Jealous lovers, prepare yourselves. Usher is about to serenade an entire stadium of wives and girlfriends. The NFL, Apple Music, and Roc Nation announced back in September that Usher will perform as the headliner of the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show. The news was first shared via a series of promo clips that play off of Usher’s “Confessions Pt. II†interlude. Football celebs like Deion Sanders, Marshawn Lynch, and Odell Beckham Jr. joined football fan Kim Kardashian in trying to convince Usher over the phone that he really had been booked for Super Bowl LVIII. “Are you serious? How you know? Put that on everything,†the singer said, so skeptically that his future self had to call in to confirm the news. Usher previously performed as a guest at the 2011 Super Bowl halftime show with the Black Eyed Peas, but this will be his first time headlining. “It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,†he said in a statement. “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before.†But wait, there’s more.
Not only will Usher bless us with the R&B-focused performance he’s reportedly cooking up, but other artists will do their best to serve as his opener. A tough gig, but somebody’s gotta do it. Everything you need to know about how and when to tune in.
Who are we gonna pregame the Super Bowl with?
The LVIII pregame lineup has a little something for everybody. We’ve got a country queen, a pop-rapper, and soul singer to make it spicy. Mononymous mother Reba is slated to perform the national anthem for our hearing pleasure. Joining McEntire is Post Malone, who snagged the gig to sing “America the Beautiful,†somehow. Sing-rap has reached its zenith. Elsewhere on the bill is R&B star and actor Andra Day, set to perform the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.â€
Is anyone else performing?
Glad you asked! Super Bowl LVIII will have an in-game DJ for the first time — a little tribute to being in Vegas, city of DJs. Tiësto will be doing the honors, performing a preshow set and throughout breaks in the game, presumably during timeouts and end-of-quarter switchovers. You’ll be able to catch bits of his performance on the broadcast.
The halftime show even gets a trailer.
Usher teases that this performance has been 30 years in the making. The minute-long clip basically confirms the obvious: he’ll be performing “Yeah!†We hear the hit being performed by a gospel choir, a marching band, string instruments, and even a squeaky oven door. We also see LeBron James, J Balvin, and Jung Kook of BTS jamming out to the song … yeah, it’d be weird if Usher didn’t put it on the setlist now.
When do the festivities begin?
The 2024 Super Bowl pregame show begins at 6:00 p.m. ET on February 11, just before kick off at 6:30 p.m. Depending on how the game goes, we should expect the halftime show to start at around 8 p.m. that night.
How can I watch?
Super Bowl LVIII will air on CBS. For the first time, you can also watch it en español on Univision. Plus, Nickelodeon will have a kid-friendly version of the broadcast (whatever that means). Or, if you prefer streaming services, you’ll be able to tune in live on Paramount+, NFL+, and Vix.
Wait, will we have a new Usher album by then?
Yes, but he’s cutting it pretty close. Per Apple Music, Usher’s upcoming 20-track album, Coming Home, is scheduled to drop on February 11, 2024, the same day as the Super Bowl. If fans want to sing along to any new songs he might perform, they’ll have to get on their Zoom and learn those lyrics fast.
This post has been updated.