Katy Perry’s Super Bowl 2015 Halftime Performance: Review Revue

Bianca Gracie | February 2, 2015 6:30 am
Katy Perry At The Super Bowl Halftime Show
Here are 16 photos (including Missy Elliott & Lenny Kravitz) to cheer about!

Katy Perry rocked the Super Bowl XLIX halftime stage last night (February 2), with a little help from Missy Elliott and Lenny Kravitz. The pop singer’s performance followed major ones from Madonna, Beyonce and Bruno Mars, but she managed to hold her own and captured everyone’s attention! Perry’s set included a HUGE tiger, intense pyrotechnics, three costume changes and even dancing sharks!

In our recap of the big night, we wrote: “Perry ripped through ‘Roar,’ ‘Dark Horse,’ ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Firework’ during the musical Super Bowl spectacle, and reminded viewers all over the world just why she’s one of pop’s most prolific hit-makers.”

But what did other critics think of the singer’s football field debut? Keep reading to find out what they had to say!

:: The Guardian highlighted Missy Elliott’s appearance: “Wearing a startling, waist-length hair weave, her salvo of Get Ur Freak on, Work it and Lose Control almost steal the slot from under Perry’s nose: almost 15 years since they were released, these songs still sound like the future. The only way Perry can top it is by reappearing in a star-spangled silver outfit and flying around the stadium on a platform which seems to be propelled by a giant sparkler-shooting star.”

:: The New York Times compared Perry to that other singer: “All in all, this was a halftime show that was notably unafraid of the feminine; in that regard, it was on par with the Beyoncé spectacular of two years ago (although vocally and performance-wise, Ms. Perry is no Beyoncé).”

:: USA Today enjoyed the show: “She’s someone in the prime of her career and adored by the NFL’s target demographic: young people. Katy Perry is what a Super Bowl halftime show should be. Rather than dragging out The Who or Tom Petty for a medley of songs that were on “Greatest Hits” albums before Katy Perry was born, get someone actually relevant today.”

:: While Billboard chose it keep it more politically correct: “There were glowing orbs on the field, and of course, fireworks exploding around Perry as she delivered the self-empowerment anthem. It was a fittingly explosive ending to a fiery performance, one that serves as a career highlight for the pop superstar.”

:: TIME had this to say: “While Perry didn’t miss a step or a note, her act was notable less for its technical prodigiousness than for its sheer humor. Given Perry’s proclivity for often-tiresome stunts, the idea of a ‘humorous’ Perry halftime act was dubious. But her opening on the back of a giant mechanical animal was legitimately impressive, and her mid-performance switch to a beach milieu, with backup dancers played by beach balls and sharks, was quite cute. The only moment that truly fell flat was Lenny Kravitz’s appearance on guitar backing Perry up on ‘I Kissed a Girl’; this deep into her career, Perry shouldn’t be relying on the cheap titillation of her first single to get our attention.”

:: New York Daily News weren’t really feeling it: “The show’s most theatrical moves — which had Perry riding a metallic tiger for an entrance, and flying around the stadium on a shooting star for a final — looked like something Disney might dream up on a bad day. In other words, Perry’s performance didn’t offer much for anyone other than wee ones searching for a big sister.”

:: Finally, Rolling Stone loved Perry’s ending tune: “It was a natural choice for her closing number, and a fitting way to end a performance in which she inspired with both her theatricality and her endurance. Like the old football adage goes, she left it all on the field – now somebody get that girl a Gatorade.”

How did you like Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime show? Let us know in the comments below!

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