The halftime show drew 114 million viewers while the audience for the game itself was of 111.3 million viewers. It broke the record for the most-watched halftime show in history before being surpassed by the Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show (2014) starring Bruno Mars.
M.I.A. created a controversy when she gave the middle finger while singing "I don't give a shit" during "Give Me All Your Luvin'". The NFL wanted her to pay a $16.6 million fine but a settlement was reached in 2014 for an undisclosed amount.
Madonna was already asked to perform at the Super Bowl XXXIV (2000) pregame festivities and was supposed to premiere her then-new single "American Pie" with other artists as a tribute to "Great American Music of the 20th Century" but she canceled her participation because of conflicts with her recording schedule at the time.