Super Bowl Sunday: Usher wows crowd at half time with Alicia Keys
Usher emerged at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium for the Super Bowl halftime show seated on a throne and accompanied by a marching band and a trove of Vegas performers.
That he remained at the centre of the show was confirmation of his position as the ideal halftime performer - with timeless, well-known hits, masterful choreography, and a devoted audience.
He started with Caught Up, moving into U Don’t Have to Call, Superstar, and Love in the Club.
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Alicia Keys joined the party in front of a bright red piano for her song If I Ain’t Got You, which morphed into My Boo, Usher losing a glove in an apparent tribute to Michael Jackson.
“They said I wouldn’t make it,” he told the crowd, dedicating the set to his “mama”.
Across 13 minutes during the halftime show, Usher brought out guests including H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, and Lil Jon - for Turn Down for What, which became Yeah! and included a guest appearance from Ludacris.
Across three decades, the R&B superstar had an endless treasure trove of hits to pull from - and he did so with costume changes, and a rolling performance of OMG while wearing roller skates, at one moment, sliding between will.i.am’s legs.
Usher’s album Confessions ranks among the best-selling music projects of all time and turned 20 this year; Burn became an easy performance highlight.
Over the past two years, the 45-year-old Usher has made Vegas a home for his unique talents, with his sold-out residency - Usher: My Way - at Dolby Live at Park MGM making him the perfect pick for Sunday’s game.
The eight-time Grammy award winner is no stranger to the Super Bowl stage - he made a guest appearance with Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am in 2011.
In his first Super Bowl performance, he descended from the stadium ceiling to perform OMG in Arlington, Texas.
“Don’t take the moments for granted because you only get 13 of them,” he said in advance of his 2024 performance, referring to the allotted 13-minute run time.
“The hardest part is trying to figure out how to squeeze it all in when you actually have a large catalogue, or a lot of records people celebrate and love.”
With a doubt, he figured out exactly how to do just that.
