Ames Friedman derivative work: Adabow

Singer, songwriter and dancer Usher Raymond will perform the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show.

At this year’s Super Bowl LVIII (58), where the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will play, singer, songwriter and dancer Usher Raymond, just known as Usher, will perform the halftime show.

While Usher is a famous artist with 8 Grammy Awards, he is not the best pick for the halftime show.

Usher’s rise to fame occurred in the late 1990s – early 2000s, meaning a lot of teens and early 20-year-olds are not going to be familiar with his music. His performance will appeal more to late 20 and 30-year-olds, which are already more likely to watch the Super Bowl, according to a study by Statista.com. If the NFL wants younger people to watch the Super Bowl, they’d have better luck with a newer artist who is currently popular.

The halftime show performers the past three years were Rihanna, Eminem, The Weeknd, artists that made sense for the years that they performed. Rihanna was popular in 2023, Eminem was popular in 2022, and the Weeknd was extremely popular in 2021 and 2020. But it’s 2024 and Usher was popular 20 years ago. It’s just not the best choice that could’ve been made.

People think that Usher is a timeless classic, but his music really just only fits the vibe of the Y2K era of American music and culture. His music has more of a nostalgia feel than a modern vibe. With the rise of Taylor Swift’s fame, many people assumed she would perform the halftime show this year, but Swift turned down the invitation. However, she would’ve been a better choice for the halftime show because of her popularity with younger people. With Swift dating Travis Kelce, a player for the Chiefs, she’s already stolen the show from Usher.

Even though Usher is a popular artist, his popularity has run out and, at this point, he’s just a nostalgic artist for those born in the 90s. Anyone popular now would’ve been a better choice than Usher.