Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show
Part of | Super Bowl XLVIII | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Date | February 2, 2014 | |||
Location | East Rutherford, New Jersey | |||
Venue | MetLife Stadium | |||
Headliner | Bruno Mars | |||
Special guests | Red Hot Chili Peppers | |||
Sponsor | Pepsi | |||
Director | Hamish Hamilton | |||
Producer | Ricky Kirshner | |||
Super Bowl halftime show chronology | ||||
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The Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show occurred on February 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as part of Super Bowl XLVIII and was headlined by Bruno Mars alongside his band The Hooligans, with special guests The Red Hot Chili Peppers. At the time of airing the halftime show attracted the largest audience in the history of the Super Bowl, attracting 115.3 million viewers, later surpassed by the Super Bowl XLIX, Super Bowl 50, and Super Bowl LI halftime shows.[1][2][3][4]
The show was produced by
Background
Bruno Mars was confirmed as the lead half time performer for
During rehearsals there were some disagreements between Mars and the NFL, regarding the singer's performance. The latter wanted to show the audience wearing light-up bracelets to which Mars concurred "If you take that camera off me, you're doing yourself a disservice. And what happened? They spent all this money on these things, and it didn't work."[11] Fortunately, Mars and his band rehearsed a lot and it didn't matter if they had "cafeteria lighting" or a budget of $5 million (U.S.), the performance would always be the best they could do. According to the singer, "Every smoke machine and laser light is just a bonus."[11]
Development
The halftime show was produced by
Montreal-based firm
Setlist
- "Billionaire" (Intro) (Children's choir)
- Drum solo (Bruno Mars)
- "Locked Out of Heaven"
- "Treasure"
- "Runaway Baby"
- "Give It Away" (featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- "Just the Way You Are" (Tribute to the United States Armed Forces)
Set list adapted from Billboard.[16]
Reception
Critical
Mars' performance received highly positive reviews from critics, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers' appearance received mixed to negative reviews. Mike Bruno of Entertainment Weekly gave a positive review of the halftime performance, complimenting Mars' "impressive" vocal performance and stating that "there's no question the kid is talented". Entertainment Weekly also criticized the Red Hot Chili Peppers' involvement in the performance, stating that there was "nothing wrong" with their performance however that their presence was "random and unnecessary".[17] Matthew Perpetua of BuzzFeed called Mars a "world class entertainer" and stated that Mars' performance was "dazzling" and "pretty awesome". However, Perpetua also stated that the Chili Peppers' presence was "unnecessary" and also noted that the halftime show was not as memorable as the previous year's show, which was performed by Beyoncé.[18] Lindsey Weber of Vulture stated it was unfair to compare Mars' performance to Beyoncé's and that the performance was "perfectly Bruno"; however, Weber also said that it was unlikely that people would "still be talking about" the performance the day after.[19] Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times stated that Mars "delivered" during the performance and showed viewers that he is a "real musician" however felt that the performance did not begin to feel "hopelessly retro" compared to Beyoncé's performance until the Chili Peppers joined Mars. Wood felt that the Chili Peppers' performance was "stale" and unwanted and stated that Mars did not need any guests to make the performance special.[20][21][22]
Chris Chase and Chris Strauss of USA Today gave a mixed review of the show, saying it was "unspectacular" and "instantly forgettable" and felt that Mars' youth and unlengthy repertoire failed to give him the legacy of previous halftime performers. Chase and Strauss stated the performance was "acceptable" however that it would not be remembered.[23]
Red Hot Chili Peppers controversy
Some complaints, including some from fellow musicians, were directed towards Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer who appeared to not have wires connected to their instruments and were accused of faking their performance.[24][25] A few days following the Super Bowl, Flea responded through the band's website by saying:
"When we were asked by the NFL and Bruno to play our song "Give It Away" at the Super Bowl, it was made clear to us that the vocals would be live, but the bass, drums, and guitar would be pre-recorded. I understand the NFL's stance on this, given they only have a few minutes to set up the stage, there a zillion things that could go wrong and ruin the sound for the folks watching in the stadium and the TV viewers. There was not any room for argument on this, the NFL does not want to risk their show being botched by bad sound, period. For the actual performance, Josh, Chad, and I were playing along with the pre recorded track (which was recorded earlier that week) so there was no need to plug in our guitars, so we did not. Could we have plugged them in and avoided bumming people out who have expressed disappointment that the instrument track was pre recorded? Of course easily we could have and this would be a non-issue. We thought it better to not pretend. It seemed like the realest thing to do in the circumstance. We decided that, with Anthony singing live, that we could still bring the spirit and freedom of what we do into the performance, and of course we played every note in the recording specially for the gig."[26][27]
Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith also responded to the controversy through his Twitter page saying: "FYI.... Every band in the last 10 years at the Super Bowl has performed to a previously recorded track. It's the NFL's policy. Period."[28]
Some fans even complained to the
Ratings
The Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show was once the most watched in the history of the Super Bowl drawing record ratings of 115.3 million viewers, passing the record 114 million who watched
Media
On February 3, 2014 Billboard predicted that retailers had sold
Regarding the tickets sales of his worldwide tour, The Moonshine Jungle Tour, Mars became the fastest entertainer to sell out three concerts at the Blaisdell Arena, in Hawaii.[36] Since the morning of February 3, 2014, the average price for The Moonshine Jungle Tour went up $150 to an average price of $500. Despite existence of some tickets left on the primary market for select shows, many were sold out. Ticketmaster also struggled to keep with demand, having to switch from their interactive seating maps for most events. The price for tickets on the primary market ranges from $49–$100 for most shows. Bigger city shows prices range from $70 to $181. For shows at big venues, the average prices on the secondary market is north of $600 with the cheapest tickets going for $150. At these prices, Mars upcoming tour ranks amongst the most expensive in the country this summer, ahead of One Direction tickets and Jason Aldean tickets, which were two of the highest prices for an American tour during the spring and summer of 2014.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Bruno Mars' Super Bowl Halftime Show Attracts Record Audience of 115.3 Million". Billboard. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ Stelter, Frank Pallotta and Brian (February 8, 2016). "Super Bowl 50 audience is third largest in TV history".
- ^ Schwindt, Oriana (February 6, 2017). "Super Bowl LI Pulls in 111.3 Million Viewers on Fox, Shy of 2015 Ratings Record". Variety. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ^ "Katy Perry's Halftime Show the Most-Watched in Super Bowl History". Billboard. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- ^ "Emmys think Bruno Mars' halftime show was Super: two nominations". Sporting News. Retrieved February 19, 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Lawrence, Jesse (February 3, 2014). "Demand And Prices For Bruno Mars Tickets Skyrocket After Super Bowl Performance". Forbes. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ "Pepsi Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show Announcement!" (Press release). BrunoMars.com. September 8, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- ^ Hampp, Andrew (October 14, 2013). "Why The NFL and Pepsi Booked – But Didn't Pay – Bruno Mars For Super Bowl XLVIII". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
- ^ Mitchell, Gail (December 13, 2013). "Bruno Mars: Billboard Artist of the Year Cover Story". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ^ Hampp, Andrew (December 13, 2013). "Hyundai Taps Bruno Mars' 'Count On Me' For Super Bowl Spot". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ^ a b Eells, Josh (November 2, 2016). "Bruno Mars: The Private Anxiety of a Pop Perfectionist". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "Bruno Mars Smashes the Stage at the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show; Tickets for "Moonshine Jungle World Tour" Go on Sale Tomorrow, February 3rd; Mars' Grammy Award-Winning Album "UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX" Officially Certified Double Platinum" (Press release). Atlantic Records. February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014 – via Marketwired.
- ^ Gregory DelliCarpini Jr. (February 2, 2014). "Bruno Mars Rocks Saint Laurent Outfit at Super Bowl". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ "PixMob: Turning Crowds Into Light Canvases". The Creators Project. Vice. March 21, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
- ^ Stinson, Liz. "How 80,000 People Became a Human Video Screen at the Super Bowl". Wired. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ Rutherford, Kevin (February 2, 2014). "Bruno Mars Gets One-Sided Super Bowl Bouncing With Biggest Hits". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Barrett, Annie (February 2, 2014). "Super Bowl 2014: Bruno Mars shimmies and slides through halftime set". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ Perpetua, Matthew (February 2, 2014). "Bruno Mars' Super Bowl Halftime Show Was Dazzling". Buzzfeed.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ Weber, Lindsey (February 2, 2014). "Watch Bruno Mars's Super Bowl Halftime Show". Vulture. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ Wood, Mikael (February 3, 2014). "Super Bowl 2014: Bruno Mars stands — and delivers — in halftime show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "No Malfunctions at Halftime, Just Safe Entertainment". New York Times. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ "Bruno Mars Gets One-Sided Super Bowl Bouncing With Biggest Hits". Billboard. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ "Bruno Mars gives a forgettable Super Bowl halftime show for the ages". USA Today. February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "The Red Hot Chili Peppers didn't bother plugging in their guitars for the Super Bowl | For The Win". USA Today. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ^ Buchanan, Brett (February 4, 2014). "Living Colour Guitarist Calls Out Red Hot Chili Peppers For Not Playing Music Live At Super Bowl". AlternativeNation.net. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ^ "A Message From Flea - RHCP News". Redhotchilipeppers.com. February 4, 2014. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ^ "Flea Explains Why Red Hot Chili Peppers Were Unplugged at the Super Bowl". Dc101.com. February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ^ "Twitter / RHCPchad: FYI... Every band in the last". Twitter.com. February 5, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
- ^ "Anthony Kiedis' and Flea's Nipples Get FCC Complaints". Dc101.com. April 13, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ^ Stelter, Frank Pallotta and Brian (February 8, 2016). "Super Bowl 50 audience is third largest in TV history".
- ^ Schwindt, Oriana (February 6, 2017). "Super Bowl LI Pulls in 111.3 Million Viewers on Fox, Shy of 2015 Ratings Record". Variety. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ^ "Katy Perry's Halftime Show the Most-Watched in Super Bowl History". Billboard. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- ^ Gallo, Phil (February 3, 2014). "Bruno Mars Scores Most-Watched Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 3, 2014). "Bruno Mars' 'Jukebox' Sales Jump 164% After Super Bowl Halftime Performance". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 7, 2014). "Bruno Mars Heading for Top Three on Billboard 200 After Super Bowl". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Sakahara, Tim (February 3, 2014). "Bruno Mars sells out three concerts at the Blaisdell Arena". Twitter. Retrieved February 8, 2014.