Super Bowl, super costumes: Katy Perry's half-time 'epic'

When Katy Perry was announced as the half-time entertainment for the 2015 Super Bowl, there was some griping that she was too lightweight and camp a performer for the prestigious slot. If so, last night's performance saw her play to her strengths.

Perry's entrance "redefined kitsch", says The Guardian. She came onstage standing on the back of a metallic-looking tiger puppet about twice her height. Holding the reigns, she sang Roar while the big cat paced the gridiron.

Perry was joined onstage by rocker Lenny Kravitz to perform one of her "sturdily-constructed pop tunes" - and she was in danger of being outshone by another guest, Missy Elliott, who performed a medley of three of her own hits.

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Perry managed to squeeze four costume changes into her 12-minute set. Each fresh number was the "excuse for ever more outlandish staging", says the paper's Alex Needham, awarding Perry four out of five stars.

But not everybody was convinced. The Daily Telegraph says Perry works too hard to be fun. Roar is "ruthlessly efficient but intolerable" and Perry's "kindergarten burlesque anthems" were a poor substitute for the more contemporary Taylor Swift.

The Telegraph suggests that the best part of Perry's set was Elliott's appearance - and says it was "extraordinarily generous" of Perry to give the older artist time to perform her own material.

Katy Perry wasn't the only entertainment for the Super Bowl's vast TV audience (at least 112 million, though it's hard to judge, says the New York Times). John Legend sang America the Beautiful while Idina Menzel, star of Disney's Frozen, performed the national anthem.

Legend's performance was predictably "flawless", says entertainment site Bustle. Menzel's Star Spangled Banner was "incredible", according to the Huffington Post. Her "amazing" performance was a "show-stopper".