Super Bowl halftime

Madonna carries glitz, glamour of halftime

INDIANAPOLIS— There were no wardrobe malfunctions, but Madonna’s halftime act at Super Bowl XLVI didn’t exactly go off without a hitch Sunday.

Accompanying artist M. I. A., 36, flipped the bird toward a camera just before a cutaway during the halftime show.

It seemed a blip on the radar of an otherwise successful production, in which Madonna, backed by a marching band dressed as soldiers of antiquity and a capacity crowd armed with flashlights, tacked on to the tradition of increasingly extravagant Super Bowl halftime shows.

Some of hip- hop’s biggest acts joined Madonna, who promised no controversy in pre- show interviews. The pop icon, 53, said earlier during Super Bowl week that there would be no wardrobe malfunctions, a la Super Bowl XXXVIII when Justin Timberlake tore off a piece of Janet Jackson’s top.

Between halves, producers erected a stage that spanned some 30 yards, 11 additional light banks and a white screen in front of the stage that showed accompanying light effects and images, including a montage of film actors from the black and white era and a final message: world peace.

Hip- hop artist Cee Lo Green led a marching band, and LMFAO joined Madonna at center stage for a rendition of their 2011 hit Sexy and I Know It, which seemed to get the biggest rise out of the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd.

The show, which borrowed the creative direction of Cirque du Soleil, featured several dancers bouncing about on a highwire above the stage, not unnoticed by the buzzing crowd of 68,658.

Madonna concluded with Like a Prayer ( 1989), accompanied by a sparkling array of flashlights in the stands. Images and videos of M. I. A.’ s gesture lit up the Internet.

By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Classics: Madonna performed Vogue and Like A Prayer during her show.