With Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers headlining Super Bowl XLII's halftime show, we couldn't help but wonder which other acts would deserve the chance to play to one of the year's biggest crowds. Of course, then we also got to wondering about what rare duets the event could motivate, especially after such great team-ups as Aerosmith and Britney Spears and Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake (which, OK, ended poorly). Here's what we came up with.
Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and Hank Jr.
Call this the working-class hero category. It's hard to believe Bon Jovi hasn't taken the stage at halftime yet. And, as the show's organizers more and more turn to legends of rock like the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, the Boss' absence is shaping up into an embarrassing mystery. Throw Hank "Are you ready for some football?!" Williams Jr. into the mix, and this Super Bowl halftime show would surely go down in history as one of the best.
AC/DC, Van Halen, and Foo Fighters
Three generations of guitar rock on one stage. Fans would be cheering over the collective guitar solos from as far away as Long Island.
My Chemical Romance, Queen, and Robbie Williams
My Chemical Romance might seem an odd choice for a headliner, but they take the top slot because Freddie Mercury is dead and Queen is consequently without a permanent frontman. That's where Robbie Williams, one of the few singers in the world who can perform with the gravitas of Mercury, comes in. Pair the Williams-fronted Queen with Queen-style arena rockers, My Chem, and you have a fireworks-filled extravaganza that people will be watching from all four corners of the globe.
Madonna, Alice Cooper, and Eminem
Three monsters of shock, all hailing from Detroit. They might not match on paper, but spiritually Madonna, Cooper, and Slim Shady are next of kin.
Tina Turner, Fall Out Boy, and Jay-Z
Tina Turner is arguably the greatest female stage rocker in history. Fall Out Boy have transformed themselves from oft-dismissed emo rockers into arena rock gods with a passion for Turner-size choruses. Toss in Jay-Z, one of the best hip-hop artists of his generation, and maybe you'd get Turner dueting with Patrick Stump on a Fall Out Boy cover of "What's Love Got to Do with It," capped by an original third verse in which Jay serenades the influential diva with some freestyle. We'd pay good money to see that.
