The Super Bowl LVI halftime show was a nostalgia bomb for Millennials and Gen Xers. The internet was loving it — while also grappling with the fact that we’re old, now.
The show featured a whole bevy of performers associated with Dr. Dre, who produced the show, including Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. So of course, when 50 came out and performed “In Da Club,” or Dre did “California Love,” or Eminem did the opening bars of “Forgot About Dre,” people of a certain age were hit over the head with nostalgia for the 2000s. And OH GOD, the nostalgia from the keys on “Still Dre.” We’re boomers now, folks.
The tweets, memes, and reactions rolled in with people both loving the songs and feeling old as hell.
In general the halftime show was fun and stylish. You got just enough of each performer’s catalogue without having to see, let’s say, Eminem, dig into his more recent work. You got Kendrick at the peak of his powers, Dre leading the show, Snoop Dogg just…being Snoop Dogg.
The reviews overall were solid, since the viewing audience for the NFL these days probably has super strong memories of the music in question.
Just goes to show you, nostalgia is a powerful tool.
