The Jay-Z Super Bowl headline slot is official. The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Monday night that Hov will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show on Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
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The news dropped during halftime of the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles game on Monday Night Football. ESPN, which carries Monday Night Football, will also broadcast Super Bowl LXI, with the halftime show airing on ESPN, ABC and Disney+ and streaming on mobile through NFL+.
“From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.”
The man who has been running the show from behind the scenes is finally stepping in front of it. Roc Nation signed its deal with the NFL in 2019 and has co produced every halftime show since, from Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in 2020 to Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. The company recently signed a five year extension that keeps it in charge of the show through 2029. Through all of it, Jay-Z never took the stage himself, which makes February his Jay-Z Super Bowl debut.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in his statement that when the league first reached its agreement with Roc Nation, his one request was that Jay-Z eventually perform. Seven years later, he got his wish.
The announcement did not come out of nowhere. Puck reported last week that Jay-Z was in line for the gig, and that Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber had also been considered. Cam’ron and Mase caught wind of it early too, laughing on their show that Jay-Z’s supposed trouble finding a halftime performer was really a setup for him to give the slot to himself. They called it.
The timing lines up with the biggest touring year of his career. Jay-Z spent 2026 on his Jay-Z 30 stadium run, celebrating the 30th anniversary of his debut album Reasonable Doubt and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint. The tour opened with three sold out nights at Yankee Stadium in New York, hit London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Stade de France in Paris, and wrapped with two shows at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 23 and 24. That means the Jay-Z Super Bowl performance will happen in the same building where he closed the tour just days before the announcement.
He brings a résumé few halftime headliners can match. Jay-Z has won 25 Grammys, became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017 and joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. He is also reportedly the wealthiest music artist in the world.
No guest performers have been announced. Beyoncé headlined the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show in 2013 and returned as a guest performer at Super Bowl 50 in 2016. Last season, Bad Bunny headlined with appearances from Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga.
