Usher To Perform at Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show

Author Brian Ives // Managing Editor, Beasley Media

September 24th, 2023 10:16 AM

This morning, the NFL announced that Usher will perform during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show.

Usher said in a press release, “It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before. Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I’ll see you real soon.”

“Usher is an icon whose music has left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape throughout his career, we couldn’t be more excited to have him headline this year’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show,” said Seth Dudowsky, NFL Head of Music. “We look forward to working with Usher, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another Halftime Show for the history books.”

Jay-Z said, “Usher is the ultimate artist and showman. Ever since his debut at the age of 15, he’s been charting his own unique course. Beyond his flawless singing and exceptional choreography, Usher bares his soul. His remarkable journey has propelled him to one of the grandest stages in the world. I can’t wait to see the magic.” Jay-Z’s company Roc Nation partnered with the NFL in 2019. This gives Jay-Z influence over the NFL’s biggest music events, including the Halftime show, according to The New York Times. Since then, Roc Nation has produced Halftime shows featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in 2020, the Weeknd in 2021, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kenrick Lamar in 2022, and Rihanna in 2023.

Usher has had his eye on the Super Bowl Halftime show for a while; earlier this year, he told Access Hollywood that he would jump at the opportunity to perform at the event.

Super Bowl LVIII will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, February 11, 2024. The game will air on CBS.

These Are The Artists Who Turned Down Headlining The Super Bowl

• Kanye West

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  Kanye West was under consideration, but apparently his financial demands were too much for even the Super Bowl to handle.

• Nicki Minaj

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  Nicki Minaj joined headliner Madonna onstage in 2012, but the rapper was approached once again in 2019 to join Maroon 5 and she turned that opportunity down.

• Dolly Parton

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  When Katy Perry asked Dolly Parton to make a surprise appearance during the 2015 halftime show, Parton declined. “At the time, my husband was not doing good," Dolly later said. "He was kind of puny and I couldn’t leave him, so I couldn't do it."
• Backstreet Boys

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  The Backstreet Boys turned down an offer to headline the 2001 halftime show, opting to perform the national anthem instead. "At the time, we came from the era of, we loved the Whitney Houston rendition of the national anthem," Nick Carter said. "And for us, we got the choice and we passed on the halftime." After the Backstreet Boys declined, NSYNC took their spot, performing alongside Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige and Nelly.

• Outkast

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  According to Big Boi, Outkast was asked to perform at the 2004 Super Bowl but turned it down because André 3000 "didn't want to cut the songs" for time purposes. Big Boi tried to convince André 3000 to agree, but he couldn't imagine cutting their hit songs "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move."

• Adele

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  After rumors swirled in 2016 that Adele would perform at the 2017 Super Bowl, she told fans at a concert that she had to reject the offer. "First of all, I'm not doing the Super Bowl. I mean, come on, that show is not about music. And I don't really — I can't dance or anything like that. They were very kind, they did ask me, but I said no." The next day, the NFL and Pepsi released a statement asserting that they never "extended a formal offer to Adele or anyone else."
• Cardi B

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  Cardi B said that after being approached to perform at the Super Bowl in 2019, she struggled with the decision before ultimately turning the NFL down. “I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform. But there’s a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him," she said, referring to Colin Kaepernick.

• Pink

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  After Pink's 2018 Super Bowl National Anthem performance, the NFL reportedly offered her the halftime gig for the following year, but she declined. The singer was also adamant about protesting the NFL's treatment of Kaepernick, stating, "I'd probably take a knee and get carried out."

• Jay-Z

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  Jay-Z said he turned down the 2020 halftime show after the NFL told him he had to bring Rihanna and Kanye West on stage to perform their 2009 collab of "Run This Town." He said, "That is not how you go about it, telling someone that they’re going to do the halftime show contingent on who they bring. I said forget it. It was a principle thing."
• Taylor Swift

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  Rumors about a potential Swift performance at the 2023 Super Bowl began before the announcement of Rihanna signing on after the NFL announced Apple Music would be taking over as the show's sponsor. According to Variety, fans speculated that Swift's ties to Apple, and upcoming album drop, meant that the pop singer would be performing. Swift says she was offered the spot but declined in order to focus on her ongoing project of rerecording her first six albums.

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Author Brian Ives // Managing Editor, Beasley Media

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