by Kasen Stephensen

Coldplay’s Super Bowl 50 halftime show featured the artists Beyoncé and  Bruno Mars and the themes revolution and love.

It began with Coldplay’s vocalist Chris Martin singing remixed versions of iconic songs such as “Yellow,” “Viva La Vida,” and “Paradise” while fans and musicians danced around the stage.  Flowers twirled, musicians danced, and Martin bounced around as the stage, doubling as a screen, displayed swirling colored designs.

The energy of the audience rose as Bruno Mars and his dancers, all clad in black leather and gold jewelry, took the stage to a rendition of Uptown Funk.  Mars threw back with some old-school dance moves before Beyoncé took the field with her recently released single “Formation” and her army of beret-clad dancers.

Beyonce’s “Formation” music video, released the day prior to the performance, has sparked some interest over the #blacklivesmatter group.  Some footage from the video shows a young black man in a hoodie standing before a line of policemen while “Stop Shooting Us” is graffitied on a wall.  Even her dancers wore revolutionary-style berets and posted pictures of the group posing with the famous black power fist.

Despite Beyonce’s controversial feature, Coldplay’s halftime was a success, paying homage to the past, present, and future of music.