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Usher lived up the hype as he took the stage during the Apple Music halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII Las Vegas on Sunday! In photos and a video clip you can see below, the singer stepped off the stage in a sharp white Dolce & Gabbana suit as he danced among colorfully clad backup dancers and acrobats, some carrying Vegas-style feather fans as they performed. In a nod to the late Michael Jackson, he wore a crystal covered white glove on his left hand.
“Girl of Fire” hitmaker Alicia Keys joined the performance as well, appearing mid-show at her iconic piano (a red, shiny one) in a gorgeous matching sheer red gown. They performed a stirring duet, and though Alicia’s appearance was short, it was phenomenal.
Usher also performed “Confessions” while standing on a gigantic clock on the stage. During a sensual performance of “U Got it Bad,” he shed his shirt to a frenzied response from the massive audience. And finally, he donned an electric black and blue suit and roller skates for a performance of his star-making hit, “Yeah!” with Lil John and Ludacris, who pumped up the energy even higher.
The R&B superstar, 45, first announced he’d be taking the iconic half time stage for one of the biggest performances of the year in September of 2023. And entertaining a massive world audience as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers face off for the coveted victory has obviously been a dream of Usher’s.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,” the “Yeah!” hitmaker said in a statement about the performance, per The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before. Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I’ll see you real soon.”
A series of stars, including Odell Beckham Jr., Kim Kardashian, Deion Sanders, and Marshawn Lynch, helped the heartthrob singer get the news of his performance out by calling him as he was in the recording studio. In a September 25 interview, he revealed that he was relying on legendary past Super Bowl half time performances by Michael Jackson, Prince, and Beyonce, to inspire him.
“I’m a praying man and I’m really humbled that I have this opportunity,” he said during the interview on CBS Mornings. “This is something that both my nanny and grandmother really wanted to see happen, and they’re no longer with me, so they’ll be watching from the best seat in the house, from the clouds above,” he sweetly said before adding, “I want to make it the best performance that the world has ever seen.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he divulged he hopes to provide a show audiences will “never forget.” “I definitely have a long list of people whom I’ve collaborated with and also, a long list of songs that mean something so much to people,” he explained. “So I’m trying to figure out how to entertain people, make certain that they understand the legacy, enjoy the moment, and make certain that they have a show that they’ll never forget.”
Mission accomplished.
