published on in blog

Red Hot Chili Peppers: We Faked Our Super Bowl Performance

Band admits to playing along to pre-taped track during halftime show, says NFL suggested it

The Red Hot Chili Peppers decided long ago they were never going to mime a live performance. The band made an exception for the NFL, it turns out.

The group’s bassist, Flea, said in a letter to fans posted on the group’s website Tuesday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members pretended to play along to a pre-taped track of “Give It Away” during the Super Bowl halftime show as Anthony Kiedis sang live. The request came from NFL officials who felt it was too difficult to pull off a completely live performance because of potential sound issues.

The admission came after observers noted Flea and his bandmates weren’t plugged in while performing Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Flea wrote on the band’s website that the opportunity was too big for the lifelong football fans to turn down. After internal debate, dubiously checking with fellow musicians and consulting with headliner Bruno Mars, they decided it was “a surreal-like, once in a life time crazy thing to do and we would just have fun and do it.”

The 51-year-old said the group pre-recorded a unique instrumental track for the show. He didn’t directly address whether Mars also recorded instrumental tracks for his appearance, though he said Mars was aware they did. A publicist for Mars did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

Popular on Variety

A record 115 million people tuned into watch Mars and the Peppers, besting audiences of 114 million for Madonna and 110 million for Beyonce.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXKAjqasrKGTZLumw9JoqZ6cXZ28tXnCoaCloV2lsrG8xKuqZq%2BVYrqqucSdZKitomLAtrzEq2Sbp6eherGx0Z%2Bmq6WRo7CmeZBrZ2poaGuGdoWO