Coldplay Brings Beyonce, Bruno Mars & History to Color-Drenched Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show

Coldplay headlined the Pepsi Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show on Sunday in San Francisco, bringing out some of their biggest hits while performing on a stage drenched in effulgent flowers and psychedelic colors. 

The British band opened with "Viva La Vida," with Chris Martin stooping down into a crowd of rabid, photo-snapping fans who wiped his face with a rainbow hankerchief. After that Coldplay played "Paradise" and "Adventure of a Lifetime" while a marching band trotted out, and then dancers hit the field holding flowers (dressed like the flower stems themselves).

Ceding the stage to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, the latter hit the stage dressed in old school hip-hop finery for a snappy run-through of "Uptown Funk!"

Beyonce Joins Bruno Mars & Chris Martin for 'Uptown Funk!' During Super Bowl 50

Then, Beyonce. The Queen performed her new song "Formation" dressed in a killer militant get-up (with strong Michael Jackson vibes) and took the stage for a dance-off with Mars (who won? Impossible to say). Bey also had a rare misstep for a moment, almost falling backward while dancing, but she recovered pretty quickly. 

After that, Coldplay took back the stage and performed "Clocks" while a video montage showed the many A-listers to perform halftime shows in years past -- Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, James Brown, etc. During the footage, Martin even sang bits of past performers' song, including Prince's "Purple Rain" and U2's "Beautiful Day." 

After Coldplay wrapped with "Up & Up," the words "believe in love" exploded over the Super Bowl 50 crowd.