There was exactly one shocking moment during Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show -- and it was only shocking to people who heard her wrong.
At one point during "Music," her second song, it sounded like might have said the word "cock." (At least, it sounded that way to those of us who used to think "Scuze me while I kiss this guy" was a line in "Purple Haze.") A fast rewind confirmed she didn't say the word -- or any others that might get anyone angry. She stuck to the lyrics of "Music," including the line: "Don't think of yesterday and I don't look at the clock."
Yes, clock. She delivered the "ock" part of the word with her typically crisp elocuction.
And that was as close as she got to doing anything nefarious during the halftime show. Her cartwheels briefly revealed the elaborate undergarment under her black skirt, but it was no more revealing than the cheerleading routines she was tweaking. Her tight top left zero risk of a Janet Jackson-like wardrobe malfunction -- and she promised last week that there wouldn't be one.
The show went according to her ambitious plan, without violating the delicate sensibilities of anyone at home.
She was led to the stage by musclebound men dressed like Trojans, wore a Valkyrie-like headdress, and shared the stage gracefully with LMFAO, Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. (both similarly dressed like futuristic Nordic-Romanic cheerleaders) and Cee Lo Green, in a nice little promotional tie-in for NBC. He's one of the judges on "The Voice," the season 2 premiere of which got the catseat slot right after the game.
Twitter responses were fiercely split, but it's hard to imagine what she could have done differently to win over the non-fans. If you like Madonna, chances are you liked her wild, genre-twisting performance. There was no arguing with her song selection, including her new "Give Me All Your Luvin" and "Like a Prayer," which featured the obligatory marching band and choir.
But nothing to call the FCC over.
