Usher wants to ‘speak to every woman’ with Super Bowl halftime performance

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Usher said he wants to “speak to every woman” with his upcoming 11 February Super Bowl halftime performance at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In a cover interview with Vogue, the 45-year-old “My Boo” singer talked to the outlet about the pressure that comes with putting together a set condensing 30 years of his career to 13 minutes, with only eight minutes for stage setup. “It has to be perfect,” he explained. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I want people who have been a part of that journey to feel like it’s a celebration for everybody.”

Although the exact details of the show have remained under wraps, Usher – full name Usher Raymond IV – hinted that audiences should expect to see roller skating, stellar choreography, major costume changes, and special guests among other things. He added, “This night was specifically curated in my mind to have R&B take the main stage.”

“I’m literally speaking to every woman. I want to make it feel like that,” the Grammy-winning artist said. “I want the world to smile when they look at me. I want them to feel something, and feel my passion, my love, feel like I was the right person to sit in this position, and I was the right person to bring this kind of energy, and love, and connection to the entire world.”

Hype has been building up around Usher’s debut show, with a one minute teaser trailer debuting on 12 January, taking fans back to look at some of the most iconic moments throughout Usher’s 30-year career. Starting with a gospel choir rendition of “Peace up, A-Town down” – from the intro of Usher’s famous 2004 hit “Yeah!” with Lil Jon and Ludacris – the trailer then takes viewers back to 1997, when the R&B icon had his first brushes with fame. The trailer charts the singer’s rise to new echelons of fame following his second album, My Way, using footage of his early days and scenes from his biggest music videos.

His ninth studio album, COMING HOME, is set to release on 9 February and will be available to stream on all platforms two days before his Super Bowl performance. Fans can expect the upcoming album to include singles like “Good Good” featuring Summer Walker and 21 Savage, “Risk It All” with H.E.R., and “Standing Next To You” with Jung Kook.

The album marks the singer’s first solo album since 2016’s Hard II Love, which released hits such as “No Limit,” “Mind of a Man,” and “Rivals.”