R&B star makes triumphant return with a bevy of his musician friends following his brief 2011 halftime appearance
Usher headlined Super Bowl LVIII’s halftime show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday with a career-spanning performance featuring some of the biggest contemporary R&B hits of the past 20-plus years.
Usher kicked off the performance with “Caught Up” while a bevy of dancers and others performed gymnastics and turned the field into a dance party. The set included several surprise guests, among them Alicia Keys, who joined him at a red piano, where they duetted “If I Ain’t Got You” and then they transitioned the medley into “My Boo.”
His performance also segued into his ballads, which included “My Confessions, Pt. II,” and “U Got It Bad,” where he performed shirtless as a band backed him that included H.E.R on guitar.
The stage soon transformed into a roller skating rink. Lil Jon showed up to perform “Turn Down For What” before Usher launched into his iconic “Yeah!,” which also features Lil Jon. The finale featured an entourage of backing musicians scattered throughout the field and stage and included a massive horn section as Ludacris also dropped his verse from Usher’s massive hit.
Usher is very familiar with Vegas performances at this point as his halftime set comes just two months after he ended his 100-show My Way residency last December. The singer capitalized on the hype of the show earlier this week, releasing his ninth album Coming Home on Friday.
While 2024 marked Usher’s Super Bowl headlining debut, it’s not the first time he’s played the event. That came in 2011, when he briefly appeared during the Black Eyed Peas’ infamous halftime set, descending into AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas to perform “OMG,” his 2010 collab with Will.i.am.
Usher hinted at a star-studded guest list for half time earlier this week. He teased the performance with a short film featuring Ludacris, Lil Jon, Taraji P. Henson, Apple CEO Tim Cook, J Balvin, and Anderson .Paak among several others all in a race against the clock search for the singer in Vegas before his halftime show.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
