Beyonce wowed audiences and critics with her half-time performance at the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday.

Her live 14-minute set featured a medley of her hits and also a reunion of her group, Destiny's Child.

After admitting last week she mimed the US national anthem at President Obama's inauguration, critics were keen to scrutinise Beyonce's show.

But the New York Times was one of many that said she had now "silenced her doubters".

"She balanced explosions and humanity, imperiousness with warmth, an arena-ready sense of scale with a microscopic approach to the details of her vocals," wrote Jon Caramanica.

"Amid all the loudness were small things to indicate Beyonce was answering her sceptics, quietly but effectively. Beyonce the machine had made her point. This was proof of life."

Dressed in a black leather mini dress, the singer kicked off the show with a blaze of flames while she sang a brief a cappella version of her single Love on Top before launching into mega hit Crazy In Love.

Billboard Magazine said the performance was "easily one of the best ever" half-time shows.

"She strutted towards the front of the stage in her black leather dress and booties looking like Catwoman, it was obvious that it likely would be the last time she did anything at medium pace," Brad Wete said.

After stripping down to a leotard, she also performed tracks End of Time, Baby Boy and Halo, while her Destiny's Child band mates joined her on stage to give renditions of Bootylicious, Independent Women Part I and Single Ladies.

The Washington Post said the show was "the sexiest Super Bowl half-time since 2004" when the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" occurred.

Since that event, organisers had opted for "safer" rock acts from the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and The Who, until last year when Madonna landed the gig.

The New York Daily News praised the show saying: "Beyonce gave an absolutely live Super Bowl halftime performance that killed."

"Given both Beyonce's persona and talent, only a fool would have bet against her at this particular event. It's hard to think of a star better suited to the Super Bowl than she is."

The Los Angeles Times agreed the singer had succeeded in "shutting everybody up".

"The artist who dubbed herself Sasha Fierce made many musical arguments. None involved submitting to doubters," Randall Roberts said.

Jerry Shriver from USA Today described the show as a "dynamic half-time performance that apparently sucked all of the power out of the Superdome" - in reference to a power cut during the game shortly after Beyonce's set.

However Shriver's colleague Chris Strauss said the set "seemed perfunctory" to the football fans in the stadium.

"While viewers at home seemed pleased by the 12-minute set, it was hard for fans in the stadium to experience the same kind of HD clarity, audio superiority and multi-angle close-ups that the CBS broadcast audience could," he said.

"The performance wasn't designed for the people in the crowd. While the energy among the hundreds of fans ushered in along the field for the performance might have been different, fans up top didn't seem to have much reaction."

It is thought more than 100 million people would have watched the half-time show, although final figures have yet to be released.

After the performance, Beyonce also announced the details of a new world tour.

It will begin in Belgrade, Serbia, on 15 April before heading to the UK for six dates, including four nights at London's O2 Arena.

Super Bowl: Baltimore Ravens beat San Francisco 49ers in thriller

BALTIMORE (21) 34

Touchdowns: Boldin, Pitta, Jones (2) Field Goals: Tucker (2)

SAN FRANCISCO (6) 31

Touchdowns: Crabtree, Gore, Kaepernick Field Goals: Akers (3) Safety: Against Koch

Jacoby Jones scored two of the most spectacular touchdowns in Super Bowl history as Baltimore Ravens edged San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in a thriller.

First Jones, playing in his native New Orleans, caught a long Joe Flacco pass before running into the endzone.

Then, after Beyonce's stunning half-time show, Jones returned the kick-off 108 yards in barely 11 seconds for the longest ever Super Bowl play.

After a long delay due to a power cut, the 49ers hit back but fell just short.The third quarter will go down as one of the most crazy and dramatic encounters ever seen in the NFL, let alone in a Super Bowl.

Many of the 70,000-plus crowd at the Superdome were still recovering from a high-octane half-time show performance by Beyonce and her old Destiny's Child bandmates when Jones received David Akers' kick-off eight yards deep inside his own endzone.

Rather than take the sensible option of appealing for a fair catch, he elected to run the ball and ghosted past the 49ers defenders without barely a touch.

After Baltimore raced into an early lead courtesy of a pair of Flacco touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta, Jones extended Baltimore's advantage to 21-3 when he caught Flacco's perfectly floated downfield pass and then, realising he had not been touched by a defender, showed equally quick mental agility to get up and trot into the endzone.

After trailing 21-6 at the break, and then 28-6 following Jones's kick-off return, San Francisco could have been forgiven for giving up.But they were inspired by something truly unprecedented - half of the lights going off, and not being fixed fully for 34 minutes.

While jokes circled that 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh may have had something to do with it, the truth was that it was his side - rather than the floodlights - which had a power surge against the Ravens, who are coached by his older brother John Harbaugh.

First they were aided by some comical defending by the Ravens, which let Michael Crabtree turn an already impressive gain into a 31-yard touchdown as two defenders crashed into each other.

Then, after a good punt return, Frank Gore ran unopposed into the right hand corner of the endzone from six yards.

Suddenly the 49ers were only 20-28 down, and things got even worse for the Ravens when San Francisco cornerback Tarell Brown stripped the ball out of Ray Rice's hands and fell on the loose ball himself for a turnover.

Following an exchange of field goals, Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick capped a long drive with a 15-yard run into the endzone down the left sideline.

But his two-point conversion attempt failed, and Justin Tucker's 38-yard field goal made it 34-29 to Baltimore deep into the fourth quarter.

San Francisco tried to battle back, but ultimately their recovery stalled when Kaepernick's pass towards Crabtree fell incomplete.

Jim Harbaugh cried foul, arguing his receiver had been held by a defender, but the officials were never going to change their mind and Baltimore were able, just about, to wind down the clock and seal their second Vince Lombardi trophy.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who ended his 17-year career with a second Super Bowl win: "How could it end any other way than that. And now I get to ride into the sunset with my second ring.

"It's no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my team-mates. And you looked around this stadium and ... Baltimore! Baltimore! We coming home, baby! We did it!"

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh congratulated his big brother John's triumph while struggling to come to terms with his side's loss: "Had several opportunities in the game. Didn't play our best game. Ravens made a lot of plays. Our guys battled back to get back in it. We competed and battled to win."