A little of Katy Perry goes a long, long way. And the 12-minute PEPSI Super Bowl XLIX halftime show on Sunday was just the right amount of candy-coated pop to see us through the rest of the year.
It won’t go down as a classic. But on a night when the game’s hotly anticipated TV commercials revolved around such cheery subjects as domestic violence, car accidents and
infant mortality (way to ruin everyone’s night, Nationwide), the California girl’s bubblegum approach actually felt like a momentary relief from those buzz-killing themes.
From the moment she strode into the stadium wearing a flame-spackled dress atop a giant tiger for opener “Roar,” it was obvious that Perry was intent on keeping her core kindergarten demographic happy. The before-bedtime treat peaked with dancing sharks and some dopey looking beach balls during “Teenage Dream” – a backdrop which echoed the current world tour in support of 2013’s “Prism” album. Both the tour and album are likely to see a spike in trade following Sunday’s show, mostly from 8-year-olds stealing their parents’ credit cards.
The final act seemed pulled straight out of a Disney movie. As her 2010 No. 1 hit “Firework” zoomed around the University of Phoenix Stadium, Perry followed suit. Like a camp Mary Poppins, she flew around the venue on a platform under a shooting star and looked terrified by the fact that only a glittery safety belt was separating her from a sheer drop.
For all the predictable pandering towards the pre-pubescent set, the 30-year-old sang solidly (which is not always the case) and made sure to keep people of her own age engaged too. For the rockers, there was Lenny Kravitz who duetted with Perry on a guitar-heavy version of the latter’s “I Kissed a Girl.” But after enjoying just 70 seconds of stage time, calling him a footnote seems generous.
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Perry definitely made one error in her planning by deciding to give
up her stage to Missy Elliot. The Virginia rapper last released an album
in 2005 and her absence (due in part to her struggle with Graves
disease, which affects the thyroid) has left a big gap in the world of
hip-hop.
Katy Perry and Missy Elliott perform onstage during the Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show.Photo: FilmMagic
But her appearance during the halftime show raised hopes of an imminent and triumphant comeback. Performing her classic hits “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It” and “Lose Control.” Elliot looked newly trimmed, energized, and excited, as she performed a high-energy routine with a slew of back up dancers, before giving the world a glimpse of her famously bright smile. The only unfortunate part of Elliot’s return was that it ended so soon.
So while Katy Perry started out the night as the headline act of the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show, her roar wasn’t quite loud enough to drown out Queen Missy’s return.
Somewhere in New York, Perry’s nemesis Taylor Swift would have been watching closely and making notes for the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. C’mon. Who else do you think it will possibly be?
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