Katy Perry and Missy Elliott perform onstage during Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona.Christopher Polk/Getty Images
MISSY'S BACK
Katy Perry may be one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, but she still got served by Missy Elliott on the Super Bowl halftime show.
As reported by Jezebel and Billboard, the Teenage Dream singer delivered a typically strong performance headlining last night's Super Bowl XLIX halftime extravaganza, but it was the 43-year-old rap legend who had people talking the morning after the big game.
Although Elliott's presence on the halftime show was not a surprise – word that she would perform with Perry got out late last week – many viewers were pleasantly surprised by the duration of her comeback appearance.
In the final tally, Elliott performed two songs with Perry and one song by herself, which was a high-profile return for the five-time Grammy winner.
Although Elliott is widely regarded as a hip-hop pioneer, she has been in a self-imposed semi-hiatus in recent years and has not officially released an album since the 2005 collection titled The Cookbook.
But on last night's halftime show, Missy was back on track and right at home on the halftime show that was watched by an estimated 110-million viewers worldwide.
Perry and Elliott have collaborated previously – on the remix for Perry's hit Last Friday Night – but on this occasion Katy was willing to let Missy call the shots.
Sporting a sharp black jumpsuit, baseball cap and giant hoop earrings, Elliott tore into abbreviated versions of her singles Get Ur Freak On and Work It, with vocal accompaniment from Perry.
And Perry surrendered the stage entirely (albeit in order to perform a costume change) for Elliott to take centre stage and perform a solo version of her 2005 single Lose Control.
As noted by USA Today and other outlets, Elliott's stage turn at the halftime show stands in sharp contrast to last night's performance by Lenny Kravitz, who joined Perry for a few bars of her 2008 hit I Kissed a Girl and then left. All told, Lenny was on-stage for roughly 30 seconds.
You can watch the entire halftime show with Perry, Elliott and Kravitz here.
And even while the game was still going on, Elliott's knockout performance following nearly a decade out of the spotlight generated a strong reaction on Twitter, with many of the tweets coming from celebrities.
Glee star Kevin McHale (@druidDUDE) tweeted, "I mean I knew I missed @MissyElliott but I didn't know how much. COME BACK TO US."
Comic actress and former Saturday Night Live regular Ana Gasteyer (@AnaGasteyer) tweeted, "I just realized Missy is for the old people like me and that make me smug."
And Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) kept his reaction short and sweet with a tweet saying simply, "MISSY."
Not surprisingly, some media outlets, including Papermag.com, have announced that Elliott is officially back following Sunday night's show.
For her part, Elliott is remaining mum on her future recording plans, but went onto her official Twitter account (@MissyElliott) to express her gratitude for the warm response with a tweet stating, "Gnite y'all. I heart u all and thank U for the love! I appreciate U all from the bottom of my heart. Been here over 20 yrs & counting."
And what did Katy Perry do after the big game?
Within hours of the Seattle Seahawks snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at Super Bowl XLIZ, the 30-year-old singer marched straight to a tattoo parlour and had XLIX tattooed on the inside of her finger, reports Us Weekly, and then posted pictures of the new ink to her Instagram page.
Hey, every pop star has their own way of keeping it real.
BEETLEJUICE REDUX
Michael Keaton says he's on-board for a Beetlejuice sequel. The 63-year-old actor, who played the titular character in the original 1988 film, said he'd jump at the chance to reunite with director Tim Burton for an update version of the comedy-horror story. "Burton is unique, and that's not a word you can apply to many people," said Keaton. "And also original – certainly not a word you can apply to many people." Keaton is up for best actor Oscar honours for the film Birdman later this month. Burton recently revealed there was a script for a Beetlejuice sequel and that plans to shoot the movie were "closer than ever."
Source: People
PRINCESS POWER
The Disney universe will introduce its first Latina princess next year. The entertainment giant recently announced that is mounting a new animated series titled Elena of Avalor, which will revolve around a princess in a fairy-tale kingdom inspired by Latino cultures and folklore. In the same vein as Disney princesses like Snow White, Belle and Mulan, the character of Elena is described as being "bold, caring, funny and clever," and will be introduced in 2016 as a spinoff from the Disney Junior series Sofia the First.
Source: New York Times