A majority of the students on Gannon University’s campus probably had their televisions tuned into Super Bowl 50 Sunday night to watch the big game, but for those students not interested in the football contest, they probably had their televisions tuned in to see the big show.
The Super Bowl 50 halftime show is dubbed the most watched halftime show in the world and drew in 118.5 million viewers with a performance from Katy Perry last year.
For the 2016 halftime show, the main featured artist was the British alternative pop-rock band, Coldplay.
Prior to the performance, the show was explained to be a celebration of the past, present and future.
Led by lead vocalist Chris Martin, Coldplay first made a name for themselves in 2000 with the release of their single “Yellow,” which was followed by their debut album “Parachutes.”
Popular songs from Coldplay include “The Scientist,” “Clocks,” “Speed of Sound,” “Fix You,” “Viva la Vida,” “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” “Paradise” and “Princess of China,” which features R&B pop star Rihanna.
In total, the band has accumulated 209 general nominations, won 62 awards and sold more than 80 million records worldwide.
With the release of their seventh studio album, “A Head Full of Dreams,” in December and the rise of their newest single “Adventure of a Lifetime,” Coldplay was chosen in early December as the headlining act for the Super Bowl 50 halftime show.
Upon the news of Coldplay being the main act for the show, the band received some criticism and harsh public outcry. Many critics said that the band was not fit to perform for the show, seeing as it was the 50th anniversary celebration of the Super Bowl and the halftime show.
The Super Bowl later announced that former halftime headliners Beyoncé and Bruno Mars would join Coldplay to spice up the halftime performance.
In 2013, Beyoncé, a worldwide famous R&B pop diva, headlined the show and in 2014 Mars, a pop reggae-fused singer and songwriter, did the same.
After the announcement of the special guests, many were still skeptical as to how these three very different artists would merge together for the 12-minute show.
There was also concern that the main act, Coldplay, would be outdone by their special guests rather than be the main feature.
The performance began with Martin squatting on the football field singing a snippet of “Yellow,” which switched over to “Viva la Vida” as he ran toward the main stage.
“Paradise” was performed next, incorporating hundreds of students playing the melody on their marching band instruments.
Coldplay then merged into playing their newest single “Adventure of a Lifetime” while the stage burst into a techno-colored whirlwind and the field was filled with dancers carrying bright-colored flower umbrellas and streamers.
After the completion of “Adventure of a Lifetime,” the camera focus shifted to Mars and his group of dancers as they performed his hit “Uptown Funk.”
As Mars sang the line, “Stop, wait a minute,” the field’s end zone lit up in fireworks as drums were played and Beyoncé stormed the field with her posse of female dancers.
Beyoncé began performing her song “Formation,” which released on Saturday with a complete music video included.
Beyoncé and Mars then teamed up in a friendly mini song and dance battle that joined the two on center stage. Martin joined the duet and they all sang a portion of “Uptown Funk” together.
As the trio ended “Uptown Funk,” Martin ran to the piano located center stage to play the famous intro of “Clocks.”
The song switched over to the emotional ballad “Fix You” as the screen turned to a video montage of previous Super Bowl shows in honor of celebrating 50 years of halftime performances.
Footage included acts like The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
Beyoncé herself paid a special tribute to Jackson by wearing a costume that mimicked the black suit and crossing gold sashes that Jackson wore during his Super Bowl performance.
As the performance neared an end, Beyoncé, Martin and Mars sang in unison to “Hymn for the Weekend,” a single off Coldplay’s latest album that features Beyoncé.
For the final camera shot of the performance, the stage was lit with a rainbow of colors and the stadium seats in the background spelled the message “BELIEVE IN LOVE.”
The performance received mixed reviews from national critics and also from Gannon students.
“A lot of people were hating on Coldplay but I thought that they were great,” said freshman mortuary science major Brooke Battin.
“I really liked how they incorporated a lot of their songs, even if it was just a piano intro or something.”
Freshman pre-med major Jared McLaughlin thought that the show was great. “Beyoncé was definitely my favorite part and she sort of stole the show from Coldplay,” he said.
Directly after the show ended, an advertisement for Beyoncé’s “Formation World Tour” ran, which further directed the attention and buzz of the performance toward her.
A total of 115.5 million viewers tuned in during the Coldplay, Beyoncé and Mars halftime show, according to CNN.

OLIVIA BURGER
[email protected]