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There is no bigger stage for an American musician than playing the Super Bowl halftime show, which has hosted everyone from Michael Jackson to, more recently, the Who and the Red Hot Chili Peppers
But the hip-hop duo Outkast turned down the opportunity to play the Super Bowl, according to Big Boi.
The rapper appeared on ESPN's "The Dan LeBatard Show" Thursday and, as Pitchfork reports, when asked about the most memorable sports event he's played, he mentioned that his group was once asked to perform the Super Bowl halftime show but rejected the offer. (You can listen here at the 4-minute mark.)
The reason? His partner Andre 3000 refused to cut down Outkast's songs for time, in particular"Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move."
"[Andre] didn’t want to cut the songs, he wanted to do the full songs. It was like, 'Nah, can’t do it,'" Big Boi said, adding that he tried to convince Andre to change his mind.
"Hopefully they invite us back," he said.
Given the song choices, it's likely Outkast was asked to play the 2004 Super Bowl. Outkast released its album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in late 2003, and both "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move" from it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, so it's no surprise the biggest sporting event of the year wanted a piece of the group.
If Outkast had played in 2004, we wouldn't have had the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake "wardrobe malfunction," which is certainly an alternative history to think about.
