ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with the halftime show's executive producer about the jaw-dropping performances.
Some of the biggest artists in the history of hip hop come together at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Sunday for the Super Bowl LVI Pepsi Halftime Show, and delivered a jaw-dropping spectacle that took a lot of work to make happen.
ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with Jesse Collins, executive producer of this year's halftime show, and he reflected on what it was like to make such a memorable event really come to life.
"We've been in development of this since last September, just talking every week, every single moment, and we've been in hard rehearsals probably for the last three weeks," Collins reflected. "I think the hardest part of it was getting it [down] to 13 minutes."
"I mean, you've got monster catalogues and trying to figure out how to make this work... I mean I could think of 10 records that I wish they would've done," he added. "But we had to make the best decision possible."
The final show was nothing short of amazing. Beginning with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performing together on across a series of all-white trailer/stages that were designed to represent the homes and businesses of nearby Compton and South L.A., the show then welcomed a cavalcade of icons.
First, an upside down 50 Cent was introduced, and his performance led into a number by Mary J. Blige, followed by Kendrick Lamar, and then Eminem. After which, Dre and Snoop took center stage again before all the artists came together for a performance of "Still D.R.E."
"These are superstars! There's never been such a [show]. I mean, these are The Avengers of music, all together in one halftime show," Collins marveled.
Among many surprises, one unexpected appearance came from Anderson .Paak, who played drums during Eminem's performance of "Lose Yourself."
"That was a Dre idea. Just one day, he said, 'I think Anderson should play drums for Eminem,' and Em was into it and Anderson came out of Silk Sonic rehearsals ... and he joined us and he's amazing!" Collins shared.
The producer also remarked on the significance of the performance for Eminem, who seemed particularly moved by being involved in the event, and previously admitted to being nervous about the show.
"Dre hasn't come out in years, so of course Em had to be here tonight," Collins shared. "Think about it, that set was more or less a studio where that record happened the first time, in the studio, with Dre. That had to be going through his head. Dre's at the boards, it was really taking him back to that moment."
While the grand scale of the performance was impressive, Collins explained how challenging it really was to get the whole thing set up and staged.
"We got in in less than eight minutes and we got off in six, which was the goal," Collins said of the elaborate caravan of trailer stages and set decorations. "We had to do that, there was no choice. And that's a massive set... It was quite a challenge, but we made it happen."
Ultimately, Collins feels that this year's show was more than just a live music event, but instead was a significant message about the role hip hop plays in the fabric of the nation.
"We proved tonight that hip hop is part of the Americana, it is part of our culture. Just like rock n' roll, country, hip hop is right there and it's never going away and it is Americana, period."
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