NEW YORK —
An early rehearsal for the Super Bowl halftime show at the outdoor stadium held some weather-related surprises for two-time Grammy Award-winning singer Bruno Mars.
“The microphone turns into a popsicle!” Mars said on Thursday at a press conference along with opera great Renee Fleming, who will sing the National Anthem before Sunday night's game.
“I'm grabbing the mic and it's frozen,” the Hawaii-born Mars told reporters, sporting his trademark bouffant. “There's stuff like that that we're taking into consideration. And getting some heaters.”
The singer said he was surprised to be tapped by the National Football League as the featured halftime performer, following in the footsteps of superstars like Beyonce, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and The Who.
“I haven't been able to take it in - not yet,” Mars said. “But I will.”
Mars offered no details of what fans will see or hear when he takes the stage accompanied by alternate rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Fleming has no musical concerns, she said, about delivering “The Star-Spangled Banner” the challenging 200-year-old anthem that requires singers to have a wide range.
The world-renowned soprano with four Grammy Awards and a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, is more concerned about something else: tuning out the distractions in a high-tech stadium filled with 80,000 fans waiting for the Seattle Seahawks-Denver Broncos matchup - with another 160 million, by NFL estimates, expected to watch on television.
“I work in a world that is completely no tech, zero amplification and all live acoustic music, and I expect to be really distracted by the amount of sound coming from the system, from the size of the stadium, from the audience and also the visual from the jumbotron,” Fleming said.
In past years, the Super Bowl has featured pop singers such as Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys and Billy Joel to deliver the anthem.
Fleming said she had never expected to get the call: “If you'd asked me six months ago if I'd be doing this, I'd have laughed and said, 'That's ridiculous,' and changed the subject."
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![Seattle Seahawks fans Todd Gibson and his son Karsten pose outside the stadium before the start of the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Feb. 2, 2014.]()
![Fans Todd Barnes and Mitch Daniels photograph themselves on Super Bowl Boulevard in Times Square prior to Super Bowl XLVIII, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York City.]()
![A police officer and his dog walk past football fans at the Secaucus Junction in Secaucus, N.J., Feb. 2, 2014.]()
![Tim Froemke of Ritzville Wash., waits in a security line at the Secaucus Junction in Secaucus, N.J., Feb. 2, 2014.]()
![Football fans wait in a security line at the Secaucus Junction in Secaucus, N.J., Feb. 2, 2014.]()
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![Seattle Seahawks fans sign a "12th Man" flag on "Super Bowl Boulevard" at Times Square, as part of the Super Bowl lead up, in New York Feb. 1, 2014.]()
!['Yar Majalisar Tarayya Fredrica Wilson ta rungumi daga cikin daliban Chibok da ta samu damar kubuta.]()
![Blitz, right, the Seattle Seahawks mascot, is sits with Miles, left, the Denver Broncos mascot, Jan. 31, 2014, on top of a Super Bowl sign during a live TV broadcast in Times Square in New York.]()
![A man dressed as the Statue of Liberty poses for photos with football fans along Super Bowl Boulevard. Jan. 31, 2014, in New York. T]()
![A fan of the Seattle Seahawks jokes with a fan of the Denver Broncos at the Super Bowl Boulevard fan zone ahead of Super Bowl XLVIII in New York, Jan. 30, 2014.]()
![A billboard is displayed along Super Bowl Boulevard in Times Square in New York, Jan. 31, 2014.]()
![Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and Denver Broncos head coach John Fox speak at a news conference, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York.]()
![A fan visits the Super Bowl Boulevard fan zone ahead of Super Bowl XLVIII in New York, Jan. 30, 2014.]()
![A police officer walks next to a fan at the Super Bowl Boulevard fan zone ahead of Super Bowl XLVIII in New York, Jan. 30, 2014.]()
![Denver Broncos strong safety David Bruton runs an interception drill during an indoor practice session for the Super Bowl at the New York Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey, Jan. 30, 2014.]()
![Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning readies to throw a pass during a practice session for the Super Bowl at the New York Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey, Jan. 30, 2014.]()
![Soprano Renee Fleming speaks at the Super Bowl half time press conference in New York, Jan. 30, 2014.]()
![Bruno Mars who will headline the half-time show at Super Bowl XLVIII during a press conference, Jan. 30, 2014, in New York.]()
![The New York skyline and the Empire State Building are seen in the distance as roman numerals for NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game are displayed in Hoboken, New Jersey, Jan. 30, 2014.]()
![Seattle Seahawks fans walk to the stadium before the start of the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Feb. 2, 2014.]()
“The microphone turns into a popsicle!” Mars said on Thursday at a press conference along with opera great Renee Fleming, who will sing the National Anthem before Sunday night's game.
“I'm grabbing the mic and it's frozen,” the Hawaii-born Mars told reporters, sporting his trademark bouffant. “There's stuff like that that we're taking into consideration. And getting some heaters.”
The singer said he was surprised to be tapped by the National Football League as the featured halftime performer, following in the footsteps of superstars like Beyonce, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and The Who.
“I haven't been able to take it in - not yet,” Mars said. “But I will.”
Mars offered no details of what fans will see or hear when he takes the stage accompanied by alternate rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Fleming has no musical concerns, she said, about delivering “The Star-Spangled Banner” the challenging 200-year-old anthem that requires singers to have a wide range.
The world-renowned soprano with four Grammy Awards and a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, is more concerned about something else: tuning out the distractions in a high-tech stadium filled with 80,000 fans waiting for the Seattle Seahawks-Denver Broncos matchup - with another 160 million, by NFL estimates, expected to watch on television.
“I work in a world that is completely no tech, zero amplification and all live acoustic music, and I expect to be really distracted by the amount of sound coming from the system, from the size of the stadium, from the audience and also the visual from the jumbotron,” Fleming said.
In past years, the Super Bowl has featured pop singers such as Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys and Billy Joel to deliver the anthem.
Fleming said she had never expected to get the call: “If you'd asked me six months ago if I'd be doing this, I'd have laughed and said, 'That's ridiculous,' and changed the subject."
Fans Get Ready for the Super Bowl
