Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Was Incredible. Here Are All Our Thoughts

Less than 30 seconds into the performance, there was an amazing mindfuck of a sequence that set the tone for the whole halftime show. Usher stood in the middle of the field as two sets of dancers did handstands on each others' shoulders by his side, before the camera panned left and revealed a half dozen dancers wearing giant blue feathers on their backs. Then, just as I was trying to center myself and figure out what the hell was happening, a man shot out of a cannon. A CANNON! Or, well, maybe some kind of propulsion device. Either way, he was flying across the top of the screen, before crash-landing back to Earth. What. The. Fuck. Was. Going. On? Whipping back to the center of the screen, the camera returned to Usher as he hit a spin move on the 20-yard line and continued the song. Wow. Now that’s how you start a halftime performance. I was glued to my screen. —Eric Skelton

The entire show was, as is perfectly acceptable, a flex on Usher’s part, showing off the power of his contacts list, vocals, and agility. But what stood out the most from the start was his excellent choreography at 45. In what appeared to be fully live renditions of nearly all of his classics, Usher never missed a step or slide (that we know of). The microphone stand swirl-and-release moment to prelude his shirtless moment, plus the minimal but seductive and playful moment with Alicia Keys were a couple of standouts. And then, of course, was the immaculate, and almost necessary, roller skate choreo to close out the show. The perhaps only issue that his prioritization of choreography caused was by way of his face microphone in the first bit of the show, which momentarily produced subpar audio quality. Over the last two decades, Usher has mastered the art of coupling his honeyed vocals and enthralling energy with immaculate choreography. His experience and deserving artistry shone here. —Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo

Pole dancers. A band. Roller skates. Flying acrobats. Dozens of choreographed dancers in wild costumes. Countless guests. Multiple outfits (and one part where Usher said "fuck it" and took his shirt off altogether). A whole crowd of people moshing to “Turn Down For What.” An extra close hug with Alicia Keys that set the internet on fire. This halftime show was a 12-minute sensory overload and I loved every second of it. That’s how you put on a damn show and demand everyone’s attention in 2024. All of the chaos did ultimately lead to the one stain on the show: audio quality. He had a live mic, which had some issues in the first part of the set, in the midst of all the dancing and theatrics. But I appreciated that he committed to live vocals; the technical issues were just unfortunate. The show was also relatively short, but he packed a lot of action into every second. I don’t know about you all, but everyone at the Super Bowl party I was at put down their phones and watched every second of this. When’s the last time you saw that happen? —Eric Skelton

Usher will go down as one of the greatest performers of all time, and he put on a masterclass in fitting three decades worth of classics into a 13-minute show. From “Confessions” to “My Boo,” “Love in the Club,” “Yeah!,” and more, Usher breezed through some of his biggest hits with smooth transitions and never faltered in energy. I was getting tired just watching how well he was jumping from song to song, even though I do wish he performed some of them a bit longer. We predicted he would honor a specific era during the show, but he managed to highlight how vast his career has been, which was even better. —Jordan Rose

Rihanna’s floating stage design last year and The Weeknd's wild doppelgangers the year before were already tough to follow, and unfortunately, that was the only aspect of Usher’s show that was lacking for me. He opened by basically performing on the field with a lot going on around him, and it distracted him from the show. It wasn’t until roller skating came out that the show became more visually appealing, even though the songs he was performing made up for the lackluster stage design. I was hoping for him to literally roll onto the stage, but that would have also limited the amount of choreography he was able to fit into the show. —Jordan Rose

As we predicted, Usher delivered an exceptional Super Bowl halftime performance with a lineup of both expected and surprise musical guests. The certified King of Vegas was joined by Jermaine Dupri, a longtime collaborator and integral producer of his classic album, Cofessions, as well as Alicia Keys, performed alongside Usher  for a live rendition of their romantic duet, “My Boo.” R&B singer H.E.R. made a special appearance, showcasing her talent with a guitar solo. But the halftime show reached its peak as Usher was joined by Lil Jon and Ludacris for a hype performance of “Yeah!” This event was ultimately shaped by an array of stellar performances, making it one of the standout Super Bowl halftime shows in years. —Jessica McKinney

It's widely known that Usher hails from Atlanta, and he made sure to showcase his hometown pride during the halftime show. From his choice of guest performers to the songs he selected, Usher celebrated Atlanta throughout his performance. Joining him on stage were several Atlanta-based artists, including Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, and Ludacris. The representation of Atlanta extended past just the guest appearances, with background dancers and the band reflecting the city's music scene. Most notably, Usher featured a live band, reminiscent of the performers prominent in Atlanta and historically black colleges. The halftime show served as a moment to honor both Atlanta and Usher's extensive career. —Jessica McKinney

There are a lot of reasons why this performance was so good, but Usher’s Vegas residency last year feels like a big one. After putting that show on night after night, he was already in top shape as a performer, and it seems like he squeezed it all into a 12-minute performance on Sunday night (with a Super Bowl-sized budget). After going viral for serenading women in Vegas all year, he even had a similar headline-grabbing moment with Alicia Keys at the halftime show. The ingredients were all there. Anyway, I’m definitely not making the same mistake twice and missing his tour this year. (If you’re like me and you’re rushing to buy tickets, I’ll save you a Google and drop the link here.) —Eric Skelton