Bruno Mars set to sing at Super Bowl half-time show, manager says

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Bruno Mars, the R&B singer who gained fame in 2010 and won a Grammy for his singing that year on "Just the Way You Are," is expected to perform at the Super Bowl half-time show next year, his manager said on Saturday. The singer is set to be named as a performer in the coveted half-time spot during Super Bowl XLVIII next year in East Rutherford, New Jersey, his manager, John Marx, said in an email. An official announcement of the 26-year-old Mars' selection was scheduled for Sunday, said Marx, who did not say whether Mars would be joined by other entertainment acts. The annual NFL championship draws millions of viewers every year. For many, it has come to be defined as much by its half-time shows and attention grabbing television commercials as for the game itself. Beyonce's performance with her former girl group Destiny's Child was watched by more than 100 million people at the Super Bowl half-time show in New Orleans in February. Past Super Bowl performers have included Madonna, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Prince, Paul McCartney and U2. The Hawaiian-born Mars' album "Unorthodox Jukebox," which included the hit song "Locked Out of Heaven," came out in December 2012 as the follow-up to his debut 2010 album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans." That release won Mars widespread fame and earned him a Grammy that year for best male pop vocals. Next year's Super Bowl game will take place on February 2. A spokesman for the National Football League declined to comment on Mars' participation in the half-time show. (Reporting by David Jones in Newark Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Sharon Bernstein and Eric Walsh)