Bruno Mars rocks out with Red Hot Chili Peppers during Super Bowl show
Singer Bruno Mars blended his R&B/pop style with rock legends Red Hot Chili Peppers for a high energy Super Bowl half-time set on Sunday (02Feb14).
The Grenade hitmaker's spirited show brought thousands of fans to their feet in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as he performed a rousing medley of his greatest hits.
The 28 year old, who is the youngest artist in Super Bowl history
to serve as the sole performer during the half-time show, kicked
off his 12-minute set with an impressive drum solo, using a
custom-designed kit in honor of his late mother, Bernadette
Hernandez, who died last year (13). The artwork displayed on the
bass drum, a red heart with the name 'Bernadette' running through
it, was modeled after the tattoo inked on Mars' arm.
A moving platform carried him from the center of the field through
throngs of fans and onto the main stage, where he joined his
eight-piece band, The Hooligans, for his hit song Locked Out of
Heaven.
They also performed Treasure and Runaway Baby, before Mars
introduced the California rockers to the stage.
Despite freezing temperatures in New Jersey, frontman Anthony
Kiedis and bassist Flea stormed the Super Bowl shirtless, as they
proceeded to rock out to their hit track Give It Away. Mars and his
band soon joined the Chili Peppers, with them all enthusiastically
jumping in unison to the band's 1991 smash song.
As soon as Kiedis and his bandmates left the stage, the tone was
brought down a notch for the final number, a touching version Just
The Way You Are, as a video montage of men and women from the
United States Armed Forces sent personalised messages to their
loved ones at home.
A huge firework display then brought the performance to a
spectacular end.
The Super Bowl kicked off with singer and New Jersey native Queen
Latifah performing America the Beautiful, while opera singer Renee
Fleming belted out the National Anthem.
The Seattle Seahawks triumphed over the Denver Broncos 43-8.