While the crowd outside Seattle’s CenturyLink Field was already plenty excited for the season’s first NFL game — between their Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers — Pharrell and hometown heroes Soundgarden lifted their spirits to new levels with live pre-game performances.
What’s On NFL Players’ Pre-Game Playlists? | The 10 Best NFL Fight Songs
Pharrell hit the stage first, wearing a relatively toned-down hat (for the noted chapeau enthusiast, at least), his Uniqlo Think Other T-shirt, jeans and high-tops. He was joined by a live band and dancers wearing white cheerleader skirts with fitted black-and-white varsity jackets emblazoned with Pharrell’s latest album title — Girl — on the back.
Always the crowd-pleaser, the soon-to-be Voice judge changed some lyrics of his megahit “Happy” to fit the day’s football theme. “Here come that team talking this and that/But give it all you got and don’t hold it back/I should probably tell you they’ll be just fine/No offense, other team, but don’t waste your time.”
He hit the stage later in the pre-game special to perform his latest single, “Come Get It Bae.” No Miley Cyrus (she’s featured on the track) in sight, but he had plenty of ladies joining him onstage between his sporty dancers and retro backup singers. Working the crowd yet again, he ended the performance with a call-and-response: “Say SEA-HAWKS!” he hollered at the more-than-willing crowd.
In their only televised snippet, Soundgarden performed “Been Away for Too Long” — an appropriate choice, since the band just wrapped a summer tour with Nine Inch Nails. Frontman Chris Cornell tweeted following the band’s performance to thank the “great crowd.”
Great crowd at #Kickoff2014! pic.twitter.com/zRU3Jl5L3C
— Chris Cornell (@chriscornell) September 4, 2014
“At halftime, my thoughts on Nirvana and Pearl Jam,” sportscaster Bob Costas joked after introducing the Seattle rockers. “Maybe not.”