Played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, took on the San Francisco 49ers in a head-to-head match for the title as champion. More importantly, Usher performed the halftime show.
Having been ultra-popular in the early 2000s for songs like “Yeah! ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris,” “Confessions Pt. II,” and “Love in This Club Pt. II,” I expected a lot from Usher’s Super Bowl performance. Safe to say, I was impressed. I thought Usher milked his discography perfectly, bringing out hot features and suave moves to pay homage to his decorated career.
Artists like Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Will.i.am., Lil Jon, and Ludacris joined Usher on stage to perform their biggest hits. I loved this. I thought it was super nostalgic and rang bells in honor of Usher’s earlier days. It felt unifying, and between audience old and young, the early collaborations in the music industry brought everyone together.
The visuals during the performance were fantastic; not too flashy, distracting, or overwhelming, everything was pretty perfect. Usher knew he didn’t need exuberent, tasteless flames, background dancers, sound effects, or optics to make a clean production. All the outfits were acceptable; nothing was too scandalous to cause ruckus in the media. The roller skating bit was cute. I didn’t understand it, but it was fun.
My biggest critique of the ensemble was the lack of Justin Bieber. Due to the uproar on social media about Justin possibly joining Usher on stage, I was preparing to let my inner Bieber shine. Shortly after, I was eagerly disappointed when there was no Bieber in sight, at least not on the stage. Justin was, however, in the stands, joined by his wife, Hailey Bieber. “Somebody to Love” was my childhood jam, and I was hopeful that Usher would unlock that childhood memory and let me reminisce.
Compared to other Super Bowl halftime shows, Usher’s fell as average. It was nowhere near as good as Coldplay’s 2016 show, where Bruno Mars and Beyonce guest performed, Katy Perry’s 2015 beachy halftime show, or Rihanna’s 2023 gig, but it stood competitively against worse halftime shows such as The Weeknd’s 2021 botched act or Maroon 5’s Super Bowl LIII show in 2019.
