Super Bowl XLVII has come and gone.
And in its wake, fans were left with the images of Beyonce and Destiny's Child performing onstage, a blackout delaying the Big Game for more than a half-hour and a thrilling finish to a game that came down to the wire as NFL great Ray Lewis hoisted his final Vince Lombardi trophy with the Baltimore Ravens in what has been expected to be his last season.
Beyonce, in particular, had many people talking about her performance, in part thanks to the appearance of Destiny's Child, her flashing of what some conspiracy buffs thought to be the Illuminati sign, some unflattering photos of her taken during her performance and the ensuing blackout that happened only 10 minutes after she left the stage.
However, with the dust having settled on this year's Super Bowl, speculation can now begin as to which big acts are now in the running to perform at Super Bowl XLVIII next February at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Last year's halftime show, featuring Madonna, drew the highest ratings for the halftime show in its now-46-year history with 112.5 million viewers, while Beyonce's halftime show drew in 104 million viewers. In years past, the halftime show has drawn big acts such as Usher, the Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and more.
While artists don't get paid for performing at the halftime show, the free exposure to hundreds of millions of viewers across the country and around the world is publicity that is invaluable for music stars.
For the coming show with close proximity to New York City, expect the NFL to attract some huge megastar-level talent to the halftime show. However, the question remains-which artists would people like to see the most at the halftime show for the biggest game of the year?
Latinos Post breaks down the Top Five Artists most likely to highlight the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year:
5. Justin Bieber
The Canadian teen heartthrob has earned quite the following since he released his debut album in 2009, with Bieber amassing more than 35 million followers on Twitter and thousands more of his fans, or "Beliebers," around the world. Having sold more than 12 million albums so far, Forbes magazine named him the third most powerful celebrity in the world. It's that kind of star power that makes Bieber a huge front-runner to be headlining the spectacle of the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
4. Taylor Swift
Not since 2003, when Shania Twain helped kick off the halftime show with Sting and No Doubt, has a country artist taken part in the halftime show of the NFL's biggest game. If there is any country artist who could end that drought, it's Swift, whose fourth album, Red, sold 1.21 million albums in its opening week last October.
At 23, the Reading, Penn., native is easy on the eyes to keep some of the male demographic interested, and her heart-on-her-sleeve, sometimes soulful, other times fiery and catchy singing style has made Swift an icon to millions of young girls around the U.S. Plus, she's wholesome enough as to have the censors rest a little easier that night on what is supposed to be a family-friendly show in the Super Bowl.
3. Justin Timberlake
Yeah, it seems a bit of a stretch that the NFL would invite back the man who was in-part responsible for the infamous "Wardrobe Malfunction" that drew one of the most heavily criticized, and talked-about, halftime performances in history. However, there is little denying Timberlake's popularity. His return single duet with Jay-Z, "Suit and Tie," has been a steady seller since it was released in late January. And his new album "The 20/20 Experience" is expected to sell more than 500,000 copies in its first week once it debuts March 19. Timberlake has style, he has star power, and he has the moves to keep fans entertained for a good 10 to 15 minutes by himself. Assuming he keeps it clean this time around, the NFL would be hard-pressed not to at least consider bringing back 'N Sync's former front man.
2. Rihanna
She's arguably the most popular young female act in the world right now. Controversial, beautiful and electrifying, the leggy 25-year-old Barbados siren has 12 No.1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 under her belt, has more than 67 million fans on Facebook and opened at No.1 last year on the Billboard charts with her 2012 album "Apologetic."
Her popularity is boundless and as her 85-show tour from 2011 through last year shows, she is clearly in demand. Which makes Rihanna a huge favorite to headline the halftime show for the biggest sporting event of the year.
1. Lady Gaga
Since her emergence on the music scene in 2008, Gaga's popularity has skyrocketed, the New York City-born singer having sold more than 23 million albums worldwide as of 2012 and has garnered five Grammy Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards for hits such as "Born this Way", "Just Dance", "Edge of Glory", and "Bad Romance."
Not since Madonna has a female become such an influential part of the music scene around the world as Gaga has in the last few years. That has to make her a strong contender for headlining Super Bowl XLVIII next year, especially if it's held only a stone's throw away from her native New York City.
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