Singer, songwriter and dancer Usher performed at the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show this year. Overall, the show was mediocre and underwhelming, lacking the “halftime show wow factor” that viewers have come to expect. He performed 10 songs on his own, in addition to one with Alicia Keys and one with Lil John, Ludacris and will.i.am. Alicia Keys and Lil John also each performed a solo. He sang some of his popular songs but skipped some that were recently trending, such as “Daddy’s Home,” which was disappointing and a shock because of how well it was doing on one of the most popular social media apps, TikTok.
Usher is known for discovering pop artist Justin Bieber. Bieber attended the Super Bowl and many were hoping for him to make a guest appearance during the show. Both artists have made each other more popular, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise for them to perform together. Although Bieber didn’t make an appearance, Alicia Keys sure did. She started her first song, “If I Ain’t Got You,” with an unfortunate, but highly noticeable, voice crack. She and Usher then performed their 2004 hit, “My Boo.” During their performance, they got touchier than most think that they should have, as they are both married In an interview held after the show, Keys’ husband Kasseem Dean, better known as “Swizz Beatz,” said he had no “negative vibes” about the situation.
Although the performance wasn’t the best, viewers should have been paying more attention to the actual songs and trying to have a good time rather than worrying about relationships that were not theirs. But, overall, greater things were expected out of Usher, and the performance just wasn’t that exciting.
Marissa Dominque Wilson • Apr 1, 2024 at 2:50 pm
Besides the part about Alicia Keys’ voice cracking, I disagree. The only complaints that I have are that Usher needed more time but he did an excellent job. His catalog is so vast that he could not fit all of his hits into a 12 minute performance. Also, per Lil Jon, Bieber declined to participate. Usher gave a grand show with numerous Easter eggs from his career, Black history, and Black culture. He also paid homage to Michael Jackson, Prince, Teddy Pendergrass, and James Brown.
TLDR: Keys’ crack at the beginning was cringey but she recovered. Usher did an amazing job with such a short time.
Anonymous • Apr 1, 2024 at 12:19 am
I thought the performance was great and usher did his thing
Anonymous • Mar 31, 2024 at 10:36 pm
Fantastic Performance
Anonymous • Mar 31, 2024 at 1:06 pm
Wonderful! Good luck with everything you do and try to accomplish in your life!