Beyonce, wearing a revealing black leather jacket and miniskirt combination, was surrounded by bursts of fire, smoke and silhouettes as she performed at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. More than 100 million television viewers were tuned in to the NFL championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens.
The singer called out to the crowd several times during her first songs, "Love on Top," "Crazy in Love," "End of Time" and "Baby Boy," to emphasize that she was singing live.
On Thursday, Beyonce admitted she sang along with a pre-recorded track of the national anthem at President Barack Obama's inauguration last month.
The lip-synching controversy threatened to derail the pop singer's crafted comeback after giving birth to her first child with rapper and husband Jay-Z in January 2012. Beyonce will also premiere her self-directed documentary, "Life is But a Dream," on HBO on Feb. 16.
During Sunday's half-time show, the 31-year-old singer stomped and shook her hips and torso while video of Beyonce dancing was projected alongside her to give the appearance of a choreographed routine.
Beyonce rolled through four songs before Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, from her former girl group Destiny's Child, ascended through trap doors in the stage to sing hits "Bootylicious" and "Independent Woman."
It was the trio's first public performance since 2006. Clad in black leather outfits designed by Rubin Singer, they performed three songs, including Beyonce's hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."
Last month, the group released "Nuclear," its first song in about a decade.
Beyonce finished with "Halo" from her 2008 album "I Am ... Sasha Fierce."
Last year's Super Bowl attracted 111.3 million U.S. viewers, the largest audience for a single TV broadcast in the United States.
Before Sunday's kickoff, singers Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson performed.
Hudson performed "America the Beautiful" with the chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of December's mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty children and six adults were killed in the massacre.
Keys, wearing a sleeveless maroon dress, played a stripped-down rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" at a silver piano atop a small stage at midfield.
