Only some three weeks remain before the biggest game of the year, and Bruno Mars is preparing to take his shot at etching his name alongside some of the most memorable performers who lit up one of the biggest platforms in sports and entertainment.
On Sunday, Feb. 2, amid a cold winter night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Mars, Billboard's 2013 Artist of the Year, will be heating things up with a live performance as this year's headlining act for Super Bowl XLVIII.
The Honolulu, Hawaii-born artist, who has sold 10 million albums worldwide and has a legion of loyal fans around the world, has enjoyed a skyrocketing music career since he burst on the scene in 2010 with his hit debut album, "Doo Wops & Hooligans," having performed hits such as "Just the Way You Are," "Grenade," "Locked Out of Heaven," "When I Was Your Man" and more. But the Grammy-nominated artist will have one tough act to follow after Beyonce's highly-publicized performance at last year's Super Bowl lit up social media and was followed by one of the most bizarre and thrilling finishes to the big game in Super Bowl history.
Fans remember that particular night as the "Blackout Bowl," a night remembered as much for Beyonce's electrifying performance and reunion with Destiny's Child as it was for the unexpected blackout that followed about 10 minutes afterwards that turned the tide of the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the eventual champion Baltimore Ravens, who won 34-31 after a nearly historic comeback attempt by the Niners in the second half. Aside from the reunion of Destiny's Child onstage, Beyonce's halftime show, which drew 110.5 million viewers, had plenty of highly-scrutinized moments, including her throwing up the Illuminati sign and several, er, unflattering photos of her onstage during her dancing.
As the NFL prepares to wrap up their NFC and AFC championship series games next weekend, Mars will have millions of eyes across the U.S. and around the world watching what he has in store as he takes the stage along with musical guests the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who have sold more than 60 million albums worldwide and won six Grammy Awards in their decorated career.
On paper, pairing one of the hottest acts in music today with an iconic rock band that has earned a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seems like a sure thing. But Mars and the Chili Peppers have a tall order in putting up a show that can fare against some of the top individual performers in Super Bowl Halftime Show history:
Gloria Estefan
Havana, Cuba's gift to pop music in the U.S., the Miami native, multi-platinum selling, Grammy-winning Latina superstar Estefan has the unique distinction of being the only major music act since 1991-when the New Kids on the Block became the first of many mainstream acts that followed to headline the halftime show-to have made multiple appearances on the big stage of the Super Bowl's halftime show. The first came in 1992, when Estefan was the main headliner at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., for Super Bowl XXVI, in which the Washington Redskins handed the Buffalo Bills their second of what would become a record four straight Super Bowl defeats, 37-24, in which Redskins QB Mark Rypien was named the game MVP. Estefan's second appearance came seven years later in 1999 at Super Bowl XXXIII, as she headlined alongside music legends Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Kiss and more. Estefan's performance was arguably more exciting than the game, which saw the game MVP, the legendary John Elway, and his Denver Broncos crush the Atlanta Falcons 34-19.
Beyonce
It was a performance as thrilling as the game itself in one of the most memorable-and bizarre-Super Bowls in history. Superstar singer Beyonce had drawn much hype for the Super Bowl following the leak of the news that Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child, her old music group, would be performing with her at the show. The show did not disappoint as Beyonce and Co. drew the New Orleans Superdome into a frenzy with hits like "Halo," "Bootylicious," "Independent Women Part I" and "Single Ladies." Shockingly, not 10 minutes after she left the stage, much of the stadium's lights went out for more than a half-hour, which allowed what was a lopsided game in favor of the Baltimore Ravens against the San Francisco 49ers to turn into a wild fight to the finish as game MVP Joe Flacco, the retiring Ray Lewis and the Ravens to hold off a Colin Kaepernick-led comeback attempt by the 49ers, Baltimore winning 34-31 for its second franchise Super Bowl title.
U2
Months after the September 11 attacks, a nation filled with a heavy heart tuned in at the Superdome in New Orleans to watch Bono and legendary Irish rockers U2 turn in an electrifying performance. Blaring out hits like "Beautiful Day," "MLK" and "Where the Streets Have No Name," U2 shook the rafters of the dome as hard as Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady did when he threw for 145 yards and a touchdown to help the Patriots win a 20-17 thriller against the St. Louis Rams for the Patriots' first Super Bowl title and their first of three Super Bowl rings in four years for the budding dynasty.
Madonna
It was perhaps fitting that arguably the most celebrated female act in music history headlined what was the most-watched halftime show in history. At Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., Madonna headlined a star-studded concert that saw her join forces with Nicki Minaj, Cee Lo Green, M.I.A., LMFAO and more as she draw a record 114 million viewers to their TV sets on Feb. 5, 2012, the largest audience to ever watch a halftime show. The show left fans almost as breathless as the exhilarating conclusion to the game, which saw Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and the New York Giants stun Tom Brady and the Patriots in their rematch from 2008's Super Bowl XLII, 21-17, for Manning and the Giants' second Super Bowl in four years, ironically, in the city that his more celebrated brother, Peyton Manning, was heralded as a hero.
Michael Jackson
Nearly five years after his death and 21 years after his performance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena ,Calif., on Jan. 31, 1993, Jackson still sets the standard for what a halftime show should be. Being the only entertainment for the show, much pressure rode on the iconic pop star's shoulders, and he delivered with a medley of hits that included "Billie Jean," "Jam," "Black or White," "We are the World" and "Heal the World." Jackson's performance gave a much-needed spark to a game that was a blowout for Super Bowl MVP Troy Aikman and the Dallas Cowboys, who started their mid-90s dynasty with a convincing 52-17 dismantling of the Buffalo Bills.
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