Missy Elliott Will Join Katy Perry for Super Bowl Halftime Performance
Missy Elliott will make a “surprise appearance” during Katy Perry‘s Super Bowl XLIX halftime show performance, according to The Associated Press, citing an anonymous “person familiar with the plans.” (Consider the surprise ruined.) The rapper made a cameo on a remix of Perry’s 2011 single “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” though it’s unclear which track she’ll perform. The show takes place Sunday, February 1st at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Perry seemed to tease Elliott’s involvement during a news conference on Thursday, stating that the halftime show would feature an “old school” female artist. “When you hear the first ring of the chord,” Perry said, “I think jaws will drop and faces will melt.” The singer also revealed a planned appearance from singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz, whom she called “an incredible rock & roll icon, a guitar god.” When asked if the duo would perform Kravitz’ Grammy-winning cover of the Guess Who’s “American Woman,” Perry responded, “We’ll see.”
In her newly revealed Billboard cover story, Perry offers a backstage close-up of her Super Bowl preparation – and the pressure that comes with such a high-profile gig. “Everyone has been asking me if I’m going to be nervous before the halftime show,” she says. “I’m like, I’m fucking human. This is the biggest event of my career.”
She also mentions studying recent halftime show gigs – including Madonna in 2012 (“I like Madonna for the graphic effects she brought”) and Beyoncé the following year. “[Beyoncé] brought so much strength, so much sassiness and just the right amount of sex,” she says. “She’s an icon. Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson – she’s in that category. I’m not. She’s like five notches above me, and those levels are compounded in difficulty.”
She even reached out via text message to Bruno Mars – who unexpectedly teamed up with Red Hot Chili Peppers at last year’s Super Bowl – for advice. “Hello, exclusive Super Bowl club member!” she wrote. “I was wondering if you are in L.A. at all this month and would have tea with a sister who is about to throw up with nervousness re: [football emoji]. I’ve heard about your process through our managers, but am wondering if you had more insight on important things like, spray tan the night before or three nights before? JK, or maybe not!”