Move over Madonna! Bruno Mars is the king of Super Bowl entertainers…
The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter’s halftime show, featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, attracted the largest audience in the history of the Super Bowl, attracting 115.3 million viewers, Fox announced Monday, citing Nielsen data.
That figure surpasses the previous record of 114 million set by Madonna two years ago and the 110.8 million who tuned in to watch Beyonce last year.
During his high-octane perforamance, which was a much-tweeted-about affair, Mars sang “Give it Away” with the Peppers, proved he’s got the moves like James Brown and closed with his hit ballad “Just the Way You Are” at halfway mark of a blowout win by the Seattle Seahawks over the Denver Broncos, 43-8. The game had an average viewing audience of 111.5 million viewers, the largest in history.
The final number was significantly higher than than 98.88 million viewers reported in the overnight ratings from Nielsen that measure the top 56 markets. It initially appeared Super Bowl XLVIII would be the fifth most-watched in history.