Madonna performs live

The Bridgestone Super Bowl halftime show is the most-watched musical event of the year. More than 162 million viewers in the U.S. watched last year's show. The Super Bowl and halftime show will be broadcast worldwide.

Madonna joins an esteemed list of recent halftime acts that includes The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and U2.

A world class entertainer, singer, songwriter, producer, director, and video visionary, Madonna has sold more than 300 million records in the course of her three-decade career as The Material Girl. She is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Her last tour was the most successful tour by a solo artist in history. Madonna is currently in the recording studio working on a new album scheduled to be released next year. Her new film W.E., which she directed, wrote and produced, is opening in a limited one-week release Dec. 9 in Los Angeles and will open nationally on Feb. 3, two days prior to Super Bowl XLVI.

This year marks the fifth time Bridgestone Americas has sponsored the Super Bowl halftime show. The tire company's new brand campaign, fittingly titled "Time to Perform," will debut during the game.