Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Dr. Dre Made History With Their Super Bowl Halftime Show Emmy Win
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar took over SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California for the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show. The performance was a tribute to hip-hop, which is set to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2023. The show ended up winning Emmy Awards, including for its five headlining performers. They made Emmy history in the process.
The 2022 Super Bowl halftime show won Emmy Awards
The Super Bowl LVI halftime show was nominated in five categories at the 2022 Creative Arts Emmy Awards: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Directing For a Variety Special, Outstanding Music Direction, Outstanding Production Design For a Variety Special, and Outstanding Sound Mixing For a Variety Series or Special.
The show took home the awards for Outstanding Variety Special, Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Production Design For a Variety Special. With the performers credited for the Outstanding Variety Special award, all five artists won their first-ever Emmy Awards. For Eminem, it brought the rapper just one award away from achieving EGOT status.
It’s the first Super Bowl to win the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special
Super Bowl halftime shows in the past have been nominated for the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) award at the Emmys before. But the 2022 show’s win marked the first time that the halftime show has won the coveted award.
Hamish Hamilton, the director behind the show for over a decade, told Billboard about the impact of the 2022 show.
“It was one of, if not the greatest Super Bowl halftime shows ever,” Hamilton said. “That [artist] lineup changed the world – they changed music, they changed politics, they changed the way that we dress, they had a seismic influence in music, culture and beyond and not one of them had been on a Super Bowl bill before, and all of a sudden they’re all on the same Super Bowl bill, and by the way it’s [near] Compton, where some of this started, where Dre started, literally this is his backyard. And, of course, you’ve got the home team in the final.”
“It was a hip-hop L.A. Super Bowl once-in-a-lifetime moment,” he added. “It just had everything extra going for it, from that first shot of Dre in his studio in Compton.”
Other halftime shows have won Emmy Awards before
While the Super Bowl LVI halftime show made history as the first halftime show to win the Outstanding Variety Special Emmy, it’s by no means the first halftime show to win an Emmy Award. Lady Gaga‘s 2017 show currently holds the record for the most-nominated show, with six nominations total and winning three. Katy Perry’s 2014 show also won two Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Beyoncé’s earth-shattering 2013 show was nominated in three categories and won one, while Prince’s legendary 2007 show was nominated in two categories.
The Weeknd’s 2021 show was nominated for three Emmys but didn’t take home any awards. The 2020 show featuring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira was similarly nominated in four categories including Outstanding Variety Special, taking home the award for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For a Variety Special.
