Super Bowl Halftime Show 2012 vs. 2013: Madonna Trumps Beyonce (REPORT)
Beyoncé's Super Bowl halftime show did not attract more viewers than last year's show headlined by Madonna, reports confirmed.
Beyoncé's rating of 71- which means she garnered almost 109 million viewers- was less than Madonna's score last year of 72, a record-breaking 114 million viewers. Several factors may have contributed to Beyoncé not outpacing the Queen of Pop, one being that last year's Super Bowl halftime show was the most watched show in television history.
This year's Super Bowl was the third most watched show in television history, according to Deadline. Super Bowl 2012 was the second most watched with 111 million viewers and Madonna's halftime show trumped the game itself with a 114 million viewership audience. The Baltimore-Ravens championship game, however, is the second-highest rated game in 27 years, according to the report.
Madonna's 12-minute set included performances by Cirque Du Soleil, LMFAO, British rapper M.I.A. and Queens rapper-turned-American-Idol-judge Nicki Minaj. The 54-year-old performed several of her classic hit songs including Music, Open Your Heart, and Like A Prayer.
Beyonce's set included a brief reunion with her Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. The Houston native performed Crazy In Love, Halo, Independent Woman Part 1 and Single Ladies.
Following the success of her halftime show last year, Madonna announced a world tour that later became the highest-grossing concert of 2012. Beyoncé may share the same success Madonna achieved after this Sunday's performance - taking from Madonna's playbook, she announced an upcoming world tour the morning after the Super Bowl.
The comparison of Super Bowl halftimes followed a report on Monday that Madonna was named the "Greatest Female Pop Artist of All Time." U.K.'s The Telegraph lauded Madonna the title thanks to her ability to reinvent herself and produce cutting-edge dance tunes throughout a music career that has spanned almost 30 years. Madonna released her first single Everybody in 1982.
Beyoncé has already seen success following her halftime performance. Her song Halo-which she closed the halftime show with- has seen an increase in digital sales by 80 percent. Destiny's Child record sales, however, surpassed Beyoncé's solo songs since the performance and sold three times the amount of records Beyonce sold. The group saw a 630 percent increase in sales in 24 hours, according to The Huffington Post. The most popular song that led the trio's sales was Say My Name, though they did not perform it at the halftime show.
Madonna saw a 165 percent increase in track sales after she performed at the 2012 Super Bowl.
