Super Bowl 50 halftime show
Coldplay headlined with Beyoncé and Bruno Mars as guests.
National Football League / Pepsi · via Wikipedia: Super Bowl 50 halftime show · Fair use
The Super Bowl 50 halftime show happened on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, during Super Bowl 50. The headliner was the British rock band Coldplay, who brought in guests including Beyoncé, Gustavo Dudamel, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, the University of California Marching Band, and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. The performance drew over 115.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched halftime show ever headlined by a group.
Coldplay had been confirmed as the lead performer on December 3, 2015, the day before their seventh studio album *A Head Full of Dreams* came out. Earlier that year, potential headliners like Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, and One Direction had been rumored. Bruno Mars was initially reported to curate the show in September 2015, and Maroon 5 was in talks the following month, though the band said no conversations had happened. By late November, multiple acts were expected to perform. When Chris Martin first called Mars to join, Mars was hesitant about a multi-artist setup. Martin invited him to his Malibu studio, where he revealed he wanted Mars to perform "Uptown Funk" with Beyoncé. Mars asked Martin to check with Beyoncé first; Martin texted her a video of himself and Mars, singing a request for her to join them, and she happily agreed. The day before the show, Mars and Beyoncé watched playback backstage while Beyoncé ate a bag of Cheetos. When Mars asked about it, she said there was nothing left to do but enjoy the chips, and Mars later noted he learned from her relentless preparation.
The show began with a card stunt in the stands, where spectators held orange, yellow, and blue cards to form a sunburst, while field participants held red, white, and blue cards to create the Pepsi logo. Fans then ran onto the field as Chris Martin sang the opening of "Yellow." The rest of Coldplay joined him for "Viva la Vida," "Paradise," and "Adventure of a Lifetime," with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and the University of California Marching Band.
Quick Facts
- Part Of
- Super Bowl 50
- Date
- 2016-02-07
- Location
- Santa Clara, California
- Venue
- Levi's Stadium
- Headliner
- Coldplay
- Sponsor
- Pepsi
- Director
- Hamish Hamilton
- Producer
- Ricky Kirshner
- Choreographer
- Cati Snarr
- Guests
- Beyoncé / Gustavo Dudamel / Bruno Mars / Mark Ronson / University of California Marching Band / Youth Orchestra Los Angeles
- Last
- XLIX / (2015)
- This
- 50 / (2016)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Coldplay was confirmed as the lead halftime performer on December 3, 2015, one day before the release of their seventh studio album A Head Full of Dreams. It was later confirmed that Beyoncé and Bruno Mars would join Coldplay as special guests. When Chris Martin originally called Mars to ask him to perform, Mars was wary of a multi-artist performance. Martin invited Mars to his studio in Malibu, where he revealed that he wanted Mars to perform "Uptown Funk" with Beyoncé. Mars remained skeptical and asked Martin to talk to Beyoncé. Martin immediately texted a video of himself with Mars to Beyoncé, in which he asked her in the form of a song if she would come do the Super Bowl with both of them, to which she happily agreed. One day before the performance, Mars and Beyoncé were watching playback backstage while Beyoncé ate a bag of Cheetos. Mars asked her, "That's what you're doing?" to which she replied, "There's nothing more we can do these last two days. It's gonna be what it's gonna be. So I'm gonna enjoy this bag of Cheetos."
Reader's Guide
The show opened with a card stunt forming a sunburst pattern, then the Pepsi logo. Coldplay performed "Yellow," "Viva la Vida," "Paradise," and "Adventure of a Lifetime" with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and the University of California Marching Band. Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson performed "Uptown Funk" with dancers dressed in the styles of Michael Jackson. Beyoncé, in a Michael Jackson-like bodysuit with dancers dressed as Black Panthers, performed "Formation" and formed the letter X before joining Mars for a verse of "Uptown Funk." Coldplay played a snippet of "Clocks" transitioning into "Fix You" with a video montage of past Super Bowl halftime and national anthem performances. The show concluded with "Up&Up" featuring Beyoncé, Mars, and all participants. The performance received mixed reviews from critics, who complimented Beyoncé and Mars but were critical of Coldplay. Beyoncé's performance of "Formation" was controversial, with some viewing it as an alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement and others claiming it had anti-police and anti-American messages. Conservatives also accused Coldplay of promoting a "gay agenda" due to the rainbow-colored placards forming the phrase "Believe in Love." Despite mixed contemporary reception, the show has since been ranked as one of the best in Super Bowl history by The Athletic, Parade, Rolling Stone, and The Telegraph.
Did You Know?
- The show featured a card stunt where spectators formed a rainbow pattern with the phrase 'Believe in Love,' which led conservatives to accuse Coldplay of promoting a 'gay agenda.'
- Beyoncé's performance of 'Formation' included dancers dressed as Black Panthers and the formation of the letter X to represent Malcolm X.
- The halftime show was watched by 115.5 million viewers, making it the most watched halftime set by a group.
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