Super Bowl LVI’s halftime show was undoubtedly an homage to hip-hop. Brought about by a partnership between the NFL and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, the show featured old-school hits performed by five previously announced headliners (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar) and one surprise guest, 50 Cent. The first halftime show if its kind, each performer had a chance to own the stage, which included replicas of real-life locations such as Compton’s Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. This group project seemed to divide the work up pretty evenly, but we went ahead and crunched the numbers in case you were curious how much time each person had the mic. Here are the artists from the 2022 halftime show ranked by how long they appeared onstage.
1. Dr. Dre (~218 seconds)
After kicking off the show in front of a mixing console, Dr. Dre joined Snoop Dogg for the opening performance of “The Next Episode,†which was released in 2000. They followed that up with Tupac’s “California Love,†and Dre updated the lyrics of his verse to reflect that he’s now been in the rap game for 30 years, not ten.
He returned to his soundboard just in time for his protégé Eminem to take the stage. Dre later performed a snippet of Tupac’s song “I Ain’t Mad at Cha†on the piano before transitioning to the opening chords of “Still D.R.E.,†which features a line about “still not loving police.†For this final song, he was joined onstage by Snoop Dogg, who featured on the original track, then by all the other artists who performed during the show. In total, he was onstage for about three minutes 38 seconds.
2. Snoop Dogg (~217 seconds)
Much of Snoop Dogg’s time onstage overlapped with Dr. Dre’s given that they performed “The Next Episode,†“California Love,†and “Still D.R.E.†together. But Snoop Dogg did have some solo moments, which he used to Crip walk smoothly across set and throw up the sign associated with the gang. In total, he was onstage for about three minutes 37 seconds.
3. Mary J. Blige (~174 seconds)
The only singer among this year’s headliners, Mary J. Blige started her set with a rendition of the Dre-produced song “Family Affair.†She followed that up with another one of her hits from 2001, “No More Drama,†which she sang over the chords to “Head Over Heels,†by Tears for Fears. She ended her performance by dropping to the ground on her back, her thigh-high boots kicked up in the air. With her return to the stage at the end of the show, her stage time totaled about two minutes 54 seconds.
4. Eminem (~156 seconds)
We heard Eminem before we saw him. The rapper rose over a collapsing replica of the Compton courthouse to finish out the hook from “Forgot About Dre.†He then launched into his biggest hit, 2002’s “Lose Yourself,†accompanied by a band that included Anderson .Paak on the drums. Eminem finished his performance by taking a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. He joined the other headliners again at the end of the show. In total, he was onstage for about two minutes 36 seconds.
5. Kendrick Lamar (~140 seconds)
Unlike the other headliners, Kendrick Lamar performed on the field. Surrounded by dancers standing in “Dre Day†boxes with “Dre Day†sashes, Lamar began his set with a short performance of “M.A.A.D City,†a song that showcases his Compton upbringing. He then launched into a performance of his 2015 hit “Alright.†He headed up to the stage for the final performance of “Still D.R.E.,†bringing his total appearance time to about two minutes 20 seconds.
6. 50 Cent (~117 seconds)
Predictably, the halftime show’s surprise guest had the shortest appearance. 50 Cent took the stage to perform “In Da Club,†the 2003 hit co-produced by Dr. Dre. In a callback to the song’s music video, he began his performance while rapping upside down. Eventually, he flipped onto his feet to join the group of dancers on his set, and he joined the five announced headliners at the end of the show. In total, he was onstage for about one minute 57 seconds.
Honorable mention: The background dancers
We couldn’t figure out a good way to total their exact screen time, but no list of this year’s halftime-show performers would be complete without acknowledging the 515 dancers who brought their energy to the stage and field throughout the show. These dancers weren’t necessarily the main focus of the night, but we’re sure they expected that. We can’t all be Left Shark.