USA TODAY International Edition
Halftime show review,
Performance of Coldplay and Co. fine, but awful audio sinks show for viewers
Beyoncé, Coldplay and Bruno Mars were just fine, but the shoddy audio of the Super Bowl 50 halftime show made the performance hard to enjoy for viewers at home.
From the opening notes of Coldplay’s Yellow that were impossible to decipher to Beyoncé performing her new hit Formation to the final medley that paid homage to the history of the halftime show, it was tough to appreciate anything because it was so hard to hear which songs were being sung.
Coldplay is a fine band, inoffensive and cordial, with plenty of hits you know from the radio. They played those songs admirably, leading with a brief bit of Yellow and transitioning into Viva La Vida, along with an army of teenage violinists in bright jackets.
That was Coldplay’s main tactic for its set, bringing out musicians, marching bands, dancers and more, creating an atmosphere and energy the songs themselves might not have provided. Lead singer Chris Martin did his best Bono impression, running around the stage and hamming it up with the crowd.
After Mars performed his hit Uptown Funk, it was Beyoncé’s turn. She performed only a few songs, including a show- off with Mars and that final medley, but first the song everyone was waiting for: Formation. Her performance didn’t disappoint, even if the audio was garbled and muted.
Decked in black leather and gold, Beyoncé led an army of dancers across the field. They danced gorgeously across the shoddy turf of Levi’s Stadium, managing to keep their feet in the chewed- up field. ( Though that probably didn’t do anything to help the field.)
Smartly, Martin and the rest of the band didn’t try to outdo Beyoncé. They played well, with confidence and energy and a sense of humor. They did their hits, kept the show moving and, when Beyoncé stepped on stage, had the grace to let her grab the spotlight she so rightly deserved.
This was a smart way for the NFL to bring back Beyoncé, who was the headliner of Super Bowl XLVII, and Mars, who headlined the year after, without looking like it was merely running a rerun of those shows.
The singer who can claim real ownership of the evening was Lady Gaga, who performed a spectacular rendition of The Spar-Spangled Banner.
Sadly, no matter how great Martin’s energy and how well Beyoncé performed, little of it mattered because you couldn’t hear a thing either of them were singing.
When a video recap of previous Super Bowl halftime shows is the highlight, you know it’s a problem.