Looking as elfin, mischievous, sexy, and utterly Princelike as ever, the artist formerly known as a glyph stepped to the mike at the Super Bowl entertainment press conference Thursday at the Miami Beach Convention Center. ''We hope we don't rock your ears too much,'' Prince said. He was, of course, lying, as he was when he then said he would take questions -- and as soon as a hapless reporter spoke up, ripped into an extremely loud version of Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode.
Prince demonstrated his musical versatility by playing rock, pop, funk and salsa in a 10-minute show with his band. If it's a preview of his halftime performance, expect a real musical event, not an over-choreographed, lip-synced music-video wannabe.
It'll be a risky Super Bowl in general, judging by the presser. Many football fans will undoubtedly be scratching their heads at the preshow performance featuring the contortionists, clowns and mimes of Cirque du Soleil performing in colorful, cartoonish costumes by Miami-based artist Romero Britto to the dance tracks of Louie Vega.
Even the seemingly safe bet Billy Joel is a bit of a wild card. In a week that's all about hype, he was amusingly blase about his upcoming rendition of the National Anthem. What would he be thinking as he performed such a moving song in front of millions? ''Don't forget the words,'' the piano man deadpanned. ``I'm kind of an old dinosaur doing this now. Prince is doing the work. He is truly an icon.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...c/16603046.htm
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