Review: Beyonce upstages Coldplay in Super Bowl halftime show

Oh, Bey.

There’s no question Beyonce just stole that Super Bowl halftime show from its headline act, Coldplay. The only remaining question is, who didn't see that coming?

On one side, you have a woman whose just-dropped, much-discussedFormation proves why “fierce” is linked to her name, serving as a sizzling, sexy, super-charged break from a sport that assiduously markets its own fierceness. On the other, you have a popular but polarizing British band whose work has been described by other USA Today critics as “earnest” and “sensitive” — not exactly words one immediately associates with the NFL.

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And in the middle, you have Bruno Mars — like Beyonce, a Super Bowl halftime veteran, and like her, a performer who seemed to know how to make best use of the stage he was given. In other words: dance, because no one in the crowd is going to be paying much attention to the lyrics.

As for the headliners, well, to call Coldplay “divisive” is an understatement akin to calling the Super Bowl “somewhat oversized.” After all, how many other halftime acts go on CBS This Morning before the game, as Coldplay front man Chris Martin did, to confess that they no longer worry that lots of people don't like them? It’s not exactly a rousing bit of self-promotion.

Nor is it an exactly great sign when you start out with your big hit, Viva La Vida, and the crowd noise drowns you out. Martin is a personable and energetic performer, though an awful lot of that energy went into jumping. But he, and his song's lyrics, just seemed overwhelmed by the stadium and the event. And when he joined Beyonce and Bruno Mars on Uptown Funk, it felt like the Super Bowl version of James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke."

But hey, Bey.