Coldplay on Thursday night was officially named the headline act of the Super Bowl 50 halftime show and the band is "designing a show that will embrace elements of the league’s 'On the Fifty' campaign, which celebrates football’s past, its present and glances into the future," according to Lars Brandle of BILLBOARD. Coldplay is listed as the “'first' halftime performers ... which presumably means they’ll be joined on with stage" by additional artists "who've yet to be announced." Pepsi is the title sponsor of the halftime show, and has announced it is "behind a digital mini-series, 'Pepsi Presents: The Super Bowl Halftime Show,' which will launch Jan. 11 and promises to offer fans 'an exclusive, all-access view of what it takes to create the biggest music event of the year.'" Pepsi has "shared a trailer for its Web series." In it, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin says that the opportunity to perform at halftime "should be a career highlight" (BILLBOARD.com, 12/3). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Hannah Karp cites sources as saying that Bruno Mars "is also slated to perform at the show ... and Beyoncé is in talks to make a guest appearance." Beyoncé is "one of the guest artists on Coldplay’s new album" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/4). In San Jose, Jim Harrington in a front-page piece notes it would be "surprising if there weren't a roster of additional artists" for Super Bowl 50. The attention given to the announcement "underscores how much the halftime show has transformed since the first Super Bowl was held" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/4).
IT WAS ALL YELLOW? FOXSPORTS.com's Brett Smiley noted following the "exciting, uplifting, well-received performances" by Mars and Katy Perry in the last two Super Bowls, Coldplay "feels like an odd choice given the band’s collection of sad, downtrodden songs." Smiley: "Has a stadium deejay ever played a Coldplay song to pump up a crowd?" (FOXSPORTS.com, 12/3). FS1's Clay Travis said the Super Bowl "seems to require an American” act for halftime. Travis: “You need an American act and I think it needs to be an American superstar.” He added, “I don’t think that many people actually know Coldplay of the 120 million (watching the Super Bowl), so bad choice” (“Fox Sorts Live: Countdown,” FS1, 12/4). Reactions on Twitter were not much better, with the Palm Beach Post's Andrew Abramson writing, "The Bay Area has been a premier music spot for the last half century. And we get Coldplay for Super Bowl 50 halftime show? Weak." The AP's Tim Reynolds: "Today in halftime music news, Coldplay to the Super Bowl and John Fogerty to the Orange Bowl. So ... Duran Duran to the Cotton, right?" The Indianapolis Star's Allison Carter: "Coldplay is doing the halftime show for the Super Bowl. Shouldn't that band get you pumped up, not make you want to sleep and cry?" NBCSports.com's Craig Calcaterra: "Savvy move for Coldplay to do the Super Bowl. One of the few dates they'll do where they aren't the worst part of the show" (TWITTER.com, 12/3).
