Katy Perry Invites Lenny Kravitz to Join Super Bowl Halftime Performance
The singer requested the “Fly Away” rocker’s presence during a “Today” show interview airing Monday
Matt Donnelly | January 10, 2015 @ 3:43 PM
Last Updated: January 12, 2015 @ 9:06 AM
Katy Perry has invited rock star Lenny Kravitz to join her as she takes the field for for the Pepsi Halftime Show at Super Bowl XLIX on Feb 1.
The singer revealed Kravitz will accompany her on the big day, to be held at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, during a chat with NBC’s Willie Geist that airs on Monday’s “Today” show.
Read the National Football League’s complete statement:
“Global superstar Katy Perry has invited Lenny Kravtiz to join her as she headlines the Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show on NBC at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on Sunday, February 1, it was announced today during an exclusive interview with Katy on NBC’s broadcast of the AFC Divisional Playoff game featuring the Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots. Katy’s full interview with NBC’s Willie Geist discussing her upcoming halftime performance and her invite to Kravitz will air Monday morning on TODAY. “
Perry was announced as this year’s performer by anchor Bob Costas before the holidays. She’s already been hyping the show, which was watched by 115 million people last year, with some Internet-centric promo videos.
Super Bowl Party Report Winners & Losers: 63 Snapshots From Inside NYC's Talent Salad (Photos)
Just before 1 a.m., Beyonce joined Jay Z on stage at DirecTV's Super Saturday night. They performed "Drunk in Love".
Last year's Super Bowl performer, the highest tweeted moment of the night, pulled off another impressive "feat".
The decibel meter hit its peak with the post performance hug.
A few media captains hanging out together. DirecTV CEO Mike White: Patriots owner Robert Kraft, fellow party host Mark Cuban, and Showtime CEO Matt Blank.
The view from the VIP balcony. Leonardo Dicaprio and Paul McCartney were also both up here, but there's no photographic evidence of it.
Jamie Foxx caught up with Kate Upton, who was all over the weekend...
...and also met up with Paul Guyardo, DirecTV's chief marketing and revenue officer. By the size and scope of the festivities, he should get a good report card.
Jay Z challenged the ultra VIP section in the front of house on the floor to crowd surf this fan all the way to the back of the room. He warned him to hand off his wallet and cell phone to friends first.
...and the guy made it.
Maria Menounos had one of the busiest weekends: interviewing Howard Stern at his birthday bash on Friday, playing in the Beach Bowl on Saturday afternoon, and fitting in "Extra" somewhere between that and Saturday night's bash.
Tim Tebow, the man who still commands the most lens time, with one of the party's hosts, Mark Cuban.
Party host DirecTV CEO Mike White and his wife Sue White (far right) flank Tim Tebow. NY Giants QB Eli Manning was also a host, but had a much lower profile here and throughout the weekend.
Terry Crews, whose "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is the Super Bowl leadout, with Rebecca King-Crews.
Katrina Bowden and husband Ben Jorgensen got one of the few couch spaces.
"Orange is the New Black's" Laverne Cox.
Top shot in the concert photography business Kevin Mazur snapped the lone shot of Beyonce backstage at Pier 40.
Oh yeah, football players. Retired Patriot great Willie McGinest, the 49'ers Vernon Davis and the guy who saved the Patriots season this year, Julian Edelman.
With the doors opening late, Tiesto went on right away and had the rare pleasure of playing dutch house as "arrival music," with lasers greeting freezing people who had been outside for an hour plus.
Earlier, a massive crew was still converting the Pier 40 stage from DirecTV's afternoon football game. The party started an hour late, but nobody remembered that by the end of the night.
This was the marker that let 6,000 people know they had made it past the last security check. (The first one I encountered was a half mile away up the west side highway.)
ESPN personality and one-time "Bachelor", Jesse Palmer (right) made the cut for the VIP balcony.
Spike Lee, a Super Bowl regular, acting weird like normal.
Richard Kind and Zach Levi buddied up.
Gayle King was a fixture on the scene this weekend.
Artie Lange was on the scene.
Peter Facinelli won the "brooders cup".
Josh Hopkins, Tommy Alastra, James Marsden and Greg Bellow.
Jay Z's 75 minute set concluded with three encores, including Frank Sinatra relative "David Sinatra" singing the intro to "Empire State of Mind."
Super Bowl Party Pro Tip: Don't be the guy arriving on the carpet at the same time as Tim Tebow, as ESPN's Mike Golic (left) learned on Friday night.
Robin Thicke headlined ESPN's Friday night bash, that had over 100 NFL players and celebrities.
On Saturday afternoon atop 5th Avenue, Kevin Costner and wife Christine Baumgarten were turning heads at Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party, a benefit for the Lone Survivor Fund.
Karina Smirnoff, host Leigh Steinberg, and Wynonna Judd.
Meanwhile, Aaron Paul was with the serious Giants QB at the DirecTV Beach Bowl across town on Saturday afternoon.
Nobody told Entertainment Tonight's Rocsi Diaz and E!'s Alicia Quarles that the game was not Chace Crawford tug-of-war.
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are their own biggest fans at the DirecTV Beach Bowl. They seem perfectly happy, but if they ever break up, this photo will be a tough one.
Tracy Morgan and Quarles rest before the game.
On Saturday night, Justin Bieber acted like Bart Simpson, bringing a skateboard and attempting tricks inside the Leather and Laces party, his next stunt in his "I'm a tough guy" 2014 tabloid tour.
Yup, riding through a party.
He may be excited that he got away clean after customs agents searched his plane and questioned him at Teterboro on Friday, the private plane airport. (Bieber photos by Amy Pinard.)
Back in the major leagues, GQ editor-in-chief Jim Nelson had a posh party atop the Standard Hotel on Friday, where Kate Upton and Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander were amongst the top names.
Grammy darling Macklemore (a big Seattle fan) was the belle-of-the-ball, holding down the best corner table in the Boom Boom Room's cove, with Andy Cohen as his neighbor. Macklemore was the only guest with his own private security (who went hands-on with both men and women who talked to the singer).
GQ deputy editor Michael Hainey, model Emily Ratajkowski, and Nelson at GQ.
Lauren Parsekian and Aaron Paul find a corner of the packed ESPN party.
The "Breaking Bad" alum was a most-frequently-spotted throughout the weekend.
Tony Schubert produced a NYC skyline theme for the 3,000 person ESPN party
Meanwhile, on the actual NYC skyline the Empire State Building has been lit with both Broncos and Seahawks colors throughout the weekend.
It took a crew of 120 people 9 days to build out Pier 36 for ESPN.
New York locals Coco and Ice-T grabbed a couch at ESPN.
Part of the view inside ESPN.
Jon Stewart, Pepsi Chairman/CEO Indra Nooyi, and "The Voice's" Blake Shelton in Bryant Park Friday night. Pepsi made a $1 million donation to the Bob Woodruff Foundation at the Shelton concert.
A month in to his off-season, Aaron Rodgers meets a soldier backstage at the Pepsi/Woodruff event.
Serena Williams and Estelle were joined by Colin Kaepernick on Beats by Dre's second consecutive Friday night with a party. After last week's Grammy weekend hip hop all-star show in L.A., they took over Marquee in New York.
Brooklyn Decker and Bar Refaeli hosted the first night of the Leather and Laces party in Times Square on Friday.
Late night, all the cars were headed to see Nelly at the Playboy Party.
Taye Diggs, Jamie Chung, and Bryan Greenburg at Playboy.
Aaron Paul and Shiloh Fernandez buddy up with the bunnies...
...as does "Orange is the New Black's" Laura Prepon.
Close to Playboy, also in midtown, the Maxim party (where Bieber made his first appearance of the weekend) kicked off their first night on Friday.
Yes, this is Jon Gosselin. His ex-wife does People Magazine, and he counters with the Maxim party.
Michael B. Jordan takes a break from awards season at Don Julio's late night party.
There was an A&E co-promotion with "Bates Motel" at the Playboy party. I did not see any signs of creator Carlton Cuse.
Despite security's wishes, Nicki and Paris HIlton were still happy to pose for photos at the Leather and Laces party.
On trend: a dancer mimics Pink's grammy performance at Leather and Laces.
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Jay Z’s Saturday night show for DirecTV was a curtain call of every celebrity and athlete who is in New York, putting an exclamation point on the pre-game festivities. The scene inside the top Super Bowl bashes in New York this weekend.
Just before 1 a.m., Beyonce joined Jay Z on stage at DirecTV's Super Saturday night. They performed "Drunk in Love".
Super Bowl's 7 Most Buzzed-About Commercials (Photos)
Budweiser melted Twitter's black heart with its story of love between a puppy and a horse -- complete with the hashtag #bestbuds. Not fair, Budweiser Watch it here.
Esurance had an instant Twitter hit on its hands with its commercial that actually aired after the game. It starred all-around beloved "The Office" star John Krasinski. Oh, and it promised to give away $1.5 million to one person who tweets the hashtag #EsuranceSave30 -- the result was Twitter pandemonium and hilarity. Watch it here.
Whether it lived up to your expectations or not, we were all drawn into salivating for the reveal of Jerry Seinfeld's "secret project" during the big game. A tease to an on-air teaser just wouldn't do, so Crackle released a full 6-minute episode starring Seinfeld, Jason Alexander and Wayne Knight. Watch it here.
"The '80s called, they want their store back." Radio Shack took a shot at itself in a store makeover commercial, which had stars from the 1980s, including Erik Estrada, Mary Lou Retton, Hulk Hogan, A.L.F. and others tearing apart the outdated looking tech store. Once the group takes off -- in a Delorean, of course -- a new, clean, modern Radio Shack emerges. Watch it here.
Eat … Fresh? Subway dropped a cool $4 million to debut its latest sandwich: a chicken enchilada melt that for some reason has Fritos on it. Next, their famous athlete pitchmen and women, including Michael Phelps and Apollo Ono endorsed the snack chip endorsement. No mention of calories in this Subway ad, which had some on social media seeing a footlong of rage. Watch it here.
Bob Dylan took us through a stroll of Americana -- all to allude to the fact that Italy's Fiat-owned Chrysler was still as American as, well, Dylan. It clearly sparked a patriotic fervor among viewers. Watch it here.
British soccer star David Beckham gets nude. And #ThatisAll Twitter needed to know. Oh, and by the way, he has a new line of H&M bodywear. Watch it here.
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For about $4 million per 30 seconds of airtime, here are the spots where the money was most well-spent. They trended on Twitter, drove the most chatter and got our attention.
Budweiser melted Twitter's black heart with its story of love between a puppy and a horse -- complete with the hashtag #bestbuds. Not fair, Budweiser Watch it here.
