Super Bowl 50 will be an epic showcase for a league that built the event into TV's most watched program long ago, so the NFL is sure to get super creative with the golden anniversary game's halftime show, right?
Not so much, according to Billboard Magazine. Bruno Mars, who performed at halftime of Super Bowl XLVIII two years ago, has been asked to perform and curate this year's show, too, a source told the publication.
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Should Mars accept the invitation again, the two-time Grammy Award-winning artist's curating is sure to include more performers. Mars played alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers during the Seattle Seahawks' 43-8 rout of the Denver Broncos in February 2014, and they drew a then-record 115.3 million viewers. That mark was surpassed by Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz and, of course, Left Shark*this past February.
Mars would be the first repeat headliner since Gloria Estefan, who performed in 1992 and 1999. More recently, rapper Nelly appeared as a guest with both Aerosmith in 2001 and Janet Jackson in 2004.
As Billboard notes, their December 2014 interview with NFL director of media events Sarah Moll about how the halftime show is booked offers some potential insight into why Mars has been asked back so soon.
"Myself and our producer, Ricky Kirshner, were both personal fans of Bruno and had seen him in concert and knew what he could do," she said. "And it was a lot of just telling folks here and getting folks excited about Bruno and taking them to shows and letting them see what he could do. And that's kind of what got it going."
At least there is now a chance Mars could include all or some living halftime performers of years past in the Super Bowl 50 show, a list that includes New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, U2, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, The Who, Madonna and Beyonce.
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If that happens, all I ask is that Elvis Presto is somehow involved.


You want halftime magic, NFL? Elvis Presto literally brought it.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don't Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach