Bruno Mars attracted the largest audience in the history of the Super Bowl.
Mars’ 14-minute performance, which also featured the Red Hot Chili Peppers, racked up 115.3 million viewers. That figure thrusts Mars and the Chili Peppers ahead ofMadonna’s 114 million viewers in 2012 and Beyonce’s 110.8 million in 2013. The halftime show slightly edged out the game itself, which attracted a record-breaking audience of 111.5 million, according to Nielsen reports.
With Super Bowl XLVIII narrowly topping last year’s 111.3 million viewers, the Seahawks-Broncos matchup — along with Mars’ halftime performance — is now themost-viewed event in U.S. television history. (The 1983 “M*A*S*H” finale, commonly cited as having amassed TV’s highest ratings, was dethroned in 2010 when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl and attracted 106.5 million viewers. “M*A*S*H” garnered a reported 105.97 million viewers.)
Mars ripped through fast-paced renditions of “Locked Out Of Heaven,” “Treasure” and “Runaway Baby,” with the Red Hot Chili Peppers joining him to perform their 1991 smash “Give It Away.” Watch the show below.
