CHRIS JERICHO: 'METALLICA Needs To Play The SUPER BOWL'

October 10, 2019

Chris Jericho says that "METALLICA needs to play the Super Bowl."

The FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar made the comment two weeks after the National Football League announced that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will perform at Super Bowl LIV. The pop singers will be the headlining acts for the halftime show on February 2, 2020 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

During an interview with Mistress Carrie of the Boston radio station WAAF, Jericho weighed in on the likelihood of METALLICA over day playing the Super Bowl.

"I was talking to Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer]," Chris said (see video below). "Lars and I are friends. And I [asked him], 'Have you guys ever been invited?' And he goes, 'We got invited to play the pre-Super Bowl party one time in San Francisco, but never.' They are so anti-rock and roll, they'll bring in… I remember they went through the phase where it was THE WHO and Paul McCartney and THE [ROLLING] STONES. And that was great too.

"How about METALLICA? How about KISS? How about AC/DC?' Hello?" Jericho continued. "How about SLIPKNOT? You want a spectacle? Obviously, they might be too heavy. But METALLICA needs to play the Super Bowl… There are stadium-level bands that have never been invited to play. I'm getting a little sick of it."

Chris noted that the playlists at NFL stadiums everywhere have included music by METALLICA for a number of years, yet the heavy metal giants have never performed at the halftime show.

"They play METALLICA during the game more than anybody else," Jericho said. "It's 'Seek & Destroy', it's 'Enter Sandman', it's 'Sad But True' — it's, like, over and over and over again. So they're good enough to play in between plays, but not good enough to do the Super Bowl. But J.Lo is. Give me one J.Lo song. Sorry, I can't. Oh — 'Jenny From The Block', maybe. Something like that. Who cares? I don't wanna see it. Shakira — shake your ass off the stage and get METALLICA on."

Jericho is not the first musician to call out the NFL for not hiring rock artists to perform at the Super Bowl. Last month, Dee Snider slammed the league, saying: "Once again the great heavy music that rocks the stadiums week after week, game after game is completely ignored. I guess we don't shake our ass enough!!"

The TWISTED SISTER singer later clarified his views, adding: "My point about this years @NFL halftime show isn't a slight on @shakira or @JLo, it's frustration that week after week rock is the go to music during games but gets no respect when it comes to the Super Bowl! And I don't think I'm popular enough for that slot. But @Metallica..."

Only two Super Bowl halftime show performers have come even remotely close to being heavy metal: THE WHO in 2010 and AEROSMITH in 2001.

According to Sportscasting.com, the NFL considers popularity, music genre, and the artists' overall performance value choosing the performers for the halftime show. However, it's not the NFL that chooses who takes the stage. The league comes up with a short list, but the host cities pick the Super Bowl halftime performers.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).