Madonna's big, <a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/backstage-pass-1.811987/madonna-s-halftime-show-safe-not-super-1.3507155" target="_blank">safe Super Bowl halftime show</a> was good, but, truthfully, much less than what we have come to expect from her. 
 Here's a look at some of her more engaging live performances from the past and how they surpassed what we got last night. And I'm not even throwing in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trz6A91MU8s" target="_blank">the controversial “Hollywood” performance</a> from the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, because everyone just remembers that she kissed Britney Spears, not anything she did musically. 
 1. Inventiveness: “Vogue” (MTV VMAs 1990) 
 <object height="274" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PsjN0HFOMhE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="274" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PsjN0HFOMhE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"></object> 
 2. Emotion: “Like a Prayer” (Live 8, 2005) 
 <object height="274" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7_ToEd_IoYE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="274" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7_ToEd_IoYE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"></object> 
 3. Artistry: “Frozen” (Drowned World Tour, 2001) 
 <object height="360" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eSnjPvGu1ng?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eSnjPvGu1ng?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"></object> 
 4. Attitude: “Ray of Light” (Live Earth, 2007) *um, there's a bit of swearing here, which was OK, because the censors weren't, you know, asleep 
 <object height="274" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TmJTPe_MG1s?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="274" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TmJTPe_MG1s?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"></object> 
 5. Fun: “La Isla Bonita” (Confessions Tour, 2006) 
 <object height="274" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tdeOtiA5qmE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="274" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tdeOtiA5qmE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"></object>

Madonna's big, safe Super Bowl halftime show was good, but, truthfully, much less than what we have come to expect from her. Here's a look at some of her more engaging live performances from the past and how they surpassed what we got last night. And I'm not even throwing in the controversial “Hollywood” performance from the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, because everyone just remembers that she kissed Britney Spears, not anything she did musically. 1. Inventiveness: “Vogue” (MTV VMAs 1990) 2. Emotion: “Like a Prayer” (Live 8, 2005) 3. Artistry: “Frozen” (Drowned World Tour, 2001) 4. Attitude: “Ray of Light” (Live Earth, 2007) *um, there's a bit of swearing here, which was OK, because the censors weren't, you know, asleep 5. Fun: “La Isla Bonita” (Confessions Tour, 2006)

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