ONBOARD THE MSC WORLD AMERICA -- When I need an energy boost, a good Spotify playlist usually does the trick.
But every so often, that's not good enough. I'm craving something more. I'm craving, specifically, the Jennifer Lopez and Shakira Super Bowl halftime performance of 2020.
I've watched it on YouTube so many times that I've memorized the transitions between songs, the exact moment J Balvin will pop out and the precise way that Lopez and Shakira turn to the camera at the end, grinning ear to ear, gasping for air after a 14-minute dance spectacle.
Up until April 11, I'd never seen a version of the performance live and never imagined I would. Thank goodness for the MSC World America's "Hall of Fame" show.
Entering the World Theatre, all I knew was that the show intended to present awards show-style performances by pop legends. It was an intriguing concept, but impersonating the greats is always a tough bar to clear.
I see Beyonce on tour religiously, so when cruise director Eversen Bevelle introduced the show and said the 35-time Grammy winner would be a part of it, I was officially nervous. A disappointing Beyonce impersonation would be worse than none at all.
Then the curtains opened and "Jennifer Lopez" strutted out and proceeded to perform a version of the very Super Bowl performance I've been addicted to for years. All doubts turned into exhilaration.
What followed was a whirlwind of a show that I became convinced someone had created just for me.
The performer playing Beyonce not only did a version of the Coachella performance I've listened to countless times but nailed Beyonce's live persona, including her runs and banter with the audience.
A Justin Timberlake medley had excellent choreography. A Whitney Houston impersonator received a standing ovation midshow, something I'd never experienced outside of a Broadway theater.
A Whitney Houston impersonation during the MSC World America's "Hall of Fame" show. Photo Credit: Courtesy of MSC Cruises
Nailed it!
I later learned that the connection I felt with the material was exactly what the creative team behind the show had intended.
"We feel this show is particularly relatable for audiences who may have watched this type of performance on national TV, particularly during music award shows or sporting events, like the Super Bowl," said Stephanie Jansen, MSC's director of creative and theatrical entertainment, in an interview conducted via email. "We hope that experiencing this live will be truly special for them."
Putting it together involved collaborating with the London-based production company Only Child Collective and individuals who had worked with major pop artists including Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa, she added.
"Following this, we embarked on a global audition tour to discover top talent for the shows, which was succeeded by a three-week rehearsal period and a four-week installation phase," she said.
I found the choreography to be a central part of what makes the "Hall of Fame" experience so delicious. You'll see the same dancers who grooved '60s style in "Dirty Dancing the Concert" reborn as strutting, flipping, backup for the pop icons.
They move in and out of boxy jungle gym-like set pieces and behind screens in silhouette.
The show is performed in the ship's auditorium-style World Theatre. Photo Credit: Courtesy of MSC Cruises
The choreography doesn't try to perfectly re-create the performances the show emulates; you won't see Lopez's viral "Love Don't Cost a Thing" dance break, for example.
Instead, you get to see a clever, creative production team that flexed its muscles to bring us new versions of dances and, most impressively, often seamless and invigorating transitions between the pop stars.
Lipa's section brought us to Elton John's via a duet of "Cold Heart" with its "Rocket Man" sampling. A quick segment of Beyonce's "Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)," which samples Madonna's "Vogue," then brings us to the Madonna portion of the show.
Jansen said lighting was an important part of the design. From where I sat, it truly did transform the theater into a real concert venue.
I suppose MSC's entertainment team didn't actually hack into my YouTube history when creating "Hall of Fame." The Lopez-Shakira Super Bowl performance now has more than 325 million views, and as much as I'd like to, I can't claim them all.
Instead, the team accomplished what it set out to do: identify some of the best and most beloved modern pop performances and let people like me pretend for a moment that we're experiencing them in a stadium for the first time.
My only regret was that I was bopping and singing from my seat rather than standing and dancing throughout the performance. I might have been the only one to do so, but if the show inspires others to get up on their feet at future performances, then "Hall of Fame" would capture that concert experience even more than it already does.