Post Malone performs during the Times Square New Year’s Eve 2020 Celebration on Dec. 31, 2019, in New York City. Michael Stewart/WireImage
The NFL unveiled the lineup for the pregame entertainment for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Thursday morning (Jan. 18). Before Usher takes the stage for the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime show, country icon Reba McEntire will sing the National Anthem, while Post Malone will tackle “America the Beautiful” and Andra Day will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The National Anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be produced and arranged by Emmy-winning musical director/producer Adam Blackstone. Both the pregame and halftime shows will feature American Sign Language performances, with Coda actress Daniel Durant performing the National Anthem in ASL, actress/model/singer Anjel Piñero signing “America the Beautiful” and actor/choreographer Shaheem Sanchez signing “Lift Every Voice and Sing”; Sanchez will also perform the ASL rendition of the halftime show.
In a new interview with Vogue, Usher said he has been in intense rehearsals for his Apple Music halftime show, saying the 13-minute trip through his career “has to be perfect.” The “Yeah!” singer explained, “I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I want people who have been a part of that journey to feel like it’s a celebration for everybody, for all of us, from the beginning up until this point.”
The tightly-held specifics of the show have not yet been revealed, but Usher did promise that he would show off some of his signature dance moves and roller skating skills and that there would be a costume change and special guests.
“I’m literally speaking to every woman. I want to make it feel like that,” the singer said of his goal to make provide an intimate, steamy show in the 65,000-capacity stadium. “I want the world to smile when they look at me. I want them to feel something, and feel my passion, my love, feel like I was the right person to sit in this position, and I was the right person to bring this kind of energy and love and connection to the entire world.”
Super Bowl LVIII will take place on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
