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This article first appeared on Billboard.com.
Millions of music fans watched Bruno Mars rock the biggest stage in the world when he headlined the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show on Sunday night. The world saw Mars delve into an already-deep catalog of hits, receive an assist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and cap the extravaganza off with his first No. 1 single as a solo artist, “Just the Way You Are.”
VIDEO: Super Bowl: Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers Rock Halftime Show
Wondering what you missed at MetLife Stadium while watching the telecast of Mars’ Super Bowl bow? After soaking in the show live, check out seven details of the halftime show you might have missed on TV:
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were previously announced to be accompanying Mars for the halftime show, actually garnered the biggest cheers of the entire performance, when they showed up midway through and sank into “Give It Away.” Chalk that one up to longevity: RHCP dropped their debut album 26 years before Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans debut in 2010, giving them a huge head start on collecting fans.
2. Those in the MetLife Stadium audience who were standing up and dancing during Mars’ halftime show were mostly female, and almost all were wearing Seattle Seahawks garb. At halftime, the Broncos were down 22-0 to their opponents, and Denver fans were not in a partying mood by any means.
3. Mars’ stage, which he used up until his “Just the Way You Are” finale, was surprisingly tiny — anyone who has seen Mars’ Moonshine Jungle tour watched the pop superstar utilize more room to prowl around and shimmy. In fact, Mars and his loyal band looked cramped before RHCP arrived, and then there was even less wiggle room. Following the performance, the stage was broken down into overbearing black chunks and whisked away alarmingly quickly.
4. The biggest sing-along moment? The “Oh-WHOOOA-wayoh-wayoh” bridge on “Treasure.” Even depressed Broncos fans rose up for that solid-gold hook.
PHOTOS: Outrageous Super Bowl Halftime Moments
5. The blinking panels of light on the field during the performance were handled by an army of teenagers whose bodies were covered entirely in black — most of them even wore black face masks. Before taking the Super Bowl field, most of the crew showed no signs of nerves, joking around and laughing in the guts of MetLife Stadium.
6. Minutes before the halftime performance, a light rain started to pick up steam in East Rutherford, N.J., and media members started to audibly worry that the halftime show would be rained out. Luckily, the rain ceased at the moment Mars took over. Maybe Mars lucked out by not including “It Will Rain” in his set list.
7. The blinking lights and stage setup were impressive, but the most spectacular visual moment came when fireworks exploded over MetLife during the “Just the Way You Are” finale. There had been fireworks used during the pre-game performances, but these pyrotechnics were wholly awe-inspiring and added gravitas to Mars’ one-of-a-kind showcase.
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