Spetaculus!

[I'm not going to have a video here. Just go to YouTube and look for "Madonna Half Time Show" and you'll get plenty turn up. But I won't be surprised if they aren't the ones I'm looking at... and the Madonna channel might have an official one later.]

With only 13 minutes, Madonna has to get into it. I can see how she injured her ankle. After being pulled out by Roman Slaves, she kicks off with

Vogue. Most of the songs are abbreviated 2-3 minute versions, so after a verse, she kicks into the list. Poses some more and (with a costume change) she vogues to the

Music. She really loves this song. Me, I've been over-exposed to it. But she has remixed it up a bit and keeps everything pumping along. (And there's a guy on a low wire!) She's joined by LMFAO for a bit of Party Rock. Then cheerleaders join her so she can demand (after another costume change)

Give Me All Your Luvin'. Again highly abbreviated, but M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj get to sing their bits (I'm sure the cheerleader outfits appealed to a lot of people). A marching band comes out at the end, and the head turns up to be Cee Lo, who joins Madonna on the duet

Open Your Heart. Now, hang on a moment! That's not a duet! And it's my favourite song! Sod off Cee Lo! However, there's only a few bars for him to ruin the song before he and Madonna (with another costume change) head into

Like a Prayer. This was definitely a bit piece, with full chorus and heart-felt singing. The chorus is needed for this song, but the last line is Madonna's as she disappears into smoke, with a last image for "World Peace".

There's a lot of dancing and moving about. Not sure how her non-fans viewed it, but she turned up the spectacle aspect and dazzled. (Except for those sitting behind the stage, not a great view there.) She knew she had to go big, and definitely has done. And this is why, after nearly 30 years, she's still a big name!

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