Carlos Santana wanted to play the SB halftime show w/Journey

[scarab]

At one point at halftime during CBS’ coverage of Super Bowl 50, Carlos Santana was shown playing guitar while highlights from the game’s first half rolled. But if Santana had had his way, he and other famous San Francisco rock bands would have performed during the halftime show instead of Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars. Today (Feb. 9), he penned an open letter to the network and the National Football League about it.

“Dear NFL/CBS,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you both for including me as a part of your Super Bowl entertainment. I do feel compelled to point out to you that the halftime show should have included some of the local iconic bands that the world would have loved to see perform. Bands like Metallica, Steve Miller, Journey and yours truly. We would have rocked the halftime show and done the S.F. Bay Area proud. This is just an invitation for you to consider iconic bands as part of your halftime entertainment. Real live music, real live vocals, and give the audience real live chills.”

Journey signed on with Santana. They shared his post and added a caption of their own. “Thank you, Carlos, and yes we would have all rocked it!”

Santana has never played the Super Bowl’s halftime show. The closest they got was the pre-game concert before Super Bowl XXXVII, which, coincidentally, also featured Beyonce. That game took place at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

Metallica were part of the weekend’s festivities, performing a sold-out concert at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, which they streamed for free on their website, the night before the game. Acknowledging that they probably didn’t have the dynamic the NFL was looking for, they created the hashtag #TooHeavyForHalftime.

[Lerxst101]

To me, though admittedly an ol' timer, this was a very disappointing show -- no cohesion among the acts. So many of us thought it would have been a no-brainer to have the local bands Santana mentioned perform at halftime. That would have been simply incredible. Alternatively, they could have brought out a number of the performers from past years (since a 50th celebration of the SB) to put on a grand halftime event. But alas, we ended up with Coldplay, which just didn't have the energy and had to be supported by Bruno (what a performer) and Beyonce.

[JBlake]

This is just basically how the super bowl rolls. They needed a weak white boy in the mix. It was a toss up between Coldplay or some other weak white band like Foster The People. Had it been Santana and/or any other big time local band, that would have taken away the "lime light" glory from those two others.

[jrny84]

I agree with Santana. The halftime show was horrid. In the past, even if you weren't so much into watching the game, the halftime show was always pretty decent. Not so anymore. Of all the rock acts out there they decide to pick Coldplay??? Then, they ask Bruno Mars and Beyoncé who have already represented the halftime show to come back as if there are not enough huge acts out there who haven't played the superbowl. Beyoncé's performance was horrible to boot. Her performance promoting the Black Panthers was disgusting and extremely inappropriate. Is this what we've settled for? Metallica is "too heavy", but its perfectly acceptable for Beyoncé to pay homage to a racist political party.

[Yoda]

Not that I have a problem looking at Beyonce, but first of all, both she and Mars have already been the halftime entertainment once. Why reuse them? Secondly, I thought her performance was very inappropriate - a tribute to the Black Panthers - really? A black, separatist racist group? And people are OK with this?

I don't mind Bruno Mars, but Coldplay? Coldplay? Really? I agree with Santana - it was setup perfectly! Journey, Santana, and Metallica representing the Bay area? It would have been a no-brainer! I guess the biggest fear of the music industry today is that people still like artists who write and perform their own music, play their on instruments.

[jrny84]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/car ... cid=LENDHP

Carlos Santana Slams Super Bowl Halftime Show: There Should Have Been 'Real Live Music'

ET Online
John Boone
5 hrs ago

But...but...but...Beyoncé was there!

The Beyhive will certainly not be pleased about this: Carlos Santana, he of the 1999 hit song, "Smooth," has called out the Super Bowl 50 halftime show, featuring the "Formation" singer alongside Coldplay and Bruno Mars in an open letter to the NFL and CBS.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you both for including me as a part of your Super Bowl entertainment," he wrote. "I do feel compelled to point out to you that the Halftime Show should have included some of the local iconic bands that the World would have loved to see perform."

Santana was featured in a highlights reel of past Super Bowl entertainment as Chris Martin sang "Fix You." The legendary rocker performed during a pre-game concert at Super Bowl XXXVII…coincidentally the same year Beyoncé headlined the halftime show.

"Bands like Metallica, Steve Miller, Journey and yours truly. We would have rocked the Half Time Show and done the SF Bay Area proud," Santana continued. "This is just an invitation for you to consider iconic bands as part of your Half Time entertainment. Real live music, real live vocals, and give the audience real live chills."

"Thank You Carlos," Journey later chimed in. "And yes we would have all Rocked it !"

While the halftime show has tended away from rock -- bands like The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen -- towards pop -- Katy Perry and Madonna -- it's hardly fair to call a halftime show filled with GRAMMY winners not real music. And Metallica? At the Super Bowl?

Santana wasn't the only one to object to this year's show. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani called it "outrageous," taking offense to Beyoncé's support of the Black Lives Matter movement, in particular.

"You're talking to Middle America when you're at the Super Bowl," he said on Fox & Friends. "If you're going to have entertainment, let's have decent, wholesome entertainment, not use it as a platform to attack the people who put their lives at risk to save us."

[steveo777]

It would have been better than that Cop hating, Black Lives Matter, Black Panther bullshit Beyonce pulled. Racist bitch!

[JBlake]

Not that I have a problem looking at Beyonce, but first of all, both she and Mars have already been the halftime entertainment once. Why reuse them? Secondly, I thought her performance was very inappropriate - a tribute to the Black Panthers - really? A black, separatist racist group? And people are OK with this?

I don't mind Bruno Mars, but Coldplay? Coldplay? Really? I agree with Santana - it was setup perfectly! Journey, Santana, and Metallica representing the Bay area? It would have been a no-brainer! I guess the biggest fear of the music industry today is that people still like artists who write and perform their own music, play their on instruments.

Black Panthers is the KKK, just in reverse. Like I said before, that's how the super bowl rolls. And pretty much all else in today's society. You can thank the liberals and Democrats for all that. Next time a white is victimized by a black, ask Jesse Jackson to help you get justice and see what response you get.

Furthermore, Beyoncé is one stupid broad for supporting a group who puts their own women down. Research the Black Panthers and women and womanism.

[jrny84]

Not that I have a problem looking at Beyonce, but first of all, both she and Mars have already been the halftime entertainment once. Why reuse them? Secondly, I thought her performance was very inappropriate - a tribute to the Black Panthers - really? A black, separatist racist group? And people are OK with this?

I don't mind Bruno Mars, but Coldplay? Coldplay? Really? I agree with Santana - it was setup perfectly! Journey, Santana, and Metallica representing the Bay area? It would have been a no-brainer! I guess the biggest fear of the music industry today is that people still like artists who write and perform their own music, play their on instruments.

Black Panthers is the KKK, just in reverse. Like I said before, that's how the super bowl rolls. And pretty much all else in today's society. You can thank the liberals and Democrats for all that. Next time a white is victimized by a black, ask Jesse Jackson to help you get justice and see what response you get.

Furthermore, Beyoncé is one stupid broad for supporting a group who puts their own women down. Research the Black Panthers and women and womanism.

Exactly. Where is the race bater Al Sharpton and his buddy Jesse Jackson with all the black on black crime in Chicago? No where to be found. Heck that's right in Obama's backyard, but he's too busy slamming the Republicans. I have never seen this country so out of control and the Beyoncé crap at the halftime show just validates it.

[slucero]

Carlos has a new album to promote... just saying..

[Majestic]

I don't want to see any iconic bands play half-time. Half time is for taking a break from the tube, stretching, using restroom, getting a bite, etc. It is a blessing that the half-time show has nothing to do with me, and with the legacy the half-time has created for itself in modern times, it would be embarrassing at this point if Santana, Journey, etc. took part in that lame tradition.

[JBlake]

I don't want to see any iconic bands play half-time. Half time is for taking a break from the tube, stretching, using restroom, getting a bite, etc. It is a blessing that the half-time show has nothing to do with me, and with the legacy the half-time has created for itself in modern times, it would be embarrassing at this point if Santana, Journey, etc. took part in that lame tradition.

This could very well be how you feel about it. Well considering how much it costs a company to run a 10 to 15 second ad during the super bowl, to do something for a matter of minutes during the game is a really big deal. I'm with others on this site who thinks they should have showcased well known local Bay Area bands. It would have been great to have various local bands do a medley of big hits back to back. The opportunity was there, the organization in charge failed big time.

[SoonerThunder]

All Entertainment Tonight knows about Santana is "Smooth"? Asshats

[FamilyMan]

People,
This is about TV demographics - pure and simple, and not some indictment or statement about music. The NFL and its network TV partners have an obligation to their advertisers to get younger women (18-49 year olds) to watch an otherwise male-dominated sporting event. So they book halftime shows based on that. Santana, with all due respect, is not bringing in anything close to the demo they want. It's not about the music… at all.

[JourneyHard]

People,
This is about TV demographics - pure and simple, and not some indictment or statement about music. The NFL and its network TV partners have an obligation to their advertisers to get younger women (18-49 year olds) to watch an otherwise male-dominated sporting event. So they book halftime shows based on that. Santana, with all due respect, is not bringing in anything close to the demo they want. It's not about the music… at all.

Every young woman between 19 and 49 knows every word of Don't Stop Believin'. Steve Perry should have performed that song at half time. The NFL and Super Bowl dropped the ball.

[Majestic]

Superbowl halftime has become a euphemism for all manner of cringe-worthy things. No need to go there, Mr. Santana.

[FamilyMan]

People,
This is about TV demographics - pure and simple, and not some indictment or statement about music. The NFL and its network TV partners have an obligation to their advertisers to get younger women (18-49 year olds) to watch an otherwise male-dominated sporting event. So they book halftime shows based on that. Santana, with all due respect, is not bringing in anything close to the demo they want. It's not about the music… at all.

Every young woman between 19 and 49 knows every word of Don't Stop Believin'. Steve Perry should have performed that song at half time. The NFL and Super Bowl dropped the ball.

That wasn't the offer. I'm sure if Journey came to the NFL and said they'd reunite with Steve Perry for halftime, it would have been a different story. But Perry wasn't on the table. Can't blame the NFL for that.

[JBlake]

Next Year's Super Bowl half time show will feature Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson doing the funeral for the "N" word again like they did a number of years back. Followed by the entire Kardashian clan wrapped in leotards dancing to Y.M.C.A.