On February 5, Indianapolis will host Super Bowl XLVI — the 46th iteration of America’s biggest game. Millions of fans will gather ’round the television set with seven-layer dip and cold drinks to watch an epic match-up of teams, the year’s funniest and most expensive commercials and most importantly — as far as we’re concerned — Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show. The newly minted Interscope singer has been on her grind lately, promoting her Golden Globe-winning directorial debut W.E., unleashing a super sexy fragrance line and gearing up for the release of her 12th studio album MDNA and a world tour.

With so much going on, can Madonna still quarterback a show as memorable as these 10 amazing Super Bowl halftime performances?

TOP 10 MOST MEMORABLE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME PERFORMANCES

10. U2 honor the victims of 9/11 at Super Bowl XXXVI (2002). Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Irish supergroup gave a bittersweet performance of “Where The Streets Have No Name”, while the names of FDNY, NYPD and the passengers of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 93 were projected on stage behind the band.

9. Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake get NSFTV at Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004). Litigation for perhaps the most controversial Super Bowl halftime moment of all time was just recently put to bed — seven years after the MTV-produced segment first aired. The five-minute set saw Janet rocking a medley of “All For You” and “Rhythm Nation” before JT joined her on stage for the big, um, reveal during “Rock Your Body”, off Justified.

8. Gwen Stefani gets Stung at Super Bowl XXXVII (2003). Halftime shows have frequently paired together odd combos of musicians. And when Gwen Stefani joined Sting on stage for “Message in a Bottle” there was a definite “Well, that’s not something you’ll see everyday” vibe.

7. Stevie Wonder shares the stage at Super Bowl XXXIII (1999). Apparently someone thought Stevie Wonder didn’t pack enough star power to command the entire Super Bowl halftime stage, so producers brought Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and tap dancer Savion Glover along for the ride. The show was all over the place, with Wonder running through his hits before clomping along with Glover, then making way for Estefan’s salsa-tinged, baton-wielding finale.

6. It’s a small world for New Kids on the Block at Super Bowl XXV (1991). The groundbreaking boy band’s first run happened to coincide with America’s first war in the Middle East: Desert Storm. The resulting feel-good Disney-fied performance was actually pre-recorded and then aired after the game, due to news coverage of the conflict.

5. Everybody loves Paul McCartney at Super Bowl XXXIX (2005). After “Nipplegate,” the NFL powers that be thought it wise to go with a “guaranteed-not-to-get-naked” act. Sir Paul McCartney is a classy guy and turned in a sterling set of Beatles faves “Drive My Car” and “Get Back”, before delivering a pyrotechnic punch with “Live and Let Die” as a finale.

4. The Black Eyed Peas rep GNR at Super Bowl XLV (2011). Who, besides people with short-term memory loss, could forget last year’s halftime show, which introduced the world to Fergie’s Axl Rose impression? The show experienced an array of sound and technical problems that critics were enthusiastic to point out.

3. Pop royalty reigns at Super Bowl XXXV (2001). Basically everyone you cared about in 2001 took the stage that night: *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Mary J. Blige and Nelly all performed, with a hilarious comic lead-in from Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Chris Rock. There’s really nothing else that needs to be said.

2. Michael Jackson brings the “World” to Super Bowl XXVII (1993). It’s no surprise that the King of Pop sits so high on our list: MJ gave an electrifying performance with all the right moves, performing his biggest hits to date, including “We Are The World”.

1. Prince makes it (purple) rain at Super Bowl XLI (2007). When Prince took the stage with his powder blue guitar with matching leopard strap, the crowd erupted in cheers only a true giant of pop can produce. He whipped through his own hits as well as a surprise cover or two (who expected to hear a Foo Fighters jam?). But it’s the finale, when mother nature decided to get into the act, that truly makes this performance. As the Artist Formerly Known As The Artist shifted into “Purple Rain”, the skies opened fully and it… rained. With water dripping down his guitar, streaking down his face, and the A&M marching band glowing neon through the downpour, it was a moment of high drama and celebration, and the perfect way to cap off our list.

Did our list of Most Memorable Super Bowl Halftime Performances makes your list of Most Memorable Lists? Sound off in the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.

—Reporting by Maud Deitch

Best of all, there were no royal stumbles during this particular Scandinavian set!

What do you think? Kanye West and Prince make for an odd (and oddly perfect) pairing, no?

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:: Prince continues his benevolent (purple) reign over Los Angeles, where he played another string of extra-intimate shows at the House Of Blues. Our fellow super-fan Trent Vanegas stood arm’s length from His Majesty at a 2am show in the club’s cozy “Foundation Room”. Read it and weep. [Pink Is The New Blog]

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:: Did Google just discover a new pop star? Meet Laura Manna, who delivered a standout Lady Gaga tribute in Mother Monster’s new Chrome commercial. [MTV Buzzworthy]

After the jump, check out who’ll be spinning the “baby roulette” wheel on late night TV.

Music On TV:
:: Late Show With David Letterman (CBS) — Morning Teleportation (repeat)
:: Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) — INXS w/ Train’s Pat Monahan
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) — Scott Weiland (repeat)
:: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS) — the Electric Barbarellas
:: Last Call With Carson Daly (NBC) — Yelawolf
:: Live With Regis & Kelly (syndicated) — Plain White T’s
:: Ellen DeGeneres (ABC) — Dolly Parton

We  — along with Kim Kardashian, who got to see His Majesty up close at once least once before; Glee warbler Darren Criss; and our buddy Trent from Pink Is The New Blog — had the enormous privilege of seeing Prince rock the tiny house with a strictly-for-fans double set that spanned rare tunes, romantic classics and a new song, “When She Comes”. Dearly beloved, check our full review (with setlist) below.

Prince used his first set to transform the Troubadour into a jazz club, with the band kicking off a cover of Billy Cobham’s spacy “Stratus”. That set the tone for the next two hours, as Prince delighted in leading the band through extended interludes and encouraged frequent solos by his longtime sax player Mike Phillips. It was a dreamlike experience — Prince seemed to drift on and off-stage as he frequently tried to put his band in the spotlight (and shy away from cameras in the crowd). And as he spun through rock, R&B and even blues, it was clear that his Troubadour show would serve to indulge the hardest-of-hard-core fans — in addition to the Sexy MF himself. With all its twists and curveballs, his whole performance posed an unspoken challenge: is he a living legend because he can write hits? Or because he can do so much more?

“Stratus” was followed by the 80s jam “Power Fantastic”, and Prince then immediately slipped into falsetto for the romantic epic “Somewhere Here On Earth”, prompting couples to canoodle across the club floor. Prince also used the occasion to pull out some covers, including a too-sexy cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”, with local talent Andy Allo on vocals. The set was purposefully short on hits, though Prince did treat the crowd to a rapturous “Controversy”, the 2004 jam “Musicology” and ended up the first set with “Pop Life” — which thrilled Bird And The Bee mastermind Greg Kurstin, also in attendance. He returned to to encore with “Beggin’ Woman Blues.”

It turned out that first performance was something of a warm-up, because for the second set, Prince and the band turned up the rock, pulling out “Endorphinmachine”, a cover of the Troggs’ “Wild Thing” (possible Charlie Sheen tribute?), Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” and reprised his own “Musciology”. Prince seemed to enjoy the show — he even spray-painted hearts on the drum kit.

If you had a chance to see Prince live, would you prefer him to play the hits? Or hear the band jam through rarities?

[Spray-paint photo via @trentvanegas]

You may recall that other than collaborating on this Prince tune, the two pop royals recorded the Rock Steady track “Waiting Room” together.

Prince brought the whole VIP section up on stage for a dance party, allowing a second showing of the pop star, along with her No Doubt cohorts and hubby Gavin Rossdale.

And here’s some more bonus footage of Gwen dancing. Most adorable 41-year old pop star on the planet, no?

[Via ONTD]

Juice Newton — “Queen Of Hearts” We had to throw a song in there for the Queen Elizabeth.

Elton John — “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” Hey, it was good enough for Simba, the lion king.

Taylor Swift — “Love Story” “You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess/It’s a love story, baby/Just say yes” — need we say any more?

Fergie — “London Bridge” Since Fergie the Duchess Of York wasn’t invited, we thought we’d include this ditty from Fergie Duchess Of Peas.

Queen — “Somebody To Love” What’s a royal playlist without a little Queen?

Spin Doctors — “Two Princes” A little something for Prince William and Prince Harry.

Prince — “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” A song from The Purple One especially for Kate.

“I know that you could have chosen any place to be, and I know that you don’t do a lot of television, but that you would choose my show… wow,” fawns Lopez, before tongue-in-cheek asking him point blank – “Why?”

“This show represents all people, and I see all kinds of guests on here,” explained the pop legend.

“Do you ever just kick it and go to Olive Garden in a sweatsuit?” asked Lopez, half-jokingly. Laughs Prince: “Oh man, I don’t own a sweatsuit.” No surprise there!

Also not surprising: Prince delivering three kick-ass performances. Watch ‘em here:

“The Beautiful Ones”

“Laydown”

“You’re The One For Me”

“I will be starting a 21-night stand next Thursday the 14th at the L.A. Forum with the New Power Generation and a whole gang of special guests,” Prince said. “I’m gonna blast the roof off that place, I promise!”

The Purple One will appear live on Lopez Tonight this Wednesday to discuss the show further. As of right now, no tickets, not even for this coming Thursday’s premiere show, are on sale, and no venues besides The Forum have been announced (though the singer’s reps have said he will be playing more than one venue).

No special guests have been announced, either, though we’re pretty sure we will have no reason to be disappointed with whomever Prince honors with an invitation to join him. May we suggest everyone’s favorite singing guest star, Gwyneth Paltrow?

[Billboard]