What time is the Super Bowl Halftime Show? And what does Katy Perry have planned?
Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz are ready to rock the stage at the Super Bowl. Is this the biggest gig in show business?
FILE PHOTO-Singer Katy Perry arrives at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California in this January 26, 2014. There is a strong chance of a neon-colored spectacle, perhaps some flying and definitely songs of female empowerment when pop singer Katy Perry takes the stage during halftime at the Super Bowl joined by rockstar Lenny Kravitz, the most-watched 12 minutes on U.S. television
Danny Moloshok/File/Reuters
It's been called the most watched 12 minutes in television. On Super Bowl Sunday, multi-platinum recording artist Katy Perry will take the stage for this year's Halftime show. She’ll be looking to get entertainment circles buzzing much like Bruno Mars was able to do following his performance at last year’s NFL championship outside New York.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show is a platform for artists to showcase their work in front of the year’s largest television audience assembled for one event. Expect Perry to take the stage a little while after 8 p.m. Eastern time. This is due to the elongated pre-game for the Super Bowl and longer commercial breaks in the first half.
If the game is high-scoring before halftime, with breaks in between each touchdown, ensuing kickoff, and a break after the kick return, anxious audiences may be waiting until closer to the bottom of the eight o'clock hour. In 2013, Beyonce took the stage at approximately 8:10pm, according to International Business Times. The game between the 49ers and Ravens was 21-6 at halftime.
Last year, 110 million people tuned in to watch Bruno Mars perform four of his hits, according to the Huffington Post. Viewers were also treated to an appearance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. According to Time, halftime show performers experience a reliable boost in album sales as a result of the publicity.
Perry has also invited Lenny Kravitz, as “her first special guest,” to accompany her, leading some to speculate that the duo will perform Kravitz’s cover of The Guess Who’s, "American Woman."
In all likelihood, Perry may invite more of her high-profile musician friends to perform with her, but no one has been officially confirmed. One of the most popular singles Perry released this year was titled, "Dark Horse," which was co-written by hip-hop artist Juicy J, and many fans are hoping for a cameo from the rapper.
Friday, Perry told the media assembled in the Phoenix area for Super Bowl XLIX that fans can expect to see an "old-school" female singer perform with her during the halftime act. Also, CBS News reports that Missy Elliott is expected to appear during Perry's performance, as well.
The NFL’s choice of halftime performers has shifted to more contemporary artists in the last few years, like Mars last year and Beyonce the year prior.
In the years following Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction,” the NFL was lukewarm in allowing pop artists perform on its biggest stage. After Timberlake and Jackson’s antics, the NFL brought in classic rock pillars such as The Who, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, and Prince.
For people who are not the biggest fans of Perry’s music, in an effort to grow YouTube as a vehicle for live entertainment, the website will host a live halftime show, according to the Chicago Daily Herald. High-calorie chef Harley Morenstein, of the YouTube cooking troupe “Epic Meal Time,” will host an alternate live webcast that will promote content from popular YouTubers.
Organizers of the YouTube broadcast hope to maximize Super Bowl-related traffic to the website – last year over 6.1 million people visited YouTube to watch advertisements that had played over the course of the game, according to the Chicago Daily Herald story.
The featured talent who will join Morenstein has a combined follower count of 60 million people.