On September 24, it was announced worldwide that Usher would headline the 2024 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, taking place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11, 2024. Usher made the announcement via the intro to his hit music video, ‘Confessions.’ Stars including Kim Kardashian, Deion Sanders, Marshawn Lynch, and Odell Beckham Jr. were seen conversing with Usher in the video mash-up, telling him he’d be performing on one of the biggest stages in the world.
Following the announcement, Usher conducted multiple interviews discussing this monumental moment in his career. During a CBS interview with Gayle King, Usher shared how he wasn’t able to share the news with any of his family before it was publicly revealed. One person that he did call when he got the news was Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who asked what he’d be wearing. Once the announcement was publicly made, Usher stated that Jay-Z was one of the first people to call him, telling him, “It’s your time. It’s the magic moment.” Looking at Michael Jackson, Prince, and even Beyonce as examples of exceeding the Super Bowl’s expectations, Usher shares that his moment will be a celebration.
Honoring his tremendous career of 30 years at the 58th annual Super Bowl, Usher will also be dropping his ninth studio album ‘Coming Home’ that same day. The album cover shows Usher holding a peach behind his back, which represents his home state, Georgia. In addition to his hometown, it’s presumed that the term ‘Coming Home’ represents him being in his new home of Las Vegas, where he’s held his ‘My Way’ residency since July of 2022, which comes to an end in December. In an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music, Usher stated that “Coming Home” is “a love letter once again to the legacy of my career.”
In most of the interviews Usher’s conducted thus far, he’s learned to build a decent poker face, learning much of that from being in Vegas. With this new poker face, it’s difficult for viewers to know which surprise guests he’ll bring out during his halftime performance. Many speculate Justin Beiber as the number one surprise guest, but that doesn’t limit those suspecting Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, or Jay-Z making an appearance. One thing we know for sure, per his interview with Access Hollywood, is that when asked what song he thinks if he didn’t play, the fans would go nuts, he answered ‘Yeah.’ With that response, one can question if Ludacris and Lil Jon will be brought out to grace the Super Bowl stage.
Usher will be the first independent artist to play the Super Bowl. With all of the speculations around his performance, if he’ll go shirtless, if he’ll be on skates, and who he’s bringing out, Usher is determined to keep everything top secret.
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