Coldplay Left in the Cold at Super Bowl 50; Beyoncé and Bruno Bring It

The news that Coldplay would be helming the Half at Super Bowl 50 left many fans scratching their heads in puzzlement: Although an undeniably massive act, the British band’s somewhat dreamy style seemed an odd fit for, well, an American event centered around a lot of partying and ruckus.

Perhaps that’s why the NFL made the decision to bring back two of their best crowd-stirrers, Beyoncé (who handled the halftime show in 2013) and Bruno Mars (2014) for a little halftime reunion of sorts. 


Still, the juxtaposition of these two against Chris Martin & Co. read mentally rather like the opening moments of last year’s Bowl, when the New England Patriots ran out to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” while the Seattle Seahawks ambled on to the field to the dulcet strains of the Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony.”

Despite this, there remained the hope among music fans that perhaps the band might be able to surprise the Northern California crowd with a touchdown of sorts. Who doesn’t love a quarterback sack by the underdog?

Alas, it was not to be. As the game’s second quarter closed with Denver leading Carolina by 6, Chris Martin started things off enthusiastically, running across Levi’s Stadium to take the stage with opener “Viva La Vida.” However, he was working immediately with a handicap: The stage, lit up with colorful effects, was unfortunately not put to full effect as the West Coast sun had not yet entirely gone down.