Singer Criteria:
Global Acclaim
For a singer to be considered for a Super Bowl performance, they typically already command some level of national or international success.
Powerful Female Voice
This is also the base case for Super Bowl performers, though there have been instances of singers being selected to the show who lack the voice of a truly exceptional singer, or who use instruments as aids.
We searched exclusively for vocal-only performances - while there may be background music performed by a band in some clips, we did not want singers who also used piano/guitar etc. as their primary aids.
Demonstrated Technical Proficiency
Across the list of talented female artists who have performed at the Super Bowl, we narrowed our search to those who are famous as singers first.
Decade-Wide Differences
To add an interesting element to our analysis, we found one singer that matched the above descriptive components from each of the past five decades. Considering how styles and popularity has changed over time and contrasting it with five renditions of the same underlying melody and lyrics has been a fascinating though experiment within itself.
Results:
Diana Ross (1982)
Whitney Houston (1991)
Mariah Carey (2002)
Lady Gaga (2015)
Demi Lovato (2020)