Wow did you see the Super Bowl 50 halftime show? Of course you did. I had no idea that Beyoncé and Bruno Mars became a duo and that they hired Coldplay as their backup band! What a great idea! I’m kidding – but that’s how it looked yesterday because the halftime show was clearly the Beyoncé/Bruno Mars show.
In addition to taking over the biggest stage on earth, Beyoncé made sure everyone became aware of plans for 2016: Her world tour launches on April 27. If anyone knows how to make a tour/ album drop date announcement it’s Queen B. Seconds after the performance, a commercial announcing her 40-date Formation Tour, which kicks off in Miami, will hit virtually every stadium, field, and arena in North America before heading to Europe. As of now, Mars has no dates scheduled for 2016 but that could change quickly.
Even though I’m not a Coldplay fan, I thought Chris Martin (I mean Coldplay…) did a nice job as the opening act for Beyoncé and Mars. Yeah I said it and I know you all are thinking it. Starting with the first few lines of “Yellow” and then going into “Viva La Vida” was a smart move, the youth orchestra was fantastic, and all the colors were great (was the halftime show also a LBGT rally?) but all of that seemed like a warmup compared to the Mars/Beyoncé showcase that was kicked off by Mark Ronson’s spinning.
Although it hasn’t been long since Mars and Beyoncé graced the Super Bowl stage (2014 and 2013 respectively) they were a welcomed sight. Both dressed in black and gold with their corresponding boy and girl groups of background dancers behind them, they lit a match to the stage and burned it to the ground – in the best way possible. Because they both sing and dance equally well, the two of them are the definition of entertainer. Also, they both smartly took some cues from the King of Pop as their outfits and moves were clearly reminiscent of Michael Jackson. Who better to emulate than the best entertainer in the history of pop music?
So what did we learn from Coldplay performing a hit medley, Beyoncé debuting a new song (“Formation”), Bruno Mars going with a hit (“Uptown Funk”), and all three coming together to at the end for a “Fix You” medley? No matter how big of deal your band is or how many records you’ve sold, the Super Bowl is the largest stage out there and performers have approximately 15 minutes to do something memorable. As Martin sat down at a piano and went into “Clocks” and viewers at home watched a video reel of historical performances, I was reminded once again what a big deal the Super Bowl halftime show really is and how tough the critics can be. So far this year’s show drew the second highest numbers – Katy Perry’s 2015 show is still the highest with 11.5 million viewers – but the official number has not been released yet. I’m thinking that last night’s trifecta might break that record but only time will tell.
Well, I was instantly turned off before it started. Of all of the talent we have in the world, the show had repeats within 2-3 years of their last performance? Lame, in my opinion. There are more important musicians out there. At the rate we keep losing them, it would be nice for the younger generations to see/hear the legends up there playing- instead of the same people playing in similar genres (minus Coldplay). As you mentioned, a whole-lotta people turn in to hear the half-time show.
Jena – thanks for reading! You make a good point about repeating featured artists for the Super Bowl halftime show. Clearly I would love to see more metal acts but I understand the powers that be wanting to cater to the masses and wanting to book acts who are going to show up and aren’t going to do anything scandalous. Hopefully in the future more genres will be represented and will show the masses why they should be equally recognized.