That time of year comes once again when the biggest names in music come together to produce a spectacular halftime show at the Super Bowl. From The Rolling Stones to Micheal Jackson and Stevie Wonder, there have been some A-list performers in the past and it's always a big deal to many for being the show of the year, even though it's only a mere 15 minutes long.
Coldplay were the main act of 2016's Super Bowl, joined by Beyonce and Bruno Mars to finish the line up. The colourful and vibrant show put on by Coldplay was by no means mediocre. Dazzling in the setting sun, they shone brightly. It was just the four of them on the stage surrounded by other musicians from brass, string and rhythm sections. Beyonce and Mars battled it out between them with their own songs with 'Uptown Funk' seeing a guest appearance from Mark Ronson too. Not to mention the tribute to previous halftime show's in the style of Fix You, an emotional and fitting tribute.
So what made this years show different and if not better than last years? Katy Perry was the main act and her performance certainly displayed the more modern ways of putting on a show. Lots of props, graphics on the stage floor, dancers, the lot. It's almost as if it is a distraction from Perry herself. During Dark Horse the concept of the collapsing floor looked impressive and entertaining, but Perry herself wasn't doing much during these parts of the show.
When Lenny Kravtiz graced the stage with his band, it made the whole performance seem a lot more...real, energetic and vibrant, likewise with Missy Elliott's part too. Look at Bruno Mars' show in 2014, just him and his band on one stage and they owned it. In the song Teenage Dream, the focus is now on her with all the dazzle taken down a peg or two and the performance suddenly seems a bit lackluster. She needed more going on around her to make it exciting.
Going back to the 2016 performance, the show as a whole was deemed brilliant because all three artists have energy and entertainment flowing out of them even with other additions going on around them. For example the colourful flowers used in Adventure Of A Lifetime weren't there to distract, they were there to enhance the already great performance Coldplay were putting on.
Compare the two together and you realise that you don't need lots of big fancy props, being flown around the stadium and loads of distractions to put on a great show. If anything it makes it worse. Plus it was practically daylight for the 2016 performance, all the projections from the lighting and graphics couldn't really be seen. Imagine Perry's show without all those and you would've had a pretty average performance.
2016s halftime show was a step up and improvement on last year by giving out the message of love, unity and togetherness. So, let's see what next year has in store, bring it on Super Bowl 51.