Madonna's Super Bowl XLVI halftime extravaganza Roman soldiers and all -- was the brainchild of Jamie King. Every aspect of the star-studded, 12-minute spectacle, from the choreography to the lighting, costumes and sets was overseen by King, who's been Madonna's creative director for the past 13 years and, interestingly enough, is a superstar in his own right.(CBS NEWS)

This wasn't King's first Super Bowl experience. He choreographed Diana Ross's halftime show in '96. And he danced with his idol Michael Jackson in the early 90's at the Super Bowl and on tour.

These days, he's considered the most successful concert director of all time. His shows include the Britney Spears' Femme Fatale tour, Christina Aguilera's Stripped tour and Ricky Martin's Black and White tour. His tours have grossed nearly $2 billion.

When asked what a concert director actually is, King replied that he doesn't exactly know himself. "You know, when I started in this game, I started as a dancer," King said. "And then I became creative director for Madonna, which turned into director for Ricky, and Britney, and Rihanna, and Madonna. It just kept growing."

King is responsible for some of pop culture's most iconic moments. The infamous kiss among Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears was Jamie's idea. And remember Ricky Martin's star-making Grammy performance? Part of the credit goes to Jamie King.

"I was asked by his management if I would do a meeting with Ricky Martin," King recalled. "And I said, 'Absolutely. I don't know who he is.' I didn't. But, you know, America didn't know who Ricky Martin was at the time. I took the job, met him, felt his enthusiasm. And I knew right then that I had to work with this guy because he's fantastic."

And now King is bringing his talents to a whole new stage, producing and starring with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony in the talent-search reality show "Q'Viva."

Singer Marc Anthony said of King, "Jamie is not only consistent, but he's absolutely visionary. The sign of a true genius is that you can't duplicate what he creates, because the process is so unique. That's what makes Jamie, Jamie."

And bringing his career full-circle, King is the director of the Michael Jackson-inspired Cirque du Soleil show, The Immortal. "Everything I do, everything I create, is from the place of a fan," King said. "So if I get excited by what I'm creating, then I feel like I'm onto something. My instincts tell me that I'm onto something. And that's kind of how I do my job."

"To me, there is nothing more life affirming than dance. I started as a kid in my living room in the small town of Verona, Wisconsin, dancing to videos on MTV. My inspiration? Debbie Allen, who starred in the hit television show Fame. I first learned about dance from watching that show, and she defined for me everything a choreographer is and should be. Growing up, plenty of people told me that I couldn't succeed. But I refused to believe them. I overcame their negativity by realizing that I could be who I wanted to be if I just stayed focused and believed in myself. My inner determination helped, but dance itself also helped. I first realized dance was a sport when I saw Gene Kelly dance. He was such a visionary, such an athletic dancer. Every time I watched him dance in anything-a show, a movie, any presentation he's ever done-I've been amazed at the sheer athleticism he brings to dance, the way he was able to mix masculinity and dance, art and athleticism. His influence is part of what's shaped me into the kind of dancer, choreographer, and director I am today."

"Prince was a huge influence in my life. I used to dress up like him when I was young! He was my teacher. He taught me how to match music and movement and make them one. He taught me about staging, lighting, and editing. Among the many things I love about him are his attention to detail and his perfectionism, not to mention how he's an innovator. Prince gave me my break, first as a dancer, next as a choreographer and then as his creative director for three years. Madonna saw me perform with him and next thing you know, she was calling me directly on my cell phone, asking me to work with her. I couldn't believe Madonna herself was on the line, and I jumped at the chance to work with her."

King has done major projects for varied artists like Celine Dion, Spice Girls Reunion Tour and even the Kanye West Tour?

"No surprises. EVERYTHING is done in pre-production. I bring in my best teams on each tour, and we workshop everything to perfection and then I bring in my superstars and fine tune their performances. Like a great chef, you must gather all the right ingredients before you start cooking or else you end up with crap."
 
"In 2006, I had the pleasure of directing Madonna's Confessions Tour, Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics Tour and Ricky Martin's Black and White Tour - back to back. It's quite unusual to do multiple projects at the same time, but I work well under pressure and enjoy the challenge."

King says he tailors each production to the specific artist. "I try to design their performances based on who they are, what they believe in and their personal life experiences. I try to create original works for each of them. I'm not interested in repeating my work - in fact, newness is essential."

The Confessions tour for Madonna was such a large undertaking that it set the stage for productions to come.

"Madonna's Confessions Tour was a mammoth undertaking. A forty million dollar production -- two aircraft, five buses, eighteen cars, twenty four trucks, twenty eight perfomers, one hundred and six crew, six hundred costumes, four stages, one million dollar disco ball, sixty cities on four continents, 1.2 million tickets sold ... the biggest female artist tour in history. Ever. Talking about a challenge!"

It's only gotten bigger from there.

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