WASHINGTON — When the Super Bowl halftime show first launched, it was used as a time for university bands to showcase their talents. As the halftime show grew in popularity, it became more about highlighting musical artists and their tenure in the industry.
Some of the most memorable halftime performances include Katy Perry, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Madonna, and Rihanna. And who can forget Prince’s 2007 “Purple Rain” halftime performance?! It literally started raining as he crooned the chorus.
The halftime show has always been star-studded and show-stopping. But ever since 2019, it has become more than just entertainment, because now, it is attached to something meaningful.
In 2019, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Billionaire Entrepreneur Shawn Carter, known as Jay-Z, entered a long-term partnership surrounding the Super Bowl halftime show. Their goal was to push the performance forward.
The league has worked with Roc Nation, a full-service management, music publishing, and entertainment company founded and owned by Jay-Z, to help its Inspire Change Initiative. The company was created by the NFL after an agreement with a coalition of players who demonstrated during the National Anthem to protest social and racial injustice in the country.
The Associated Press spoke with Seth Dudowsky, the head of music at the NFL, who said the league “wanted to start to focus on leading into culture," and Jay-Z did just that.
In 2020, Roc Nation appointed Jesse Collins to executive produce the Super Bowl halftime show. This decision made Collins the first Black producer to produce the halftime show since its inception.
Since then, Jesse Collins Entertainment Productions has brought:
- The Weekend
- Dr. Dre
- Snoop Dogg
- Eminem
- 50 Cent
- Mary J. Blige
- Anderson .Paak
- Kendrick Lamar
- and the incomparable Rihanna to the Pepsi Super Bowl halftime show.
That lineup was no small feat, but this isn’t Collins's first rodeo. He executive produced the:
- BET Awards: 2002-present
- BET Hip-Hop Awards: 2006-present
- Grammy: 2019-present
- Emmy: 2024
- Oscars: 2021
Now Collins, backed by Roc Nation, will bring on one of the most formidable R&B acts this century has seen, Usher.
Usher’s musical peer, Snoop Dogg, told the AP that choosing him made sense, “[he] fits the mold to the fullest.”
“He looks good. He dances good. He sounds good,” the rapper said “All the above. And he’s got hit records. You want to see that. You want to see a performer perform. You want to see an entertainer entertain.”
With a 30-year catalog, Usher is no "Stranger" to being center stage.
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