Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am steals Super Bowl show with lyrics tweak to invoke Obama, AT&T tweet

While the Black Eyed Peas performance at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday outdid the rest, it was the group's frontman, Will.i.am, who captured the media's attention for two reasons: a tweak in a song's lyrics to send a message to President Barack Obama and a post-show tweet on the AT&T network.

First things first. How did the Black Eyed Peas outshine the rest of the Super Bowl performers? The group, consisting of Fergie, Will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo, emerged as the highlight of the Super Bowl XLV entertainment after Christina Aguilera disappointed before kickoff while Slash, popular as the guitarist of Gun N' Roses, and R&B-pop icon Usher failed to make an impression with their performances.

Aguilera mangled the lyrics during her performance of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. She skipped the words O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming. She replaced the words with that of another line already sung. Slash, who joined the group to perform GNR's hit song 'Sweet Child o' Mine' failed to impress as his guitar seemed to have not been amplified to the optimum level. Usher, who also got to make a strong entrance by dropping out of the scoreboard just as the members of BEP did, did not get enough time to make a mark with a quick rendition of his hit 'OMG'. Some complained that the singer did not do justice to his vocal talent against his urge to show-off his dance moves.

Peas also scored for the futuristic theme of the 15-minute Super Bowl halftime show. While the 1,000 dancers dressed in white jumpsuits with different colored neon lights gave the Tron effect, the Peas members seemed more like characters out of Star Trek: The Next Generation with their black and silver outfits.

However, the band did face certain technical glitches that marred their performance. Issues with the sound, which affected the show the most, kept Fergie's first lines from reaching to the audiences and probably was the reason behind Slash's low-energy guitaring. Few complaints on the show's sound transmitted on TV have also surfaced.

Nevertheless, the Black Eyed Peas did manage to enthrall the audiences and the appreciation resonated beyond the 15-minute performance as Will.i.am hit the headlines for two news-worthy comments.

The first of the comment came as part of the BEP's popular hit 'Where is the Love?'. The singer tweaked the lyrics of the song and used the Super Bowl performance to send a message to the President.

Three lines of the band's hit song were removed to accommodate the words: In America we need to get things straight / Obama, let's get these kids educated / Create jobs so the country stays stimulated.

The pop star effectively used one of the biggest stages ever to send out a message to the government on two issues - education and unemployment - stinging the Americans. Will.i.am's move to promote two non-controversial and yet pressing social issues stands appreciated especially in comparison with the majority of the pop acts out there which aim at self-promotion.

The second comment of Will.i.am that has landed in the news is his tweet after the show. The singer had last week promised his fans that he would tweet during the show. But this was not possible for Will.i.am.

Expressing disappointment over it, Will.i.am gave the reason for him not tweeting during the show, by posting: At&t??? Wow...no service during halftime...unbelievable.

Will.i.am's tweet takes significance in the backdrop of AT&T losing the exclusive hold on Apple's iPhone to Verizon. AT&T carries a poor reputation in terms of network coverage. This is the factor Verizon aims to cash in on with the ultra-popular iPhone.

In fact, both AT&T and Verizon Wireless took jabs at each other in the latest iPhone ads aired during the Super Bowl. In an veiled attack on AT&T's network, the Verizon ad featured a network guy saying into his iPhone, Yes, I can hear you now. AT&T, on the other hand, aimed at highlighting the 'talk and surf simultaneously' feature with the portrayal of an overworked exec, who forgets his anniversary but manages to survive with the phone's multi-tasking capabilities.