Last month, we made a not-so-modest proposal that Metallica should play the halftime at Super Bowl 50. There were lots of reasons this made sense. From the popularity of the band (biggest selling SoundScan album of all time) to their involvement in other sports, to the fact that the big game will be played in their backyard in San Francisco, there are way more pros than cons. We even heard from Brian Slagel and NFL analyst Jason La Canfora who lent their support. La Canfora said at the time that he felt they might go more corporate, and if the rumor that slipped out last night is true, that seems to be the case, as Billboard cites a source that confirmed that Bruno Mars will be playing the halftime show.
First of all, we’ve got nothing major against Bruno Mars. He put on a pretty entertaining halftime show when he did it last, setting a viewership record (115 million) that was only beaten this year by Katy Perry. But that was only in 2014. The NFL is bringing back someone that was only there two years ago, which is the most boneheaded move they could have made since throwing out Brady’s suspension. The source says that he has been asked to “curate” the halftime show, which means that there’s still a chance that Metallica could wind up gracing the field. His 2014 performance included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who, hey, are also managed by Metallica’s management company Q Prime. We’ll keep you up to date on this.
