It has been less than 48 hours since Adam Levine performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show with his band, Maroon 5 — and fans can’t stop talking about the performance.
It seems that viewers may have missed a hidden message that Adam Levine had put into the performance because Twitter users were focused on his lack of clothing.
The paper lanterns held by audience members on the field were released to spell out One Love during the performance, She Will Be Loved. But to see the message, the audience had to look up.
On Instagram, Levine explained what he meant by the words.
It’s no secret that the Super Bowl Halftime Show is a big stage, often being called the biggest stage in the world with millions of people watching live from the comforts of their homes.
The stage has often been a place where artists offer a political stance. For example, back in 2016, Beyonce used the stage to bring attention to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Adam Levine had reportedly previously promised that he would honor social justice in his performance in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, so viewers were expecting a clear political message in some form or another.
He didn’t do anything shocking or political, and the performance was later called “surprise-free, tired, and soulless” by NME writer Rhian Daly.
The One Love statement may have been the political message he was planning on sharing.
You can watch the Pepsi Half-Time show in full below and see if you can spot some of the words Levine had written on his Instagram.
As Monsters & Critics reported after the Super Bowl Half-Time Show, the focus was on the shirtless Adam Levine. It wasn’t so much his tattooed upper body, but more on why it was okay for Levine to perform exposed while Janet Jackson’s 2004 performance was judged harshly.
Adam Levine and Maroon 5 have not issued any statements about him removing his shirt and facing the double-standard backlash.