Katy Perry just snagged her very first Emmy nomination — in the unsexily-titled "Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program" category — and she's as excited as any of us would be. The event likely received the nomination for a variety of reasons: Over-the-top set pieces like the enormous, ambulatory gold jungle cat she rode in on, stage direction that kept the whole spectacle feeling seamless, and Katy's performance itself. But let's not forget the true star. No, not Missy Elliott, though her surprise appearance was certainly a rare blessing. The true star was the hero who decided "choreography" was merely a suggestion and decided to go blissfully rogue: Left Shark.

 

Left-Shark
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Katy Perry knows it was a breakout dancer, with one eye adorably angled at the camera, who truly made this show. That's why she shouted him out on Twitter today, saying she was "very proud of everyone involved especially #leftshark."

The drawing included in the tweet, of a cartoon Katy peeking out from the shark's mouth, is adorable. But I have questions.

  1. Who made this drawing? Is it a Bitmoji? Is this Katy's etching? Probably the former but we're dreaming it's the latter.
  2. Is that supposed to be Katy in the picture? Presumably it is, given the uber-pop heart shaped sunglasses and Katy-esque bob. Except...she wasn't in the shark costume. A dancer was in the shark costume, she was standing stage-right. It's right there in the picture.
  3. Is Katy actually suggesting that the shark swallowed her whole, and now she's peeking out from its mouth, where she sits, tranquil and undigested? It feels like a metaphor for the way this costumed dancer emerged from a sea of obscurity to gobble up all the internet's attention on Super Bowl night, the way a real shark casually polishes off a school of fish.
  4. Does anyone know Left Shark's real human name? PEOPLE reports that it's Katy's tour dancer Bryan Gaw, but 10,000 internet memes later I suppose Left Shark is more idea than man.
Over-analysis aside, congrats to Katy on the honor! She faces stiff competition from fellow nominees Key & Peele and Zach Galifianakis' hilarious Between Two Ferns, but she just might take home the award on September 20. Will you be watching?
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