Not to start trouble...
However, my wife and I both got a little chapped by her intro. But more about that later...
I thought she did a very good job.
I wished, at the end of several phrases, that she would have taken the melody up to the higher pitch options. But she is aging, as we all are, and her choices were spotless, and very well performed.
NFL could have made several artist choices that would have been much worse... And, she is a hometown girl! She looked great and delivered in that way that only the greats can be relied upon to deliver every f'n time!! A moving performance!!
But back to the intro. When introducing soul music royalty, in this house, there are only two who qualify to the throne: Aretha... and Prince. (Edit to add: And of course, BB.)
Why in the world would you want the entire global audience, at the exact same moment, right before Gladys starts her performance, to enter a heated discussion throughout the realm of what is higher, a queen or an empress? How could that unavoidable discussion enhance the moment...?
I heard comments like... "Well, perhaps a Duchess, or a Marchioness, maybe Countess?, Viscountess?, Baroness...? And, of course, "Isn't it sad, the Queen of Soul is dead now?"
"Oh, Gladys's singing now...Shhh shhh!"
Show biz types bring this stuff on themselves.
I'm done, except to say, can we please have Prince back from the dead? Just for the SB half-time show?
No-one has ever done it better. No-one ever will. And whoever arranged to have it rain for the entire f'n thing is a true professional!