Madonna

Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, February 5, 2012, Indianapolis, with LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and CeeLo Green The grandest entrance of the era: men dressed as gladiators haul in a throne hidden behind gold flags, and Madonna is revealed in a gold cape for "Vogue." Cirque du Soleil helped produce the show, so a slackliner bounces on a line near her, and the guest list rolls from LMFAO to Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. to CeeLo Green with a drumline. The real reason to stay to the end is "Like a Prayer," sung with a huge choir in a darkened stadium before she sinks beneath the stage in a cloud of smoke.