Even before the Super Bowl show, Bruno Mars was a highly successful young performer – he wouldn’t have been invited otherwise. Though the typical football fan might not have been aware of Mars before the half time show, he’s had a pretty good thing going for a few years now. But, however big he was before, the Super Bowl is bound to make him bigger – especially given the great performance he gave.

Now, Mars was not paid for his 12-minute appearance Sunday night, since the exposure should have been payment enough. In his case, the dividends have been immediate. During his brief show, 2.2 million tweets about it were posted online with more to come in the following minutes, hours and days. Most were highly impressed with Mars’ near perfect performance.

Opening the show behind a drum kit, the Hawaiian-born singer made sure to establish his musical credentials, before launching into a high-energy show, which included recognizable elements of 50’s, 60’s and 70’s nostalgia, seamlessly incorporated into his songs. Locked Out of Heaven has been a proven crowd pleaser since its release, but it was clever of Mars to also perform some of his lesser known songs, Treasure and Runaway Baby, giving football fans a taste of what to expect at one of his Moonshine Jungle shows.

Bruno Mars, MTV Video Music Awards
After the Super Bowl, Mars is on the cusp of a whole new stage in his career.

 

“The halftime performance at the Super Bowl is the single most important live appearance an artist can make,” says Gary Bongiovanni, president and editor-in-chief of concert data outfit Pollstar, said for Forbes. “And with the pressure on, Bruno Mars crushed it. I would not be surprised if he more than doubled his number of fans overnight.”

Bruno Mars, Super Bowl Press Conference
Compared to previous Super Bowl acts, Mars was a relative unknown. Not anymore.

Find out how the Super Bowl could affect Mars' sales on the next page.