Usher Shares That His Super Bowl Halftime Preparation Commenced Three Decades Back
Usher executes onstage throughout an insulation of iHeartRadio’s Living Black 2023 Block Party in Inglewood, Calif. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
While Usher‘s hit Las Vegas residency is one factor he landed the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show, he makes it clear in a brand-new meeting that his prep work started long prior to his current Vegas job.
“When I got the call, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve been working really hard my entire career,’” he informed Extra. “The preparation didn’t start within the last two years of performing in Las Vegas. It really started 30 years ago, and my commitment to it and the journey that I’ve taken musically is why I think I’m given that moment.”
He obtained that telephone call from Jay-Z — the chairman and owner of Roc Nation, which has actually generated the Super Bowl halftime program considering that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira took the phase in Miami in 2020 — and Usher remembered Hov informing him: “It’s your magic moment. This is it. This is your Michael moment.”
“I was like, ‘That’s a lot of pressure, bro,’” Usher chuckled. “But so many incredible artists that I respect played that stage, whether it was Beyoncé, Prince. … It’s like, ‘Wow, it’s the most compact 13 minutes of your life.’”
So what can followers get out of the halftime job? “You’re going to get hit records,” he teased. “I do want to play the songs that people obviously recognize and the ones that I celebrate. I’ve been able to laugh, I have been able to cry, I have been vulnerable, I’ve been telling and honest. … I found really great ways to help us communicate better through my music and that celebration is inside this curation.”
He likewise hinted that some visitors might perhaps join him onstage at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. “I’ve also collaborated with a lot of people in the process, so… there’s a celebration there. … I just gave it all to you. You gotta decode it.”
We’ll need to wait up until Feb. 11 to completely translate what Usher has actually intended. “It doesn’t get any bigger,” Usher claimed of the Super Bowl place.
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