Usher's Super Bowl Halftime Show Is Going to Be Super Sized

Gather your chips, dips, and meats shaped like giant football stadiums (idk) because the Super Bowl is going down on Sunday, February 11. And while the game is “fun to watch,” let’s be honest: we’re all here for Usher’s halftime show—which is poised to be bigger and better than ever. Quite literally, because Usher went ahead and secured himself more time.

Most Super Bowl halftime shows run a tight 13 minutes (not a lot of time for someone to belt out a medley of their entire musical catalog *and* promote a few new songs *and* bring out some A-list guests), but Usher says he negotiated himself 15 minutes. And a lot can happen in two extra minutes!

“I can’t explain why, but it’s a funny thing that I was able to do and craft,” Usher told Entertainment Weekly of his extra time. “That was a huge strategic thing that happened between me and my agency.”

Usher was also inspired by Rihanna’s iconic 2023 show: “Rihanna’s was fire because of the choreography and the way they did something that felt like a concert,” he explained. “It actually was a great deal of inspiration [for] how I began to think of my show. If you ever came to my residency, it was all about being immersed — being immersed in an experience that is all of these things that wouldn’t necessarily go together.”

Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show is even longer than usual—here’s how he secured himself extra time.

Usher described his show as being “30 years in the making,” saying that “I would hope that people would feel excited — whether they knew my music or they just got to meet me for the first time — and that I’m all passion, man. And that this 8-year-old, who now is a 45-year-old, feels just as free as the first time that I thought any of this could be possible.”

Truly cannot wait for Sunday (words I’ve never said before).