FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) - The NFL has learned its lesson from the Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction."
In order to avoid a repeat of the crotch-grabbing, breast-baring halftime show from Houston, the league is tightly controlling the concert that will be broadcast before Thursday night's season opener.
The league picked the acts, which include Elton John, Lenny Kravitz and Destiny's Child. They'll be performing from Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots will play the Indianapolis Colts. There will also be a 10-second delay on the broadcast to give the NFL and ABC a chance to pull the plug on anything too racy.
"Elton told me he won't take his shirt off," said Charles Coplin, one of the producers of the show. "He can do that. We've allowed him to do that."
But Jessica Simpson, who will perform from Jacksonville, Fla., the site of the next Super Bowl, had to have her wardrobe checked to ward off a potential "malfunction" like the one that left Janet Jackson bare-breasted and the NFL red-faced in front of 90 million viewers.
The Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers 32-29 in the Feb. 3 Super Bowl - one of the most exciting title games ever. But much of the post-mortem has focused on the halftime show in which Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson's brassiere, exposing her right breast to a TV audience of some 90 million.
The next day, an embarrassed commissioner Paul Tagliabue vowed that the NFL would "change our policies, our people and our processes."
The Federal Communications Commission received more than 500,000 complaints about the broadcast. The commission is reportedly considering a fine of $550,000 against CBS for violating broadcast decency standards.
"We've been very involved from the very beginning," Coplin said. "From the very beginning, all of our plans - talent selection, rundown, virtually every aspect of the show - we've been involved."
Mary J. Blige will sing the national anthem, accompanied by the Boston Pops. The show will also include a tribute to the Patriots' Super Bowl championship and the unveiling of the Super Bowl banner.
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