Don’t believe me, just watch the Super Bowl halftime
TAYLER REVIERE VERNINAS | THE USD VISTA | ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
Photo Courtesy of Danielle Anabi
Every year the Super Bowl comes with its very own halftime performance of well-known artists showcasing some kind of eccentric and extravagant presentation. The 50th year celebration kicked off with audience members rushing the field as Coldplay lead singer, Chris Martin, sang lyrics from their song “Yellow”, which then turned into “Viva La Vida”. A group of young, teenage performers excitedly played the violin while everyone in the audience jumped around to the music. The fluorescent stage featured a video screen that projected various psychedelic, colorful images beneath the performers feet.
Coldplay continued their set with songs “Paradise” and “Adventure of a Lifetime” as members of a musical band swayed in vivid colors of fuchsia and yellow. The dancers carrying large flowers with various colors appeared to be having a joyous time singing along to Coldplay.
Sophomore Austin Hammer shares his feelings toward the vibrant halftime show.
“I honestly felt like the entire performance was cheesy, the way the cameras were angled made it look like a movie and they were coming from opposite sides of the stage,” Hammer said. “It was kind of odd and it seemed less of like a performance and more of like a massive play. The best part was when the replayed previous Super Bowl performances and was very visually appealing and sentimental. I saw Michael Jackson and I got a little sad.”
As the hype continued, DJ Mark Ronson appeared from the stage with the famous “Uptown Funk” and amplified the energy of the crowd before introducing Bruno Mars and his crew of dancers. The male dancers got down and funky with the upbeat tunes while a drum line introduced Beyoncé with her own set of all-female dancers.
Sophomore Taylor Gonzalez, who is a Beyoncé fanatic, expressed her view on the performance.
“Beyoncé killed it, of course,” Gonzalez said. “The fact that she had women backup dancers in Black Panther-inspired outfits was empowering because she brought the conversation of racial injustice on a larger scale to millions of viewers. Even if people do not agree with it, the conversation is still ongoing.”
The excitement of the musical performance continued as Beyoncé and Bruno Mars faced off in a dance battle while singing “Uptown Funk”. The battle of the genders was quite prevalent as both sides danced to their specific choreography. Before the dance off reached its peak, Chris Martin intervened and sang along with the duo.
Shifting the mood back to Coldplay, the group transitioned into their hit song “Fix You”. It was at this point of the performance that the sentimental feelings rose throughout the atmosphere of the 50th Super Bowl. The high-tech video screens of the stage’s floor featured a video of the different Super Bowl performances throughout the years, featuring clips of Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Katy Perry, Whitney Houston, Black Eyed Peas, U2, and Michael Jackson, to name a few.
Chris, Beyoncé, and Bruno concluded the performance as they sang the finishing lines of “Fix You”, hugging and coming together on stage, along with a plethora of other performance members, to celebrate this annual event.
Sophomore Julia Torgerson was in San Francisco at the time of the Super Bowl and attended the NFL Experience, a ticketed event in which sponsors set up different booths for the occasion.
“I love Coldplay and I have seen them in concert twice, so as soon as they went onstage I got the chills,” Torgerson said. “I thought the flowers and the various, vivid colors were super prominent to their new album which could be described as hallucinogenic, hippy, love, and peace.”
Whether it was the crowd involvement, the various colors and visuals, the songs of each performer, the free-spirited dance moves, or the reminiscent video clip of the past, the 50th Super Bowl halftime show made it to the book of memories for the nation-wide game.