On February 7th, about 111.9 million people tuned in to watch Super Bowl 50. Though most of the fans’ hype was all about the game, the real show was found in the boatload of drama and controversy behind the iconic Halftime Show.

Chris Martin, lead singer of the band Coldplay, was supposed to be the star of the entire show, with cameo appearances from Beyonce and Bruno Mars. However, it seems he may have been overshadowed by the younger and more enthusiastic performers with whom he shared the stage. After performing the hits such as “Viva La Vida” and “Paradise”, Chris essentially melted into the background as Bruno Mars took over with Mark Ronson singing their hit single “Uptown Funk”.

Seconds later, Beyonce took the field by storm with a plethora of backup dancers, performing her new single “Formation”, complete with dance moves from the music video she had dropped as a surprise the day before. To top it all off, Bruno Mars and Beyonce met at center stage, blending their two songs for an epic dance battle as Chris Martin is seen for a few fleeting seconds, not doing much and standing by in the background. Did Chris Martin let Beyonce and Bruno Mars take over his Super Bowl? Some Langley students think it was a matter of holding the audience’s attention with their impressive style.  Freshman Benji Prickett says, “Beyonce and Bruno Mars overpowered Coldplay because [they] have a much stronger stage presence.”

Perhaps the biggest issue of the night was Beyonce’s seemingly endless political statements for racial justice. During her performance, her backup dancers donned black berets, similar to the ones worn by 1960’s minority advocate group The Black Panthers. Additionally, they raised their fists, which was a symbol of the Black Power movement, and were later seen holding a sign that read “Justice 4 Mario Woods,” the man shot and killed by San Francisco police on December 2nd. Beyonce and her dancers also formed an “X” on the field, which may have been a tribute to civil rights militant Malcolm X. And to top it all off, Beyonce wore golden straps across her chest, perhaps as a homage to Michael Jackson’s 1993 Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Langley students have mixed feelings about the message Beyonce was trying to send. Sophomore Rachel Jin says, “I feel like the whole song was a bit weird. I appreciate how she embedded civil rights and a current political issue…but I felt it was a bit inappropriate to perform it at the Super Bowl.” Conversely, freshman Ila Sharma says, “I find it really cool that her song was about black pride…her performance was amazing and it was so cool that she got to perform that song during Black History Month.” Regardless of the nights controversies, the Halftime Show was a great hit. Now we’re all counting down the days until next year!