After a lot of talk about contenders like Maroon 5 and Adele as performers during the halftime show at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, the first official act has been confirmed: Avant-garde hard rock band Coldplay.
According to a press release from the NFL, "Coldplay front man Chris Martin is designing a show that will echo elements of the NFL's On the Fifty campaign -- honoring the past, recognizing the present and looking ahead to the next 50 years, including other special artists." (Then the release goes barfily into a bunch of stuff about halftime show sponsor Pepsi, a beverage that's nearly as treacly as Coldplay is.)
The Wall Street Journal mentions something interesting about the halftime show, though: Did you know that the NFL "doesn’t pay performers to play the Super Bowl"? They just cover their "production and travel costs," which might be the reason that "In 2014, before selecting Katy Perry to headline the 2015 show, the NFL asked several candidates to pay the league to play, but that request got a chilly reception. Coldplay and Rihanna were among the other candidates up for the gig that year."
Coldplay's reception might have been warmer this time around because the band, which apparently continues to record music, has an album (our pals at Chicagoist mull it here) that's dropping today. Hey, did you guys watch Extras? Remember this?
Hmmmm.
According to the WSJ, Bruno Mars is also slated to perform at the show, and Beyoncé, who appears on Coldplay's new record, "is in talks to make a guest appearance."
As many as 118 million viewers are expected to watch the halftime show, which will take place in the middle of the 50th Super Bowl football game on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
