On Sunday, as the San Francisco 49ers compete against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Usher will take to the field to helm the halftime show. Throughout the years, the halftime show has become a staple of the big game. Past performers included Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Beyoncé, and even Prince. While adding his name to an already iconic list, Usher will be in a category all by himself when it comes to the runtime of his performance. And according to the singer, it’s all due to him and his agency.
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For most artists who performed during the Super Bowl, the NFL allotted them around 13 minutes on the field. While not a great deal of time, those 13 minutes have led to some memorable moments over the years. Still, when it comes to Usher, he announced the NFL gifted him 15 minutes. He told Entertainment Weekly, “I can’t explain why, but it’s a funny thing that I was able to do and craft. That was a huge strategic thing that happened between me and my agency.”
The One Artist Who Inspired Usher
With the Super Bowl being held in Las Vegas, Usher felt right at home since he held a residency there for two years. Performing 100 shows in that time, his halftime performance will mark his 101st show in Las Vegas. Speaking about his first show back in 2021, the singer said, “I went to Las Vegas with only the belief that people would come because nobody was going anywhere. You have to understand how much of an unwavering belief a person had to have to put together a show after a year of nobody going anywhere…” He continued, “So the fact that I did that was just truly a matter of belief, and that belief was all positive.”
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Besides discussing his extra runtime, Usher also revealed those who helped inspire him along the way. And one of those people was last year’s Super Bowl headliner, Rihanna. “Rihanna’s was fire because of the choreography and the way they did something that felt like a concert. It actually was a great deal of inspiration [for] how I began to think of my show.”
Calling his halftime show a “celebration”, Usher is only a few days away from showcasing a career that spanned over 30 years.
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(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
