Coldplay, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars were the headliners for the Super Bowl 50 halftime show but in the days leading up to the big game it seemed like all eyes were on Beyoncé. She blew up social media on Saturday with the surprise release of her new song and music video, “Formation”. Bruno Mars also got some attention from his fans when it was revealed that he would be joining the band and Bey on stage. With all this media attention it was no surprise that Beyoncé and Bruno stole the show.
Chris Martin from Coldplay opened up Halftime by singing “Yellow” on the field and then transitioning into “Viva La Vida” on stage where children from the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra joined him. The costumes were very colorful and whimsical with people on the field dressed in green and holding large flower umbrellas. The stage, which was built to resemble the artwork on their most recent album cover, also had computer graphics. After “Viva La Vida,” Coldplay performed “Paradise” and “Adventure of a Lifetime.” Overall Coldplay delivered a joyous performance, but my attention did start to stray from the screen after a while. They have great music but their songs are more for those occasions when you want to relax and listen to more mellow sounds, not for when you want to be excited and jumping out of your seat at the Super Bowl.
Luckily, Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, and some backup dancers were up next to liven up the performance. Seeing their outfits, which consisted of a lot of black leather and gold jewelry, threw me off at first. We went from a very prismatic, Lisa Frank inspired aesthetic by Coldplay to more dark and edgy costumes by Bruno Mars and, later, Beyoncé. Beyoncé’s costume is said to have been a tribute to the late Michael Jackson’s wardrobe for his 1993 halftime show performance while her backup dancers’ costumes referenced the Black Panther Party, an organization that played an important role in the civil rights movement.
Bruno Mars performed “Uptown Funk” and did a bit of dancing as well before the camera panned to a marching band on the field. Beyoncé appeared with her all black female crew of backup dancers to deliver a militaristic and empowering performance of “Formation.”
Bruno and Beyoncé then did an awesome back-to-back call and response where Bruno would say something and Beyoncé would respond. They took turns doing choreography with their backup dancers, which made me feel like I was watching a cool dance battle. At this point I forgot Coldplay was even there because it felt like I had watched two different performances – one with the British band and another with Bruno and Queen Bey.
Chris Martin then reminded us that he hadn’t left by briefly joining Bruno and Beyoncé before running back to his piano to perform “Fix You” while a video montage of past halftime performances played on the stage. All three musical acts joined together at the end to sing a medley of songs.
Coldplay felt like the third wheel at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Had they been there to perform by themselves, their act would’ve probably been labeled as boring compared to past performances. Luckily for the viewers, Bruno Mars and Slayoncé were there to save the show.