Coldplay opens for Beyoncé's high heels in Super Bowl 50 halftime show

Beyoncé slayed her performance in the Super Bowl 50 halftime show as expected on Sunday evening, alongside singer Bruno Mars, producer Mark Ronson and what appeared to be an army of leather-clad backup dancers.

Coldplay was also there.

The British alt-rock band, best known for its mellow radio hits and lead singer Chris Martin's former marriage to Gwyneth Paltrow, had actually been booked as the headliner for the show.

It's hard to shine in the presence of royalty, though — as evidenced on Twitter when Queen Bey hit the stage.

Coldplay, to their credit, brought more energy to the stage than many had predicted they would when the NFL first announced the band would star in this year's halftime show.

Martin gave a passionate performance on a colourfully illuminated stage floor during one of his band's more upbeat hits, Viva La Vida.

Audience members appeared to be getting bored, however, as he went on to sing Paradise and Adventure of a Lifetime.

Twitter users started joking that perhaps the NFL should follow Martin and Paltrow's example by "'consciously uncoupling" itself from Coldplay.

Fortunately, Mars bounced in to save the day, singing and dancing through his hit Uptown Funk with Ronson on the DJ decks.

Mars, who headlined the halftime show in 2014, was soon joined by his fellow Super Bowl veteran Beyoncé.

Together, they delivered the sizzle for a lively, upbeat performance that paid homage to previous halftime show headliners.

All eyes were on Beyoncé while she sang and gyrated her way through her freshly-dropped single Formation, but viewers began to worry when they saw her strutting onto the field.

Was she wearing heels on wet grass? Oh. my. NO.

Beyoncé handled the challenge like a pro, but it may have left her a bit less steady on those heels. As the halftime show wrapped, a GIF of the performer deftly recovering from an almost-slip onstage began circulating online.

This too, had the Beygency singing their queen's praises.

The show ended with Beyoncé and Mars joining Martin for a quick re-visit to Uptown Funk before images of past halftime performers including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and the Black Eyed Peas rolled to Coldplay's ballad Fix You.

An ad announcing Beyoncé's Formation tour ran immediately following the performances.