Usher Says 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show Will Honor Black Artists of the Past
Usher will entertain what will surely be the biggest audience of his career on February 11 as millions of viewers watch Super Bowl LVIII’s halftime show. And he’s using the opportunity to pay homage to the Black artists that have come before him,
“To have R&B have the main stage at the Super Bowl, it’s a major thing for me,” Usher said in a new interview on Good Morning America. “I think about what our country has kind of represented for Black artists, you know, having to at some point go through kitchens to even be able to perform for an audience, but they had to leave back through that same door [and] fear for their lives as they went to the next state to do the same thing. So I’m coming through the front door with this one. I think about all of the R&B performers who I carry in this moment.”
The “You Make Me Wanna…” singer — who has racked up nine No. 1. songs, four No. 1 albums, and eight Grammy wins — is also carrying everyone who has ever supported him. “I didn’t start where I am now, and I didn’t get there by myself,” he told ABC News’ Kelley Carter. “So, everybody that has been a part of it, I’m carrying them with me. All of my fans, my loved ones, the people who may have felt like they have been forgotten, they haven’t. I’m carrying you right with me when I walk on that stage that night.”
Apple Music, Roc Nation, the NFL announced Usher as the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show headliner in September 2023, “Usher is the ultimate artist and showman,” Roc Nation’s Jay-Z said at the time. “Ever since his debut at the age of 15, he’s been charting his own unique course. Beyond his flawless singing and exceptional choreography, Usher bares his soul. His remarkable journey has propelled him to one of the grandest stages in the world. I can’t wait to see the magic.”
And the 45-year-old is making the most of his Super Bowl fame, releasing Coming Home, his ninth studio album, two days before the big game.
Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, Sunday, February 11, 2024, CBS
