nme
BONO has been turned down by the American NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE after asking to perform a charity song.
The halftime show at the annual Super Bowl is traditionally a star-studded affair. The U2 frontman wanted to perform a new song, ‘An American Prayer’, with Jennifer Lopez to raise awareness in the fight against AIDS in Africa, according to Rolling Stone.
AIDS killed more than two million people in sub-Saharan Africa last year, and southern Africa is believed to account for almost a third of HIV and AIDS infections in the world.
An NFL spokesman told the New York Daily News: "We simply decided that we were going to deliver, as we do annually, an extremely entertaining halftime show. We don’t believe it’s appropriate to focus on a single issue."
The halftime show will instead feature a performance from Janet Jackson, plus others to be confirmed, while Beyonce Knowles will sing the American national anthem before the game. It will be held in her hometown of Houston.
Memorably, the 2001 Super Bowl show saw Aerosmith, Britney Spears, *N Sync, Nelly and Mary J Blige team up for a half-time extravaganza.
In 2002, U2 performed in a tribute to the victims of September 11.
