Singer Katy Perry dazzled at Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show in a spectacular performance featuring dancing sharks, a prowling metallic lion and a levitating star that shot fireworks into the night sky.
Perry stalked into the University of Phoenix Stadium field in Glendale, Arizona riding the huge, fiery-eyed lion as she sang her megahit "Roar" while wearing a flame-festooned dress.
The 30-year-old star performed a brief duet with rock legend Lenny Kravitz, and the pair sung "I Kissed A Girl," one of Perry's first big hits in 2008, during a brief but raunchy performance.
The crowd cheered during the next segment that saw Perry perform on a desert island set -- complete with palm trees, dancers dressed up to look like goofy sharks and beach balls, as the star sang "California Gurls."
The Super Bowl's halftime show has become a must-see event in the middle of the NFL's championship extravaganza.
Halftime performances generate massive ratings and, sometimes, unexpected controversy such as when Janet Jackson inadvertently suffered a "wardrobe malfunction" that saw much of her breast exposed in 2004, or Prince's 2007 show that featured a strangely shaped guitar that cast a phallus-shaped shadow.
Perry's 12.5-minute performance did not generate any such controversy and the reaction on social media appeared overwhelmingly positive, with many users praising her live singing, her dancers and her three quick costume changes.
Actress Anna Kendrick hailed the pop star's performance, sending her compliments via Twitter.
"It's official. Katy Perry is magic," she wrote.
"All jokes aside, @katyperry your voice tonight was actually unreal."
Rapper Snoop Dogg chimed in too, tweeting: "If you were wondering that was me in tha Shark costume!!"
Missy Elliott was the star guest of the performance, making a foggy entrance to sing hits including "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It." The newly-svelte rap diva's high-energy number "Lose Control" was a crowd pleaser.
Perry's grand finale was a spectacular rendition of her huge hit "Firework."
She climbed onto a star-shaped platform and elevated above the football field, cruising around the stadium as fireworks burst around her, to enthusiastic cheers and applause from the crowd.
The New England Patriots defeated Seattle 28-24 at this year's Super Bowl 49, denying the Seahawks a second consecutive title in the NFL championship spectacular.
The Super Bowl was expected to draw a whopping 15 million viewers -- or about one third of all Americans -- many of whom look forward to the highly-anticipated half-time show and much-buzzed about commercials.  
Source: AFP