J. Lo pole dances, Shakira shakes during fiery Super Bowl halftime show

As the Super Bowl halftime show (and really any major musical stage) has proven time and time again, flashy bells and whistles are no match for a performance that simply has the “it” factor.

During Super Bowl LIV on Sunday night in Miami, Jennifer Lopes had “it.” Her Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show co-performer Shakira? Not quite as great, but still good.

The latter opened the show with a barrage of pelvic thrusts as she dove into one of her most popular songs, “She Wolf.” Fittingly, the Latin vibes were strong in Miami with guest appearances by Bad Bunny and J Balvin.

Shakira showed high energy throughout. But her set, at times, felt a little over produced with way too many cutaway sH๏τs to pyrotechnics. It also doesn’t help that Shakira lacks a long list of hits, at least in the United States. “Hips Don’t Lie” being her only No. 1 and, not surprisingly, the highlight of her Super Bowl performance.

Jennifer Lopez was firing on all cylinders, dropping hit after hit in front of the raucous crowd (or at least a crowd that felt raucous given that the screams felt like they were being amplified through the telecast). J. Lo wisely incorporated some pole dancing, paying homage to her recent standout turn in the film “Hustlers.”

There was also no mistaking the horns that ring in one of J. Lo’s biggest songs “Get Right.” Lopez even brought her daughter into play during the opening of “Let’s Get Loud.”

Shakira joined in for the end of the J. Lo’s set. The two fed off each other’s chemistry and hip shakes enough to make you wish they’d done more collaboration throughout the overly long halftime show.