed out was that the outfits were the color of the United States flag. Gabby Trask found this information helpful because the outfits looked out of place to her. Overall, the average answer out of ten was 7.1. I would say this is a collectively satisfactory answer for 2025’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. Overall, everyone agreed that the performance was very enjoyable, even if this music was not something they would normally listen to.