[5] After having, in the past, been uninterested in performing in a Super Bowl halftime show, in 2006, Prince expressed interest.

[6] Executives that were in charge of booking an act for the halftime show visited Prince in Los Angeles.

[3] In late 2006, representatives of Prince reached out to Julian White, the director of the Florida A&M University, and managed to get the band to agree to performing in the show.

[6] The involvement of the marching band was largely kept a secret, with New Power Generation keyboardist Morris Hayes having later shared that he did not know of their inclusion until the first rehearsal that included them.

[6] One of the centerpiece visual effects utilized involved projecting Prince's silhouette onto a large screen that he stood behind.

A member of the lighting crew responded to the issue by holding the severed ends of the cable in place with his hands for the entire duration of the show.

[2] There was potential hazard due to the material the stage was made of, as it gets slippery when wet, and, adding to the risk, Prince and his dancers were wearing high-heeled shoes.

[6] He was also accompanied by the duo "The Twinz", which consisted of identical twins Maya and Nandy McClean, who had previously toured with Prince.

[6] Because of the inclement weather and the nature of the lighting effects, a portion of the performance appeared to take place during a literal "purple rain."

Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times wrote that the performance would "surely go down as one of the most thrilling halftime shows ever; certainly the most unpredictable, and perhaps the best.

"[14] Mark Caro, of the Chicago Tribune, wrote that Prince's performance, "for once, justified the existence of a mini-concert sandwiched between halves of football.

"[13] Many have opined that the rainy weather actually added to the performance, especially during Prince's rendition of "Purple Rain".

[1][6][8] The Smoking Gun reported that in excess of 150 people had complained to the FCC about the Super Bowl broadcast, with the majority of complaints being about either this or a Snickers commercial which featured two men kissing.