After diva extravaganzas — Madonna and Beyoncé, the pop-soul superstar Bruno Mars brought a decidedly more organic musical vibe to the Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show.

From IBT

The baby-faced 28-year-old’s performance, watched by millions, should be termed as ‘concert of the year’. The Super Bowl XVIII halftime show featuring Bruno Mars was quite a doubt-raiser from the start.

Back in September, when NFL announced that the singer-songwriter Bruno would provide the tunes during the intermission of Super Bowl XLVIII, the news was met with utter disbelief. And there was much relief among fans, when it was announced that Red Hot Chili Peppers will be performing along Bruno, who was born two years after RHCP came into existence.

Now that the big game is over, it would not be wrong to say that it was really Bruno, who technically won the 2014 Super Bowl. The relatively young artist, without much fame or recognition, had the Super Bowl viewers, who have seen bigger stars such as Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and the Who, tapping to his tunes.

How Bruno stole the NFL Super Bowl halftime show and what everyone is saying about the performance:

• The New York Daily News: He may not have the figure of Beyoncé or the buzz of Madonna. But this year’s half time star – Bruno Mars – brought dynamism and an old-fashioned sense of showmanship to his Super Bowl blow-out. Opening with his smash “Locked Out of Heaven,” the pompadour’d star whipped through a tight and brisk run of four hits. His sole guest stars – The Red Hot Chili Peppers – seamlessly slipped their percussive song “Give It Away” into the headliner’s “Runaway Baby.”

• Time: Bruno Mars Injects Soul into the Super Bowl Halftime Show : “Concert of the Year? That’s what the NFL claimed all week long as it hyped its halftime show with Bruno Mars. But could a relatively young artist without huge name recognition carry the day? Even one of the football commentators came out and said ‘There were a lot of doubters’. Once Mars was done, though, doubters should have been few.”

• Variety: Super Bowl Review: Bruno Mars’ Flashy Halftime Blends Old School Showmanship: Unless you were born with the first name “Prince,” there’s really only so much a performer can do with the Super Bowl halftime show slot, and Bruno Mars did plenty with his. Though it lacked the Olympian heft of Beyonce’s stand last year, or the sheer spectacle and requisite FCC-trolling of Madonna’s pageantry the year previous, Mars relied on a lot of flash, a hefty dose of Famous Flames-style stagecraft, and a requisite hat tip to the military for a winningly unprepossessing performance. Running through four proper songs in 14 minutes while still leaving time for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to stage a pleasantly brief “Give It Away” cameo, a sparkly-suited Mars kicked off proceedings with a splashy drum solo good enough to attract some wildly overblown Ginger Baker comparisons from Fox commentators.

• CNN: Bruno Mars and Radio Shack bail out a lame Super Bowl – One of the most energetic halftime shows ever. Early on in his career, it was easy to dismiss Mars as merely another pop tart. Yet with Sunday’s wonderful output, it’s time we start discussing Mars along the soulful likes of Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. He’s that good, and showed it again.

• The Hollywood Reporter: And we learned that even as dizzyingly talented, dynamically swivel-hipped a performer as Bruno Mars can be made to look a little — how to put this — wedding band-ish, if the stagecraft framing him is a confinement, not an amplification.

• The Guardian: Bruno Mars’ Super Bowl halftime show spiced by much-needed Chili Peppers – Singer delivered exactly what we thought he would – slick, unmemorable pop, ruffled only by his big, fratty brothersIt’s Safe To Say Bruno Mars Won The Super Bowl XVIII