Usher teases big special guests for his Super Bowl Halftime Show
Usher has revealed that his Super Bowl Halftime Show will feature some big special guests, as well as sharing further details about the performance.
The R&B singer is due to take to the stage at the Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, February 11.
During a new cover interview with Vogue, the artist gave some hints at what fans can expect from the show. The publication noted that the spectacle will boast skating, “killer choreography” and a “major costume change”.
It went on to confirm that Usher is planning to invite “some important guests” to the Halftime Show stage.
“This night was specifically curated in my mind to have R&B take the main stage,” the star explained. The article said the participating acts were “people who represent, for [Usher], the genre’s architects”.
The singer continued: “Not just R&B music, but R&B performance, R&B connection, R&B spirit.”
Usher is said to have been thinking about legendary Vegas showmen such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley while working on the upcoming show, as well as the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince.
Additionally, he wants the audience to feel like they’re being personally serenaded during his Super Bowl appearance. “I’m literally speaking to every woman,” he explained. “I want to make it feel like that.”
Usher also reflected on what R&B represents in the US in 2024, and how he “feel[s] joyous” to be taking on such a huge stage on behalf of the genre.
“People will tune in for a football game, but I hope when they look at that halftime performance, I’m hoping they walk away with something that’s healing them,” he continued.
“Something that makes them feel hopeful, and not just look at the past, but have hope for the future, and have hope for a different type of future than we’re looking at right now in the present.”
Usher recently shared a teaser video for his Super Bowl Halftime Show, with the clip stating that the performance has been “30 years in the making”. It came after the singer said late last year that he began his preparation for the legendary gig three decades ago.
Back in September, he recalled the moment Jay-Z told him he would be headlining this year’s Half Time Show, saying that the appearance was “destined to happen”.
Meanwhile, Usher is set to release a new album called ‘Coming Home’ in the same week as his Super Bowl show. It’ll mark the ‘Yeah’’ artist’s first solo full-length project since 2016’s ‘Hard II Love’.
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Tom Skinner
NME
