Britain’s most polarizing band will take the stage at America’s biggest sporting event in February, as Coldplay has been tabbed to perform at Super Bowl 50, according to Dennis K. Berman of the Wall Street Journal.
https://twitter.com/dkberman/status/672509378818363393
Coldplay follows Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Beyonce, continuing the recent trend toward big-name pop acts following a stretch of AARP-eligible rockers in the post-Janet Jackson era.
Coldplay has a new album, “A Head Full of Dreams,” out Friday, so the Super Bowl announcement comes at a good time. We’ll see how much they’ll rely on new stuff at the halftime show as opposed to older hits.
Say what you want about Coldplay, but they’re extremely popular. There were rumors of Maroon 5 being in negotiations for the gig, but with the NFL now asking musical acts to cut them in on subsequent tour revenue—essentially pay to play—it’s been an odd few years for Super Bowl halftime acts.
Still, if the alternative was Maroon 5, this is probably an upgrade, as each of Coldplay’s previous four albums reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200, and they’ve had 17 top-100 singles, including “Adventure of a Lifetime,” which currently sits 53rd on the Billboard 100.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.