Super Bowl: Beyoncé passes Coldplay
The 50th Super Bowl entailed an exhilarating win for the Denver Broncos, a heartbreaking loss for the Carolina Panthers, and a half time show that demands to be discussed.
The show included Coldplay as its main act, with Bruno Mars and Beyoncé making guest appearances. Backup included music included the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, which features children under the age of fifteen.
The show began with Coldplay performing three of its greatest hits, “Viva La Vida,” “Paradise” and “Adventure of a Lifetime” while atop a flower-shaped stage mirroring the theme of their new album “A Head Full of Dreams.” Coldplay astounded the public with Chris Martin’s heartwarming vocals and the band’s beautiful music. However it is difficult to say that the majority of people were really paying attention, as most were sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for “The Queen” to enter.
After Coldplay’s sentimental performance, the mood switched as cameras moved to another part of the stage where Mark Ronson was blasting the music for his hit single, “Uptown Funk” Bruno Mars, whom the song features, came onto the stage dressed in all black and delivered an incredible performance. However the song itself had been played time and time again on the radio for quite awhile now, making the performance of this overused song slightly less enjoyable.
Coldplay was nowhere to be found during Bruno Mars’ performance, then bam, out of the blue, the Band popped in at the end for a quick verse of the chorus of Uptown Funk. It continued with a part of their song “Fix You” as a video montage of past Super Bowl halftime shows including artists such as James Brown, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
Then came the time everyone was waiting for: Beyoncé. Dressed in a tight black leotard, Queen B took the stage and the crowd went wild. She delivered an eccentric performance to her song “Formation,” stealing the show right from under Bruno Mars and Coldplay. Beyonce released “Formation” the day before the Super Bowl, so if people weren’t already excited for her arrival, this new single made sure of it.
To close, the audience held up rainbow colored cards as Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyonce closed the show together. The cards spelled out the words “BELIEVE IN LOVE,” perhaps tying back to Coldplay’s theme of “A Headful of Dreams” or referencing gay marriage as the the legalization of gay marriage was such an accomplishment this year.
Coldplay is one of the most well known and successful rock bands of the century. The band has sold over 87.5 million records worldwide, so making them the main act was nothing other than a long awaited event. However, as the producers of the show tried to go with the overarching theme of past, present, and future due to it being the 50th Super Bowl, the inclusion of Bruno Mars and especially Beyoncé to represent the past overshadowed the band, turning them more into backup than the the main act.
