傑克遜如何重新定義了超級碗

 

來源：MJJCN.COM / 紐約時報 翻譯：ilmj1314 



作者：理查•桑多米爾（RICHARD SANDOMIR）

邁克爾•傑克遜（Michael Jackson）的遺產將永遠包含這樣一個封號：橄欖球之王。

1993年的比賽，達拉斯牛仔隊以52:17的比分完勝布法羅比爾，這場比賽以傑克遜的三首歌曲串燒作為中場表演，這對國家橄欖球聯盟（N.F.L）來說是一個結構性的變革。多年以來，該聯盟選擇的一系列中場表演嘉賓都不緊隨潮流：人人至上國際青年團隊（Up With People）、皮特•方亭（Pete Fountain）、卡洛爾•強尼（Carol Channing）、軍樂隊、火箭女郎（the Rockettes）、艾維斯•普萊斯托（Elvis Presto）和迪士尼的卡通人物。

傑克遜一馬當先呈現了一場精彩的演出：NBC的中場演出收視率高於在此之前的超級碗比賽。國家橄欖球聯盟抓住了招募大牌的、當代的、引人注目的明星的需求以提高收視率。所以邀請到傑克遜繼續擴張作為比賽盛事的超級碗的概念。

繼傑克遜之後，邀請到包括戴安娜•羅斯（Diana Ross）、斯蒂夫•旺德（Stevie Wonder）、克裏斯丁娜•阿奎萊拉（Christina Aguilera）、史密斯飛船（Aerosmith）、U2、仙妮亞•唐恩（Shania Twain）、保羅•麥卡特尼（Paul McCartney）、滾石樂隊（the Rolling Stones）、王子（Prince）以及布魯斯•斯普林斯汀（Bruce Springsteen）等頭牌明星。

不斷分化的音樂市場中的表演家明白在美國的9000萬到1億以及全世界更多的觀眾面前，這12分鐘中場演出的重要性。

傑克遜演出的11年後，他的妹妹珍妮（Janet）的露乳事件（或者是賈斯汀•汀布萊克（Justin Timberlake）造成）導致了聯邦通信委員會（Federal Communications Commission）向CBS罰款55萬美元。邁克爾在玫瑰碗（Rose Bowl）的舞臺上也不是天使，他不斷的抓襠，特別唱《比利•珍》（Billie Jean）的時候。

 

“我們在彩排期間與他進行了交談，”吉姆•斯泰格（Jim Steeg）說，他當時是聯盟特殊活動的執行導演，現任聖地牙哥電光隊（San Diego Chargers）首席運營官，“但他的表現比我們認為的好。”但是，他說，“為此我們收到了很多信件。”

傑克遜在對他公眾形象產生重大打擊的孌童指控之前受到邀約，但之後，他的露面開始徹底改變。他的專輯《危險》（Dangerous）於1991年發行，但對於N.F.L.來說，之於1992年超級碗的中場演出，他仍然是個吸引觀眾的強效解藥。

並非N.F.L.播出夥伴的福克斯（Fox）直接以一部粗糙的喜劇系列劇《活色生香》（In Living Color）的現場版向92年的中場演出發出了挑戰。這個策略產生了破壞：CBS的中場演出比前半個小時的比賽下降了10個點的收視率。

N.F.L.需要一個能夠吸引更多18到34歲觀眾的全新藝術家。

“後來我們的想法是必須要高人一等。” 斯泰格說。
一支包括斯泰格以及當時身為無線電城製作公司（Radio City Productions）行政長官的阿倫•坎塔里安（Arlen Kantarian）負責製作中場演出的隊伍，在貝芙麗山與傑克遜的經紀人桑迪•加林（Sandy Gallin）進行了會面。

斯泰格和坎塔里安感到他們必須向加林做一個深入廣泛的簡報，因為他們猜測傑克遜對橄欖球一無所知。“我們知道我們向加林做出的解釋，會代為轉達到傑克遜，”斯泰格說。在後來的會面中，傑克遜對這個他一無所知的領域表現出了天真的好奇心。

“他問‘誰參與比賽？這到底是什麼？’”坎塔里安說。傑克遜對超級碗的興趣專注，它將在超過100個國家包括第三世界國家一級美國軍事基地進行廣播。

“他說，‘夥計，我可不會去那些地方巡演，’”坎塔里安回憶說。“我們向他談論關於藍領階級的球迷可能以前不是邁克爾•傑克遜的歌迷，以及他如何建立起新的歌迷基礎。他能很好的理解這點，他非常敏銳害羞。”

加林在同意之前拒絕了N.F.L.的提議三次，坎塔里安說。他補充說，加林一度要求100萬美元的酬勞。“‘你在開玩笑吧，’”坎塔里安說加林這樣告訴他，“‘這可是邁克爾•傑克遜’”。N.F.L.只向演出者支付費用，但它為傑克遜的“治癒這世界”（Heal the World）基金會捐助了10萬美元，該基金會以傑克遜中場演出曲目之一的《治癒這世界》命名。

坎塔里安回憶說傑克遜力推唱《危險》專輯中的新一點歌而不是像《比利珍》和《黑或白》（Black or White）的老歌。據坎塔里安回憶，傑克遜說“《比利珍》只是一段旋律，並不意味著什麼，這是一個新世界，必須與‘治癒世界’有關。”


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E2D9103CF933A05755C0A96F9C8B63

SPORTS BUSINESS; How Jackson Redefined The Super Bowl

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

June 30, 2009

Michael Jackson's legacy will forever include this title: King of Pigskin.

His three-song medley at halftime of Dallas 's 52-17 trouncing of Buffalo in 1993 signified a tectonic shift for the N.F.L. For years, the league had packed its halftimes with a roster of the unhip: Up With People, Pete Fountain, Carol Channing, marching bands, the Rockettes, Elvis Presto and Disney characters.

Jackson produced a stunning first: raising NBC's halftime rating higher than the Super Bowl action before it. The N.F.L. had grasped the need to enlist big-name, contemporary, broad-appeal artists to keep viewers from straying. So it used Jackson to continue expanding the notion of the Super Bowl as a mega-event that includes a game.

After Jackson came an A-list of stars, including Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith, U2, Shania Twain, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Prince and Bruce Springsteen.

Performers in an ever-fragmenting musical market don't need to be convinced of the importance of 12 minutes at halftime in front of 90 million to 100 million viewers in the United States and many more around the world.

Eleven years after Jackson sang, his sister Janet bared her breast (or had it stripped bare by Justin Timberlake), leading the Federal Communications Commission to fine CBS $550,000. Michael was no angel on stage at the Rose Bowl; he grabbed his crotch repeatedly, especially as he sang ''Billie Jean.''

''We talked to him about that during rehearsals,'' said Jim Steeg, then the league's executive director of special events and now chief operating officer of the San Diego Chargers. ''But he did better than we thought.''

Still, he said, ''We got a lot of letters about that.''

Jackson was hired before any charges of sexual molestation were leveled against him publicly, but after his appearance began to change drastically. His album ''Dangerous'' had been released in 1991. But for the N.F.L. he was still a potent, audience-grabbing antidote to what happened during halftime of the Super Bowl in 1992.

Fox, not yet an N.F.L. broadcast partner, directly challenged the '92 halftime show (Gloria Estefan, Dorothy Hamill and Brian Boitano) with a live edition of its raunchy comedy series ''In Living Color.'' The ploy did its damage: CBS's halftime rating fell 10 points from game action in the previous half-hour.

The league needed a game-changing artist who could appeal much more to 18- to 34-year-olds.

''Our thought afterward was we had to step it up a notch,'' Steeg said.

A contingent including Steeg and Arlen Kantarian, then the chief executive of Radio City Productions, which would produce the halftime show, met in Beverly Hills with Jackson 's manager, Sandy Gallin.

Steeg and Kantarian sensed that they had to brief Gallin extensively because they surmised that Jackson knew little about football. ''We knew we were explaining this to somebody who would then have to explain it to Michael,'' Steeg said. In subsequent meetings, Jackson displayed a naïve curiosity about a world he knew little of.

''He'd ask: 'Who plays in it? What is it?' '' Kantarian said. Jackson 's interest became riveted on the Super Bowl being broadcast in more than 100 countries, including third world nations, and on United States military bases.

''He said, 'Man, I'll never tour there,' '' Kantarian recalled him saying. ''We talked to him about the blue-collar football fan that might not otherwise be a Michael Jackson fan and about how he could build a new fan base. He got that as well. He was very sharp and very shy.''

Gallin said no to the N.F.L.'s proposal three times before saying yes, Kantarian said. At one point, he added, Gallin asked for a $1 million fee. '' 'You've got to be kidding,' '' Kantarian said Gallin told him. '' 'This is Michael Jackson.' '' The N.F.L. pays performers only for their expenses, but it donated $100,000 to Jackson's Heal the World Foundation, which is named for one of the songs he sang at halftime.

Kantarian said that he recalled Jackson pushing to sing newer songs from ''Dangerous,'' not older songs, like ''Billie Jean'' and ''Black or White.'' According to Kantarian, Jackson said, '' 'Billie Jean's just a tune, it doesn't mean anything'' and ''It's a new world, this has to be about 'Heal the World.' ''

CUBS SALE NEWS The proposed sale of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field to the family of the bond underwriter Thomas Ricketts appears to be edging closer to reality, although the seller, the bankrupt Tribune Company, recently restarted talks with a previously rejected group led by a New York investment banker, Marc Utay. Ricketts's deal, with financing from banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, seems to be more on track than it had been a few weeks ago. Any deal must also be approved by creditors and the bankruptcy court judge. Ricketts and his family were approved as the exclusive bidder by Tribune in late January.