Bruce Springsteen will make hands raise up in the air during next year’s Super Bowl halftime in Tampa, Florida. He will sing along with his backing group, the E Street Band, according to the NFL and NBC’s announcements Sunday night.

This tradition for notorious artists to play during the half-time slot began back in 1988 with Chubby Checker who therefore became the first musician to replace local entertainment acts. Sir Paul McCartney, U2, Prince, Janet Jackson (who still holds the merit for the show's most infamous moment with 2004's "wardrobe malfunction") and Michael Jackson are among the artists who have already done that. Last year's interval act was Tom Petty.

The Super Bowl will be played Feb. 1, 2009 at Raymond James Stadium and will be televised by NBC. The 2008 Super Bowl show was watched by more than 148 million viewers in the U.S., the NFL said in its release and it seems that the performances of widely known and loved artists’ increases audition.

Based on recent history, Springsteen will probably perform four songs.

It seems that Springsteen previously distanced himself from the show earlier this year as he was first rumored to be playing the show in August this year.

Springsteen’s latest tour with the E Street Band began October 2, 2007 and concluded Aug. 30, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It promoted the album “Magic,” which was released at the same time. Despite the fact that the shows were clearly shorter than in years past, beginning at around 8:30 and ending at around 10:45, the content was satisfying and fans weren’t disappointed.