MANILA, Philippines - The performance of Bruno Mars (photo) at the NFL Super Bowl Halftime made history as the most-watched performance with a record-breaking 115.3 million viewers — a number bigger than the 110.8 million viewers delivered by Beyoncé last year and even higher than the 114 million set by Madonna two years before. Mars is also the youngest artist ever to serve as the main headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime. His performance, which came on heels of his Grammy win for Best Pop Vocal Album, drew the highest ratings of the game’s telecast.
The multi-platinum Grammy-winning singer-songwriter opened the Super Bowl Halftime show with a rousing drum solo on a kit designed to honor his late Filipina mother, Bernadette Hernandez. The artwork was modeled after Mars’ arm tattoo, dedicated to his mom, who passed away in June 2013 due to brain aneurysm.
To many Americans, the Super Bowl is more than just a football game. It’s the American version of a winter fiesta — where people stay in due to the cold weather, throw a party and eat chicken wings and chips.
In this day and age of digital recorders and online streaming, the Super Bowl is best viewed in real time — commercials included. Advertisers have long been cashing in on this phenomenon, which is why they are willing to spend $4M on a 30-second spot.
Because of his Super Bowl performance, Mars is enjoying an unprecedented spike in record sales. His second album Unorthodox Jukebox is back at the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Overall Album chart, while his debut record Doo-Wops & Hooligans is at No. 3. In addition, Mars has 11 songs in the Top 100 on the iTunes Overall Singles chart with Locked Out of Heaven at No. 6 and Just The Way You Are at No. 7. Both songs previously held the No. 1 positions on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for six weeks and four weeks, respectively.
Bruno is definitely the star of the Super Bowl. He has proven that he can hold his own in a stadium of hardcore football fans. He now stands tall amongst past Super Bowl luminaries like U2, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson.
(Bruno Mars’ Moonshine Jungle Tour is presented by Fibr, Home’s Most Powerful Broadband. It is mounted by the Music Management International with special thanks to Warner Music Philippines. For details, call 470-2222 or visit www.smtickets.com.)