Madonna joining the Super club

There were groans in the blogosphere when Madonna was announced as this year's Super Bowl halftime performer. She's past her prime, some sneered. Another nostalgia act.

But music snobs wouldn't be happy with any mainstream artist. The NFL isn't going to put some indie band out there or it would quickly become the world's biggest bathroom break.

So Madonna makes all kinds of sense. She's a huge name, and she's the lone pop megastar who hasn't done the show. And, at 53, she can still fill an arena and have a hit song and album.

Expect a high-energy performance that leans heavily on her upbeat dance tracks. We're placing our bets on Holiday, Ray of Light and her new, poorly spelled Give Me All Your Luvin.

The buzz is that Madonna will bring out up-and-comers M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj during the set, along with party-rock goofballs LMFAO. If she really wanted a landmark moment, she could welcome heir apparent Lady Gaga. As billions have noted, Gaga's Born This Way is a carbon copy of Madonna's Express Yourself, so that would be a sly wink of a mashup.

We'll see if Madonna can live up to previous Super Bowl shows, which are ranked here in the NFL's preferred style of numerals. This focuses on the modern era, because we've never been big on Up With People.

I. U2 (2002): The Irish rockers get a world of credit for handling the first post-9/11 show with grace. Their renditions of Beautiful Day and Where the Streets Have No Name were tremendous. What a powerful moment it was when the names of those who died in the terrorist attacks scrolled on a screen behind the band, and Bono opened his jacket to reveal an American flag lining. Gives us chills all these years later.

II. Prince (2007): This could have been a disaster on a wet night in Miami, but the Purple One lived up to his rep as one of music's best live performers. He played hits (Let's Go Crazy), an eclectic mix of covers (CCR's Proud Mary, the Dylan/Hendrix classic All Along the Watchtower and the Foo Fighters' Best of You). Best of all was the gorgeous Purple Rain, as rain fell down around him.

III. Rolling Stones (2006): What we would've given for Street Fighting Man or Gimme Shelter. Instead, Start Me Up, Rough Justice and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction would have to do. Mick Jagger barks more than he sings, but his rooster preening is still remarkable to watch. Bonus points for the stage, shaped like the Stones' familiar lips-and-tongue logo.

IV. Paul McCartney (2005): Sir Paul got off to a nice start with Beatles classics Drive My Car and Get Back, then a lively Live and Let Die. Considering his expansive repertoire, closing with Hey Jude was deflating, no matter how many people joined in the "na-na-na-na" ending.

V. Tom Petty (2008): No frills here, but no frills are necessary for Petty and the Heartbreakers. Excellent, efficient takes on American Girl, I Won't Back Down, Free Fallin' and Runnin' Down a Dream.

VI. Bruce Springsteen (2009): The Boss' performance came with extra cheese: changing the lyrics to make Glory Days a football song, having a fake ref throw a flag for the show going too long, and asking a rather dumb question to the crowd ("Is there anybody alive out there?"). However, it's tough to argue with a choir-backed Working on a Dream and a rousing Born to Run.

VII. Black Eyed Peas (2011): We'll admit to rolling our eyes a few times while watching this, and we can picture older folks throwing their shoes at the TV during it, but at least the Peas made it interesting. I Gotta Feeling was perfect for that setting. Fergie's throaty cover of Sweet Child o' Mine was overkill, and Where Is the Love? was a mess. But it was fast and flashy, and the lit-up dancers straight out of Tron were a nice touch.

VIII. Michael Jackson (1993): Affection for the late pop star cause many to rank this show at the top. And true, you can't deny his dancing. But you also can't deny he was lip-synching. And that sends it tumbling down this list.

IX. Motown tribute (1998): A blitz of old-school artists sang the hits, including Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Martha Reeves. The big misstep: Queen Latifah's altered lyrics to Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Boo.

X. Janet Jackson (2004): Lip-synching unfortunately runs in the family. Besides that, Janet's gyrations were striking, especially on the deliciously retro Rhythm Nation. Then came the infamous boob-flop flap, which gave birth to the phrase "wardrobe malfunction" and made it the most-talked-about halftime show ever.