Last week we celebrated a pseudo-holiday here in the United States…The Super Bowl. I realize it is the biggest football game of the year, (next to the OSU v. Michigan game of course) but many of us watched mostly for the commercials, food, and especially the halftime show. This year, Bruno Mars was chosen to perform along with special guest, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and there were mixed reviews on the selection. A relative newbie to the industry, with just two albums, many wondered how he could stack up to the likes of past performers such as Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, and, most importantly, Beyoncé. Despite these concerns, he has a large fan base, known as the hooligans, and he boasts 17.7 million followers on Twitter. There is no denying that the 5’5” wonder (born Peter Gene Hernandez) has some serious vocal chops. Not to mention, he writes his own songs and gets tons of radio play. Here’s what you missed (and didn’t miss) at halftime this year:
Highlights
– The adorable children’s choir
– Bruno’s hair
– He and his band’s matching gold suits
– The synchronized dance moves
– The tribute to members of the armed forces
Lowlights
– Not too much going on with the stage show
– Red Hot Chili Peppers not so hot
Who chooses the performers for the halftime show you might ask? The NFL itself chooses the acts. Representatives from the NFL have said that they chose Bruno Mars because of his reputation as a reliable performer as proven by his performance at another sporting event, the NBA All-Star pre-game show in 2011. This is especially important to the administration since the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction and the M.I.A. middle finger incident of past years. Did you know that halftime performers of the Super Bowl do not get paid? The NFL simply covers the production costs of the show, which are usually quite steep. Bruno Mars and all of the past performers have been paid in one thing: publicity. I think it is great to see a responsible celebrity who stays out of trouble win such a huge gig. Bruno Mars certainly deserved the honor of performing at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. In this case, nice guys do not finish last.