“One More Night” Favored to Be 1st Song by Maroon 5 at Super Bowl Halftime Show

• Oddsmakers expect Maroon 5 to lead-off their Super Bowl halftime set with “One More Night”
• Is the band possibly considering “Makes Me Wonder”, their very first No. 1 hit from 2007?
• Is there value in wagering on a big-time party starter like “Sugar” at +550?

Maroon 5 will be the chief performer at this year’s Super Bowl, although Travis Scott and Big Boi are also expected to join. Now that the Super Bowl props are starting to go up, many are wondering which song Maroon 5 will lead with to start the halftime show.

Super Bowl 53 Halftime Show First Song Odds

What Can We Learn From the Past?

In general, it looks like the thinking is to start with a “medium” energy song, then crank it up a few notches and end big. It seems like very few people start with their biggest, boldest hit right off the bat.

Going back to Bruno Mars five years ago, he began with “Billionaire”, which is a slow song. A year later, we saw Katy Perry start with “Roar”, which allowed her to ease her way into a high-energy show. At Super Bowl 50, Coldplay started pretty slowly with “Yellow”. And taking a look at the last two years, Lady Gaga started off with “God Bless America” and Justin Timberlake started with “Filthy”.

It doesn’t seem like anyone dives in with their mega hits.

Narrowing the List

If we’re sticking with that logic, let’s take a look through Maroon 5’s catalogue and see what fits the description.

At the current moment, “Girls Like You” is their hit that’s buzzing. It’s slow enough that we could consider it but the context – just the theme of the song – seems off to start with. That’ll be somewhere in the middle.

In terms of high energy songs, “Moves Like Jagger” and “This Love” would qualify. Those will likely be somewhere in the middle when they hit the apex of the show.

“Moves Like Jagger” and “This Love” will likely be somewhere in the middle of Maroon 5’s set when they hit the apex of the show.

Songs like “She Will Be Loved” and “Payphone” are big hits, but both are sad songs about love. It doesn’t make sense that those would lead in a Super Bowl halftime show unless you want to put the audience in a downer.

Is “One More Night” The Best Bet?

“One More Night” is the song that’s favored to win and it’s unclear why the oddsmakers have put that tune in No. 1 place. Just taking a look at YouTube views, it’s No. 3 all-time in terms of Maroon 5 solo hits, by view count.

The feel of the song surely fits the match – it’s not too energetic right off the bat – and the music video does have a sports theme. In the video, lead singer Adam Levine is shown boxing, for what it’s worth.

But “Sugar” – the bands No. 1 song in terms of view count – seems like the ideal party starter. It’s fun, starts off slow, and has a catchy chorus that will warm up the crowd.

The other main contender is “Makes Me Wonder”, which was Maroon 5’s first No. 1 hit. Would they throw it back to their first smash to start off the Super Bowl? It could be nostalgic. At the same time, that song was a No. 1 hit in 2007, so it seems like a really far throwback to start with.

If I was betting this, I would split my bet and put half on “Sugar” and half on “One More Night” and aim for a profitable night if one of them cashes.