LAS VEGAS — Usher kicked off his first Super Bowl as a halftime headliner on Sunday night at Super Bowl LVIII, adding several surprise guests to create an all-star cast.
The eight-time Grammy Award winner was appearing in his second Super Bowl halftime show, and he worked to fit highlights from his three-decade career into a 13-minute show.
Usher opened his set with his 2004 hit, “Caught.”
He got help on stage from Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Ludacris, Lil Jon and CeeLo Green.
Keys sang her song “If I Ain’t Got You” while standing at a large red piano. She also joined Usher for their 2004 hit, “My Boo.”
Usher was also joined by a marching band on the field, singing songs like “U Don’t Have to Call.”
Lil Jon joined, starting with “Turn Down for What” before Usher’s biggest, hit, “Yeah.”
“I would be a fool to not play ‘Yeah!’ let’s just start there,” Usher told Entertainment Tonight during Super Bowl week. “It would be foolish to make it all the way to Las Vegas, Jon is here, Luda’s here and not play ‘Yeah!’”
In 2011, Usher made a surprise appearance during the Black Eyed Peas halftime show at Super Bowl XLV. The 45-year-old singer performed his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song, “OMG,” next to will.i.am, who produced the song, according to Billboard.
He also descended from the rafters of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in an all-white outfit and sunglasses, the music website reported.
The singer’s performance in Las Vegas on Sunday came two days after the release of his ninth studio album, “Coming Home,” Entertainment Weekly reported. It was his first solo effort since 2016′s “Hard II Love,” and six years after “A,” a collaboration with producer Zaytoven, according to the entertainment news website.
The singer is certainly no stranger to Las Vegas. From July 2022 until December 2023, Usher’s “My Way” residency sold out 100 shows at the Dolby Live indoor amphitheater inside the Park MGM Hotel and Casino, KSNV-TV reported.
It was Usher’s second run in Las Vegas after a 2021 stint at the Coliseum, according to Rolling Stone.
Usher will go back on tour this summer, Entertainment Tonight reported. His Past Present Future tour begins on Aug. 20.
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