Super Bowl LVIII was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and hosted in the Allegiant Stadium. The game was between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Allegiant Stadium held approximately 65,000 people, with 123 million viewers across several online platforms watching the game. However, it is safe to say that many of those viewers and several million others came to watch or turned on TV for Usher’s halftime show.
Before the humorous-rated “U” opening title screen, Usher opened up the show with an arousing dance routine, which included a marching band, backup dancers, contortionists, etc. The scene had a cirque-du-Soleil style about it. Generally, his performance was dance-heavy and had a meticulous choreographic design where dancers, and even Usher himself, were on roller skates. These details highlight the extravagance that Usher upholds to keep viewers watching. It also wouldn’t have been an Usher performance without slick dance moves. In his 14-minute running performance, Usher sang songs from his previous works, such as “If I Ain’t Got You” and “My Boo” in a duet with Alicia Keys, a guitar-heavy rendition of “U Got It Bad” with H.E.R., “OMG!” with Will.i.am, and the iconic “Turn Down for What” and “Yeah!” with both Ludacris and Lil Jon. He also sang other songs from his newer album, Coming Home. a
There is no doubt that with his performance, Super Bowl viewers nationwide and internationally felt 2000s nostalgia. Easily recognizable songs—much of Usher’s discography—execute more amusement amongst viewers. This theme of the 2000s resurgence has been a recurring style every year since 2020 for the Super Bowl halftime show. Acts from previous years such as Rihanna (2023), The Hip Hop Revival from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar (2022), The Weeknd (2021), and Shakira with J.Lo (2020) all brought back the most recognizable songs from the 2000s that we still listen to at parties, clubs, big events, sports games, etc. In turn, these older songs evoke feelings of familiarity, youthfulness, optimism, and nostalgia (Sedikides & Wildschut, 2022, p. 2047). It is no wonder why performances like Rihanna’s or Usher’s have provided us with such anticipation and excitement.
In terms of Usher, I personally believe he was highly fitting for this year’s halftime performer profile. His recently produced album, Coming Home, exhibits this report of the exciting “comeback” of Usher but with a modern twist. Aside from the fact that the Halftime show will help his recent album gain popularity and advertisement, the voice and the dance moves that we missed so much from the 2000s have returned. The halftime shows in general haven’t been performed by any newer artists within the past few years. For example, Rihanna hasn’t released an album in quite some time, but her presence on stage is still exciting. The Super Bowl halftime
show wants prominent artists to perform because artists like Shakira, Dr. Dre, Rihanna, the Weeknd, and Usher with famed names are so iconic to music history that it allows everyone to enjoy their show. Following the theme of the 2000s and 2010s resurgence from the recent halftime shows, there is no doubt that Usher was perfect to perform at the 2024 Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LVIII alone has been the most highly watched Super Bowl in history, with 123 million viewers tuning in. This beat the 2023 number of 121 million. With the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers playing an extensive game, the Chiefs took home the Vince Lombardi trophy with a final score of 25-22. Due to the overtime, there was strict tension between both fandoms of the Chiefs and 49ers, but thank goodness we had Usher to provide us with an intimate performance that had everyone on their feet and enjoying music in harmony.
Works Cited
All the Highlights From Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. (2024, February 12). TIME.
https://time.com/6693288/usher-super-bowl-halftime-show-2024-highlights/
Archie, A. (2024, February 13). The 2024 Super Bowl becomes the most-watched NFL
championship in history. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/02/13/1231058556/most-watched-super-bowl-2024#:~:text=Hourly%20News-
Caramanica, J. (2024, February 12). Usher Brings Precise Details to Pop’s Biggest Stage:
The Super Bowl. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/11/arts/music/usher-super-bowl-halftime-review.html
Freiman, J. (2024, February 12). Super Bowl winners throughout history: full list from 2024 all
the way back to the first in 1967—CBS News. Www.cbsnews.com. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/super-bowl-winners-list-history/#:~:text=The%202024%20Super%20Bowl%20ended
Here’s every song Usher performed during the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show. (n.d.). EW.com.
Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://ew.com/usher-super-bowl-2024-halftime-show-setlist-songs-8575810
Sedikides, C., Leunissen, J., & Wildschut, T. (2021). The psychological benefits of
music-evoked nostalgia. Psychology of Music, 50(6), 030573562110646. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356211064641
Super Bowl Locations: Where will the Super Bowl be hosted in 2024, 2025, 2026, and
beyond? (2024, February 7). NBC Sports. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/news/super-bowl-locations-where-will-the-super-bowl-be-hosted-in-2024-2025-2026-and-beyond #:~:text=Opened%20in%202020%2C%20SoFi%20Stadium
Usher. (n.d.). Usher. https://www.usherworld.com/
