I’ve never been much for wanting to see Broadway or movie musicals. I find it strange to listen to an emotional banter between a male and a female actor about their failing relationship and then all of a sudden, she breaks into a song about what she wants from him. Go ask any husband if his wife ever sang, “Do You Love Me?” from “Fiddler on the Roof” right in the middle of their argument.

“West Side Story” comes to mind when I think about the lack of logic to musical drama. Two rival street gangs are about to brawl, but before the knives come out and the punches get thrown, the kingpin of each gang breaks into a song to ramp up his bravado in front of the enemy. I wonder if back in the day, the Hatfields and the McCoys serenaded each other before they went on to murder 60 of their families’ members.

I understand this is how artistic expression works. Writers, painters, musicians and actors are all about showing us or having us listen to what’s going on inside their heads. I am getting better about enjoying musicals. I liked “Mama Mia” and “The Greatest Showman” and when the patients of an insane asylum from an episode of the “American Horror Story” broke into singing “The Name Game” while they danced around in their nightgowns, I found that very entertaining.

I love most of the music genres. When a solo artist sings, I prefer to simply enjoy his or her lyrical talents without a whirlwind of dancers flipping about the stage. One exception is the old Elvis video of Jailhouse Rock where he sings the title song while fellow inmates and he dance about the jail. The choreography is outstanding and beautifully enhances his iconic voice.

All my comments about artistic expression lead me to Rihanna’s halftime show at the Super Bowl. Millions of people including her fans, many who are preteens and teenaged girls, watched the performance. We might excuse her bad lip syncing in which she closed her mouth when it was supposed to be still moving, but the choreographed troupe dressed in white with their sexual gyrations and Rihanna grabbing her crotch seemed to shift what was supposed to be musical entertainment into something meant for after midnight TV.

I get it. This performance was also about artistic expression, but I couldn’t help but think of my 15 year-old daughter watching this with her friends. I also couldn’t help but think that one day this woman, pregnant with child, will share this video with her little one.

I wondered what went through the minds of the director and the choreographer when they planned this performance. Was it all about what Rihanna wanted to do? How much was the viewing audience considered? Here’s what Jesse Collins, the director of the performance, had to say after the game.

“You work so hard, six months for 13 minutes, an opportunity to work with a global superstar and her re-entry into music.” He added, “I just feel great. I feel like her vision was executed. She shocked the world and made the Navy’s (Rihanna’s fans) happy and I’m just glad we got another great one in the books.”

Billboard Magazine described Rihanna’s performance as “exciting and energetic.” Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the event as the third greatest female headliner halftime show of all time. These are industry publications that are prone to promoting performers because it brings more attention to not only the artists, but also to their magazines.

But when I read several social media sites with public comments about her performance, a large majority of the people had graded Rihanna’s show a D minus and an F. Many said her lip singing was underwhelming and the overwhelming sexual innuendos were in a word, “disgusting.”

It appears that many viewers like me have been blind to her “vision” that Collins had said was executed. Perhaps she could have had the choreography performed by children celebrating a new life coming from her into the world. That might have been a vision that the public audience would have enjoyed.

I have witnessed what the power of music can do. When Green River, a tribute band for Creedence Clearwater Revival performed at Penn’s Peak, the dance floor was crowded with 20 somethings all the way up to 70 somethings. I saw a New Jersey All State High School Orchestra comprised of different races and nationalities delight their audience of the same demographics with their wonderful renditions of the great classical symphonies.

The truth is that music, the universal language, unites people of the world. We drop our prejudices and we become one humanity, which is what we were intended to be. Confucius said, “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” Shakespeare wrote, “If music be the food of love, play on.” Elton John said, “Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves.” Emory Austin remarked, “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.”

Musical performances are ultimately judged by the audience, not by the artist or the production team. Regarding Rihanna’s event, some have said that, with pun intended, she dropped the ball at the Super Bowl. So many came away from her show feeling disappointed.

She should take notice. Music is what music does.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com