Photo: Splash
Following a supportive 'Good Luck KP' from her ex Russell Brand, Katy Perry took to the stage of the Super Bowl XLIX in the University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday night. Watch the full show below.
The culmination of America's biggest TV event had already had some suitably surreal musical moments - Alice Cooper and Snoop Dogg turned up to talk to Channel 4, a grumpy Kanye was photobombed by fans in a box, Rihanna turning up in the stands and Nissan used a song by Harry Chaplin (who died in a car advert) to accompany their big money ad.
Perry, however, was the main event, even if you couldn't care less about the score on the field. As actress Anna Kendrick put it so well: "Ok, no one is thrilled abt going in the 2nd half in a tie, but @katyperry is about to jump repeatedly in a small outfit. So we all have that."
Following in the footsteps of Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Madonna (and MIA's middle finger) the 12 1/2 minute showcase to 100 million viewers was certainly spectacular. The performance was everything Perry had promised - arriving on stage riding a giant robotic lion, she then moved onto a mind melting chessboard for 'Dark Horse' (sadly without a guest verse from Juicy J) and 'Teenage Dream' on a surreal palm tree island, accompanied by what appeared to be the Pathetic Sharks from Viz. Lenny Kravitz also appeared on 'I Kissed A Girl' for some suitably OTT solo guitar work.
Watch Katy Perry's Super Bowl Half Time performance below.
The highlight for many though was seeing a cameo on stage from Missy Elliott, who launched into 'Get Ur Freak On', 'Werk It' and the Cybotron-powered 'Lose Control'. It was particularly wonderful to see Missy in the spotlight - not least because it almost makes up for her woeful performance at Wireless Festival in London a few years back.
Perry ended her performance flying around the stadium on a moving star, belting out 'Firework'. It's the sort of finale that those lucky enough to see her last two tours have come to expect - but for those witnessing Perry live for the first time it was clearly a revelation. 'Thank you. God bless America!' she announced, to a stadium full of people who clearly couldn't believe their finger lights actually worked.
Perry was the perfect choice for the NFL in these tricky times: a pop act with stadium size hits and charisma, who won't frighten the sponsors or make middle America choke on a Buffalo wing.
Our final thought is this - if Taylor Swift (plus Haim) aren't doing it next year, someone is making a huge mistake.
