Chris Martin of Coldplay speaks during a halftime news conference for the upcoming NFL Super Bowl 50 football game Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, in San Francisco. AP
SAN FRANCISCO, California—Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin says the band’s Super Bowl halftime show will try to honor the past, present and future.
At a news conference Thursday, the band’s members said they will have the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles there to represent the future and Beyoncé—whose 2013 performance they adore—for the past.
“We’ve watched all of the other halftime shows many times, and most of them are fantastic,” Martin said. “I think we’re going to try to celebrate those other years and hopefully make a show as memorable as some of our favorites.”
Coldplay, whose well-known songs include “Yellow,” ”Speed of Sound,” ”Viva la Vida” and “Magic,” was mum about the other performers set to the hit the stage Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Martin alluded to Bruno Mars, who performed at the Super Bowl in 2014, joining the big stage in a recent interview.
“Well most of them have been leaked by Pepsi, I think,” he said when asked about who else would perform.
When a reporter asked Martin if his children, Apple and Moses, would watch, he said: “I hope they’ll watch. What else is on that day?”
He added that his son designed two pairs of shoes for him — one he wore Thursday at the news conference and the other for Sunday’s big performance.
Though Beyonce is performing Sunday, the band did say they wouldn’t perform their new collaboration with the diva called “Hymn for the Weekend,” which they recorded for their latest album, explaining that it only recently came out.
“I don’t think it would be quite right,” Martin said.
But they reiterated they are big Beyonce fans. “We love Beyonce’s music. She’s one of our all-time favorites, and she’s one of the greatest performers I’ve ever witnessed,” Martin said.
The band, which includes Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion, said they spoke at length with one another about what their performance should represent.
“We decided we wanted to make it about togetherness, acceptance and the things we believed in. Then we called the right guests, so we know that we have great people joining us,” Martin said.
Asked how they would fit 16 years of music into just 12 minutes, the frontman joked: “We decided we’d play all our No. 1s, and then work out how to fill the other 10 minutes.”
The 17-minute conference took some political turns: As Martin and his bandmates entered the stage, the singer said: “Thank you, everybody. I feel like Donald Trump.”
And when a reporter asked if the band had to campaign to get the Super Bowl gig, he said: “We started in Iowa three years ago. We had a bus, a small bus…”
It earned Martin a loud applause at the end of his comments.
The Carolina Panthers will face the Denver Broncos at Super Bowl 50, but Coldplay would not be drawn into revealing who they’re rooting for.
“I think we’re firmly split down the middle between those of us who know absolutely nothing about football and those of us who know almost absolutely nothing about football,” Buckland said.