Bruno Mars To Play Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show

It's official: Bruno Mars will play the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show on Feb. 2, 2014.

 

Reports of the "Locked Out Of Heaven" singer's booking started circulating when the Los Angeles Times broke the news Friday, and were confirmed throughout the weekend. Mars himself made the announcement in Times Square around 12:30 ET Sunday on "Fox NFL Sunday," alongside co-hosts Curt Menefee and Terry Bradshaw and analysts Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Strahan and Jay Glazer.

 

A minute-long trailer chronicling Mars' rise as childhood Elvis impersonator to global superstar was posted shortly after the announcement to Mars' YouTube channel. Coincidentally, Mars became the fastest male artist to score five No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 since Elvis Presley.

 

The Super Bowl is traditionally the most-watched U.S. television event every year, but the Halftime Show often scores higher ratings than the game itself. Madonna's 2012 performance currently ranks as the most-watched event in U.S. television history, with over 114 million viewers tuning in. Beyonce's 2013 performance, the first Halftime sponsored by Pepsi, attracted 110.5 million.

 

With Super Bowl XLVIII coming to the New York area next year, the city should expect a lot more music before Bruno Mars takes the stage. The NFL is prepping a series of concerts in at least four of the five NYC boroughs plus New Jersey in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, with VH1 as its broadcast partner. Look for brands like Bud Light, Pepsi, Citi and others to host their own music-related activity during Super Bowl Week as well.