Pretty funny article

http://bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/music_news/2014/02/bruno_chili_peppers_heat_up_bowl

How did the NFL suits come up with the second best Super Bowl halftime show ever? Here’s my best guess.

Suit One: Hey, let’s get Prince?

Suit Two: We got him in 2007. He absolutely killed it.

Suit One: Oh, right. Well, what about Michael Jackson?

Suit Two: Um, he’s dead.

Suit One: Oh, right. Do you think we could find some sort of Michael Jackson/Prince hybrid?

And flash went the light bulb.

As innocuous as MJ (in 1984) and nearly as funky as his Purple Majesty, 
Bruno Mars was a smart, safe bet for the 12-minute slot.

Everybody knew he’d deliver a solid set. Nobody
thought he’d nearly top Prince’s epic Super Bowl XLI spectacular. The show started slow — some 
generic ominous music, a cutesie kids choir. Then suddenly Mars started pounding out the beat behind a drum kit. From there it was up, up, up.

During a “Locked Out of Heaven”/“Treasure”/
“Runaway Baby” medley, he channeled MJ, Prince, the Police, James Brown and the Isley Brothers. Yeah, Mars is a ripoff artist. But he may be the best ripoff artist ever. (The key: He has great taste.) And it’s hard to complain about him stealing other artists’ swagger when he’s doing some sweet synchronized dancing with eight dudes in gold, glittering jackets.

The addition of the Red Hot Chili Peppers kept the energy going. The funk punk gods popped up after “Runaway” and wailed hard on “Give It Away.” The old warhorse is like 23rd on the list of top Chili Peppers songs, but it was nice to see rock can still thrill in a pop world. It’s also heartening to see Flea and Anthony Kiedis will never, ever put on shirts.

Mars closed with a slow jam. Video clips of military members introduced “Just the Way You Are” dedicating it to lost loved ones and promising to be home soon.

I hope the suits remember just how awesome Mars was with the Peppers’ assist. Maybe next year they’ll look for a Mars-RHCP hybrid, which of course would mean the return of Prince.

[Edited 2/3/14 17:37pm]

Excellent idea! Thanks for posting that.

Bring back the Purple!

Well yes Mars is a rip-off artist. So was Prince. Let's not forget that little fact. Prince mined James Brown, which Mars has also borrowed from.

Each successive generation lifts from the ones who came before. Beatles and Rolling Stones owe creative debts to Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly and many others. Nirvana were Beatles fans. The Clash loved Jay Hawkins. And so forth.

I don't know about you guys, but honestly its nice that we have a very good Prince-sorta clone these days. Certainly the high energy Mars showed at the Super Bowl reminded me of young Prince in his heyday in the 80s when he was insane and put MJ to shame honestly as a stage performer.

RRA said:

Well yes Mars is a rip-off artist. So was Prince. Let's not forget that little fact. Prince mined James Brown, which Mars has also borrowed from.

Prince a rip-off artist?

No way ... borrowing and being inspired sure, but to minimize him to simply ripping off James Brown is BS.

A mixture of influences synthesized in him (Hendrix, Little Richard, Santana) and the synergy of these influences with his own musicallity made him unique.

Bruno Mars singing style doesn't sound like Prince at all, more in the directions of MJ, but still it's his own. His dancing style is more of a tribute to James Brown, but with a modern touch to it. His appearance other than that is alot less androgyne than Prince. Miguel is alot more of a rip off when it comes to his live shows. He is immitationg every move, but not as good as Prince. Bruno makes it seem more natural. However I like Migues music more on record than Bruno.