MIAMI (AP) — Coverage of entertainment and celebrity happenings at Super Bowl 54 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami:
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BEYONCE, JAY-Z SIT DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM
Video of Beyoncé and Jay-Z sitting while Demi Lovato sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl has surfaced online.
TMZ posted the video Sunday of the celebrity couple sitting along with daughter Blue Ivy at Hard Rock Stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers were playing the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jay-Z, a co-producer of the halftime show featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, announced his Roc Nation company had entered a partnership with the NFL for events and social activism last year. The rapper received immediate backlash since he had become one of the biggest supporters of Colin Kaepernick, who sparked a fissure in the NFL when he decided to kneel when the national anthem was played before games to protest the killings of blacks by police officers.
Jay-Z’s response was that he still supports protesting, kneeling and Kaepernick, but he’s also interested in working with the league to make substantial changes.
Representatives for Jay-Z and Beyoncé didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment.
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THE SUPER BOWL IS GRAMMYS 2.0
Beyoncé is back at the Super Bowl.
The pop icon, dressed in green, attended the game with daughter Blue Ivy and hubby Jay-Z, who is one of the co-producers of this year’s halftime show through his Roc Nation entertainment company. Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl halftime in 2016 and 2013, and she sang the national anthem in 2004.
Paul McCartney and DJ Khaled also attended the big game, which featured performances by Demi Lovato and Yolanda Adams.
DJ-producer Diplo and rapper Lil Nas X, who stars in a Super Bowl commercial for Doritos, chatted in a suite at Hard Rock Stadium while watching the game. The pair, both sporting large cowboy hats Sunday, collaborated on a remix of “Old Town Road,” which is the longest-running No. 1 song in the history of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
The song won Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus two Grammy Awards last week, including best pop duo/group performance and best music video.
Actors Kevin Hart, Jon Hamm and Liev Schreiber also attended the game.
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LIP SYNC BATTLE
Lady Gaga said a day before the Super Bowl that she doesn’t want to hear any lip syncing during the halftime show. Darius Rucker agrees.
“I’m with her. I’m with her,” he said in an interview before his tailgate performance at the big game Sunday.
“We never had to do lip syncing where I was lip syncing; we had to do a couple shows where the background music was there, but I got to sing, we all got to sing,” the Hootie & the Blowfish leader explained. “Especially big dance shows and everything like that, I understand it, but it’s not for me. That’s why people come to see me. Ain’t nobody coming to see me dancing.”
Gaga performed at the halftime show in 2017 and sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl in 2016. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira headlined this year’s halftime show.
Yolanda Adams, who sang “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl, said weather could be the reason some people lip sync.
“Well here’s the thing about lip syncing — if there’s inclement weather, that’s a difference because you have to come out with the hollow mics that have no magnetic extraction and stuff like that, because you could really, really hurt yourself,” she explained.
But the gospel great known for her outstanding vocals added, “Since the weather is absolutely amazing, OK Gaga, you got it!”
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A-ROD: SUPER BOWL SHOULD BE IN MIAMI EVERY YEAR
Right before the Super Bowl began, Alex Rodriguez watched the players warm up from the sidelines and embraced Michael Strahan.
Then the former baseball player’s 11-year-old daughter, Ella, ran up to him and they hugged.
“You know the last time I saw you,” Strahan said to Rodriguez’s daughter, “I took my twins to a concert at Madison Square Garden ... and you guys were right there with us, and it was so many years ago, and now you are all grown.”
Rodriguez, who is engaged to halftime performer Jennifer Lopez, said he was thrilled to be at the big game.
“I am excited. It’s a great day for the Super Bowl. Perfect weather,” he said. “I feel like the Super Bowl should be in Miami every year. It’s just perfect.”
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YOLANDA ADAMS SENDS HOPE TO AMERICANS
Grammy-winning gospel legend Yolanda Adams says she feels blessed after performing “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl.
“What a pleasure and a privilege to be able to do it at this time in our country,” she told The Associated Press after her performance Sunday. “We’re dealing with so much — Kobe and the passing of the eight passengers along with him; the coronavirus coming over and things like that; the trials, the impeachment — all of that. Right now the country needs some hope and I’m just glad I got a chance to do my part.”
Adams was also excited to finish the performance: “I feel really good. It’s over. I get a chance to go into a suite and eat,” she said, laughing.
The singer said she loves attending sports events like the Super Bowl since her father was a coach. For her performance, she was joined by Miami’s Children’s Voice Chorus.
“They are absolutely impeccable. I love those kids. They are the sweetest, most mild-mannered kids you ever want to meet,” she said. “They are great, absolutely great. And they sounded fantastic.”
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DARIUS RUCKER: ‘SUPER BOWL IS MY HAPPIEST DAY OF THE YEAR’
Darius Rucker has been to more than a dozen Super Bowls, but the singer said being at the big game never gets old.
The country artist and frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish performed Sunday at On Location Experiences’ pre-game party at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami hours before the Kansas City Chiefs were to take on the San Francisco 49ers.
“If you would have told me at 15 ... that I was going to go to that many Super Bowls, I would have never believed it,” the 53-year-old said. “The Super Bowl, for me, is the ultimate sporting event in the world. For me, the Super Bowl is my happiest day of the year and it’s my saddest day of the year — because it’s the greatest game you’re looking for and (then) football’s over.”
Rucker attended the game with his teenage son: “To have my kid with me, it’s amazing.”
“I ask him every year, ‘Do you wanna go?’ And that’s really the basis of if I’m going to do it. Because if he’s not going to go, I’m going to sit at home and watch it on the television,” he added.
The three-time Grammy winner reunited with Hootie & the Blowfish late last year to release their first album in almost 15 years. They also performed on a sold-tour, which became a family affair.
“That was fun and everyone’s family got to come out, because we never got to tour with family. Everyone’s kids were too young, it was four of us on a bus,” he said. “This time we could afford for everyone to have their own bus and have their families out there. It was great.”
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J. LO AND SHAKIRA’S SURPRISE GUESTS: BAD BUNNY AND J BALVIN
Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will bring Latin music to the Super Bowl stage with two stars dominating the genre: J Balvin and Bad Bunny.
A person close to the Super Bowl, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed to publicly talk about the game, told The Associated Press that the Puerto Rican rapper and Colombian performer will guest star during the 12-minute performance. The person also said Lopez’s 11-year-old daughter Emme, who has performed onstage on her mother’s latest stadium tour, will also be part of the halftime show.
Bunny and Balvin, who both appeared on the Cardi B hit “I Like It,” have found major success on streaming platforms and have logged billions of views on YouTube. Balvin, who released his debut album in the late 2000s, has won four Latin Grammys and is known for the hits “X,” “Con Altura” with Rosalía and “Mi Gente,” which featured a remix co-starring Beyoncé.
Bunny, 25, has become a white-hot sensation since debuting on the Latin music scene in 2016, collaborating with everyone from Drake to Residente to Will Smith. He released he debut album in 2018 and it won him his first Latin Grammy.
Balvin and Bunny released the collaborative album, “Oasis,” last year. It was nominated for a Grammy Award at last week’s show.
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AP Entertainment Producer John Carucci contributed to this report.