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50 free Super Bowl Halftime Show trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
40 free Super Bowl halftime show trivia questions with answers. For its first 25 years the Super Bowl halftime show was marching bands and a wholesome troupe called Up with People. Then Fox counter-programmed it with In Living Color, the NFL panicked, and Michael Jackson stood motionless on stage for almost two minutes in 1993. Ratings went up during halftime for the first time ever, and the show has been the biggest concert on television since. This quiz covers 50 questions on the whole run: the marching-band era, the 1993 turning point, Diana Ross's helicopter, U2's September 11 tribute, the 2004 wardrobe malfunction and the decade of classic rock it caused, Prince asking for more rain, Beyoncé and the blackout, Left Shark, Lady Gaga's drones, the first all-hip-hop show, Rihanna's pregnancy reveal, Usher on roller skates, Kendrick Lamar's record 133.5 million viewers and Bad Bunny's Spanish-language set. Easy questions ask who headlined; hard ones ask how many drones Intel flew and how much The Weeknd spent of his own money. Every answer has been checked against the encyclopaedia entry for each show, and the source is shown under the question once you have answered. It works for a Super Bowl party round or a music quiz any time of year.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01During most of the Super Bowl's first decade, the halftime show featured what kind of act?
A college marching band
The University of Arizona and Grambling State bands were among the earliest performers.
Q 02Which wholesome troupe produced and starred in four Super Bowl halftime shows in the game's second decade?
Up with People
The group's clean-cut variety numbers defined the pre-superstar era of the show.
Q 03The 1992 halftime show lost viewers to a live episode of which Fox sketch comedy, prompting the NFL to book pop acts?
In Living Color
The show that got counter-programmed was Gloria Estefan's 'Winter Magic', with figure skaters Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill.
Q 04Whose 1993 halftime show was the first where Super Bowl TV ratings rose between the halves?
Michael Jackson
He was catapulted onto the stage and stood frozen for almost two minutes before playing a note.
Q 05At the end of the 1993 halftime show, a choir of roughly how many local children joined the finale?
3,000
The finale also used a card stunt across the Rose Bowl crowd and a giant inflatable globe.
Q 06How did Diana Ross leave the field at the end of her 1996 halftime show in Tempe?
In a helicopter
She announced 'here comes my ride' as it descended into Sun Devil Stadium.
Q 07The 2001 halftime show 'The Kings of Rock and Pop' was headlined by NSYNC and which rock band?
Aerosmith
Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige and Nelly guested, and it was the first show to put fans on the field around the stage.
Q 08Which band's 2002 halftime show projected the names of the September 11 victims onto a giant scrim?
U2
At the end, Bono opened his leather jacket to reveal an American flag sewn into the lining.
Q 09The 2003 halftime show in San Diego featured Shania Twain, Sting and which ska-pop band?
No Doubt
It was the last multi-act pop show before the 2004 controversy changed the booking policy.
Q 10What phrase did the 2004 Janet Jackson halftime incident give the dictionary?
Wardrobe malfunction
MTV produced the show, and the phrase reached Merriam-Webster by 2008.
Q 11How much was the FCC's then-record fine against CBS for the 2004 halftime incident, later voided on appeal?
$550,000
The Third Circuit threw it out in 2011 and the Supreme Court declined to reinstate it in 2012.
Q 12A co-founder of which website credited the trouble finding a clip of the 2004 halftime incident as inspiration?
YouTube
Networks also began adding delays of up to five minutes to live events after the incident.
Q 13Which former Beatle played the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show as a 'safe' choice?
Paul McCartney
For the next several years the show was given over to rock acts from the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Q 21Katy Perry entered her 2015 halftime show riding what?
A giant golden mechanical lion
Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott guested, and the show drew 118.5 million viewers.
Q 22'Left Shark' became famous at the 2015 halftime show for what?
Dancing offbeat and out of sync
The costumed dancer on house left drew far more attention than the perfectly synchronised Right Shark.
Q 23Which British band headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show, with Beyoncé and Bruno Mars as guests?
Coldplay
With over 115.5 million viewers, it was the most-watched halftime set ever by a group.
Q 14The Rolling Stones' 2006 Detroit halftime stage, the largest ever built, was shaped like what?
Their tongue-and-lips logo
Its 28 pieces were assembled in five minutes by 600 volunteers, and ABC muted Jagger's microphone on two lyrics deemed too explicit.
Q 15Which university's marching band backed Prince at his rain-soaked 2007 Super Bowl halftime show in Miami?
Florida A&M
Prince reportedly asked the producers whether they could make it rain harder.
Q 16The Who's 2010 halftime show is described as the last of which kind of act before the NFL chased a younger audience?
Legacy rock bands
Roger Daltrey had secretly had a pre-cancerous growth removed from his vocal cords the year before.
Q 17The Black Eyed Peas' 2011 halftime show featured Usher and which guest guitarist?
Slash
The show was intended to bring youth back to the slot but drew negative reviews and suffered audio problems.
Q 18Which Madonna 2012 halftime guest flipped off the camera, prompting an NFL claim that grew to eight figures?
M.I.A.
The show drew 114 million viewers, at the time second only to Michael Jackson's, and was staged with Cirque du Soleil.
Q 19Beyoncé's 2013 halftime show in New Orleans reunited her with which two former Destiny's Child bandmates?
Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams
A stadium blackout followed the show, and the two events together made it the most-tweeted moment in Twitter's history at the time.
Q 20Which band guested at Bruno Mars's 2014 halftime show and later admitted their instruments were unplugged?
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flea explained the NFL required pre-recorded instruments and the band chose not to fake plugging in.
Q 24Lady Gaga's 2017 halftime show opened with how many Intel drones forming an American flag?
300
The rooftop segment was filmed earlier in the week because of safety concerns about flying drones over a live crowd.
Q 25Prince's family let Timberlake use his likeness at the 2018 Minneapolis show on one condition. What was forbidden?
A hologram
The show drew 106.6 million viewers and made 'Selfie Kid' Ryan McKenna briefly famous.
Q 26Travis Scott joined the 2019 halftime show only if the NFL donated $500,000 to which organisation?
Dream Corps
Several artists reportedly declined the show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, and a viral petition earned SpongeBob a brief cameo.
Q 27The 2020 halftime show in Miami Gardens was co-headlined by Jennifer Lopez and which Colombian singer?
Shakira
Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Lopez's daughter Emme guested, and viewers filed more than 1,300 complaints to the FCC.
Q 28The Weeknd reportedly contributed how much of his own money to his 2021 halftime show in Tampa?
$7 million
His dancers wore red blazers and bandaged faces from the After Hours album era, and there were no guest performers.
Q 29The Weeknd's 2021 show drew an audience of 96.7M, which was slightly higher than what?
The game itself
The game averaged 96.4 million viewers, so more people watched the singer than the football.
Q 30The 2022 Super Bowl halftime show with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg was the first centred entirely on which genre?
Hip hop
It was also the first halftime show to win the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).