How Lady Gaga faked her jump from stadium roof

There's no doubt that Lady Gaga blew the roof off with her spectacular Super Bowl halftime show.

But while TV viewers watched in amazement as the singer seemingly plummeted 260ft into the NRG Stadium from the rim, all was not as it seemed.

Footage of the 'jump' was pre-recorded, with Gaga actually starting her performance suspended on a safety wire about halfway up.

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Pre-recorded: Footage of Gaga performing on the stadium in front of a series of drones was not live but in fact a pre-taped stunt

Leap wasn't live: Viewers at home watched as Lady Gaga appeared to jump from the rim of the stadium into her Super Bowl performance (above, how the stunt looked on TV screens)

In reality: Rather than being a live jump visible to fans in the stadium, Gaga' s feat was also broadcast on screens (seen above). That's because the jump wasn't live but pre-recorded

While this does nothing to detract from the majesty of her 13-minute performance, it does explain how she managed to pull off the seemingly impossible.

On Sunday night Gaga's show began - at least for TV viewers - with the pre-recorded footage of the 30-year-old standing on the roof, the bright lights of Houston spread out behind her.

The wind ruffling her hair, she sang snippets of God Bless America and This Land is Your Land with red and blue lights twinkling above her from 300 Intel drones in the shape of the U.S. flag.

Then, in a piece of carefully choreographed TV theater, she took a daring leap over the edge, into the stadium.

While Gaga did indeed do the leap without a stunt double's help, this part of the show was performed in advance.

After it aired, the cameras cut to Gaga somersaulting as she soared swiftly through the air to a podium to continue the show.

Opening moment: Rather than jumping from the roof Gaga actually began the live part of the show suspended in the dark on a wire (left). She only appeared when lights flashed on her (right) once the pre-recorded jump footage had aired

For those inside the arena the show began with Gaga hanging from her guide wires, in the dark.

Footage shot from fans shows a motionless Gaga suspended from the wires. Suddenly a spotlight shines on her, and she starts her descent.

The drone company behind the pre-recorded feat blamed the need to plan the stunt in advance on the unpredictibility of the weather in February.

'So there’s a lot of weather and environment (issues),' Natalie Cheung, general manager for Intel Drones, told USA Today.

Soaring down: Gaga kicked off her Super Bowl halftime by appearing to jump off the roof of the NRG stadium in a pre-recorded segment and was then lowered down onto the stage. In reality she began the show suspended as footage rolled of the pre-recorded jump

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Upside down: She proved herself to be something of a trapeze artist as she pulled off her performance

Flying high! In the live segment of the show Gaga soared through the skies in a silver sequinned Versace bodysuit, somersaulting and dancing as she did

Top of the world! Gaga did indeed do the leap but it was performed and recorded in advance

'In February, you don’t know what it will be like during Super Bowl day. We’d hate to plan all this and, if the wind speeds are too high or if it’s raining and the roof is closed, no one can see this spectacular show. So our creative team as well as the Super Bowl creative team felt this would be best to be filmed.

'From a logistics and creative perspective, it’s a bit hard for her [Lady Gaga] to go from the roof all the way down to the floor of the stadium.'

Gaga said the idea to start the show on the roof came from her little sister Natali.

'She said, "I know let's suspend you in the air!"'.

in a piece of carefully choreographed TV theater, Gaga was seen gliding down to a podium but she hadn't completed the jump that evening

Shining star: The 30-year-old launched into Poker Face on top of the tower once footage suggested she had leapt into the stadium

Once onstage, Gaga commanded a large troupe of dancers and musicians, props that breathed fire and audience members swinging lights in synchronization — the usual excess that has become a Super Bowl cliche.

Yet Gaga commanded the show herself, unlike many predecessors who brought in guest stars to bolster their act. An expected appearance by Tony Bennett, a frequent duet partner, didn't take place. He was relegated to a brief role in a commercial.

The finale Bad Romance was a crowd pleaser. Gaga, who had spent much of the evening in a metallic space suit, emerged in her third outfit of the performance, a midriff baring costume topped off by football-like shoulder pads.

She threw down the microphone and jumped off a platform to disappear at the end.

On the field, the New England Patriots made the greatest ever comeback in Super Bowl history to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime.

The impressive fightback was engineered by New England's quarterback, Tom Brady, who won his fifth championship at the age of 39.

Since 2002 that Patriots have five Super Bowl wins in seven trips to the championship game.

Their victory on Sunday added another chapter to the Patriots legacy as Brady engineered a jaw-dropping comeback from a 28-3 third quarter deficit to steal the title and deny Atlanta a maiden Super Bowl.