Super Bowl Performers for 2015: Should Weird Al Make the Cut?

If you’re one of those people who only watches the biggest football game of the year to see the Super Bowl performers’ elaborate halftime show, Ed Ball wants your help. Ball has created a Change.org petition asking that Weird Al be allowed to perform in the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show on February 1, 2015. He wants to have the artists that Weird Al is parodying join him on stage, as well as surprise appearances from other famous actors and actresses. His petition, which already has over 60,000 signatures, needs a total of 75,000 signatures to be considered successful.

For decades Weird Al has entertained fans, young and old, with his popular clever parodies and unique sense of humor. Having him headline the Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show would not only be overly accepted by the millions of views, but it would remain true to the standards and quality of the show business we have come to love and respect out of this prestigious event.

Weird Al is enjoying a surge of popularity that would no doubt be helped by a gig as a Super Bowl performer. His latest album, Mandatory Fun, debuted at the top of the Billboard music charts thanks to a clever marketing campaign releasing one viral music video each day for the week of the album’s release.

It’s worth pointing out that many people were skeptical of the decision to have Bruno Mars perform in 2014, since he wasn’t considered an international superstar on par with past Super Bowl performers like Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Prince, or the Rolling Stones. However, Bruno Mars had the most-watched halftime show in history, earning 115.3 million viewers compared to Madonna’s previous record of 114 million viewers in 2012. So, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that a quirky act like Weird Al could end up garnering more interest than a traditional choice.

Weird Al has not commented on the Change.org petition, but he publicly stated he’d be up for playing the big show when a movement surfaced in 2012 to have him named a Super Bowl performer. The suggestion that original artists joined Weird Al on stage may be a little more difficult to work out, however.

Even though it’s not legally required, Weird Al always asks for permission before making a parody of a popular song. Despite this gesture of goodwill, not everyone has been happy with his treatment of their work. “Couch Potato”, a single from Weird Al’s Poodle Hat CD, doesn’t have a video due to Eminem’s concerns that the parody of “Lose Yourself” would hurt his career. Coolio was also reportedly very unhappy with Weird Al parody “Amish Paradise”, claiming that he never actually gave permission for the treatment of his song “Gangsta’s Paradise”.

What’s your take? Should Weird Al be the next Super Bowl performer?

Photo courtesy of On the Mic.