Last weekend, Usher took the stage for the 2024 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, gracing us all with a longer-than-usual performance featuring several show stopping surprise guests. As always… we have a lot of thoughts:
Caroline Snyder ’26
I will be so real—I had COVID during the Super Bowl and thus watched the halftime show from my laptop, isolated, with a significant fever. I also had to pause my watch halfway through due to a stink bug dive-bombing me, flying straight up into a light, and then dropping dead. Perhaps my opinion is a bit muddled by these… outstanding factors, but I thought it was… alright. I felt a bit like I was transported ten years back in time. Don’t get me wrong, I love some good 2000s nostalgia, but it would have been nice to see something new and different. I would give it three stars. Not the worst, but I had to Google it to even remember any significant detail, so I would certainly not consider it memorable.
Madeline Motes ’27
I was really feeling the Halftime Show this year which, in my opinion, definitely made up for Rihanna’s last year. To be honest, it started off a little weird, and I didn’t know any of the opening songs. A change in energy happened when Usher brought out Alicia Keys, which I was totally here for, and of course I loved when he brought out Lil Jon for “Yeah!” and “Turn Down For What.” I was CERTAINLY not expecting him to take his shirt off, but it added some excitement to the spectacle.
Christina Flowers, Staff Advisor
As the advisor for Connecticut College’s chapter of Her Campus, I couldn’t resist the urge to chime in on Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show. This nostalgic performance gave me all the feels of #90sNostalgia. Watching Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Ludacris, will.i.am, Lil Jon and Jermaine Dupri grace the stage with Usher, brought back so many memories, and I’m sure he made #ATL proud.
You might say that tween Christina was a little obsessed. I had a shoebox filled with pictures of Usher (my friends would cut them out of magazines and give them to me at school), my locker at school and bedroom walls were filled with posters (is this still a thing?), and I would dance and sing to his music like no one was watching. I totally had a dance party in my living room.
For me, snagging tickets for Usher’s new tour, Past, Present, Future is a top priority – a chance to relive those iconic moments live!
Lara Beckius ’24
Over the past five years, my Usher phase has drifted in and out, and I am happy to report that it is back… and taking over my life. First, I landed tickets to his upcoming national tour. Then, I witnessed one of the greatest halftime performances of all time.
Before Usher took the stage, I texted the group chat: “If he doesn’t do ‘U Remind Me,’ I’m going to cry. If he does do ‘My Way,’ I’m going to cry.”
I am happy to report that not only did Usher perform “My Way…” he started off the whole show with it! Unfortunately, however, the R&B artist did not grace the Allegiant Stadium field with a rendition of “U Remind Me.” All I’m saying is that he better do it on tour.
The setlist was a bit of a surprise, overall. I thought, for sure, that since the Super Bowl is nationally broadcasted, Usher would focus more on what I like to call his “kiddie” songs, but alas, there was no sign of “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,” and JB certainly did not make an appearance to contribute to a remix of “Somebody to Love.” I was surprised that Usher did so much of “Caught Up” at the beginning of the performance, but hey, I’m not complaining—it’s definitely one of my favorites. I am, however, disgruntled that he only sang the first 11 words of “Nice & Slow.” Now, everyone knows that at “seven o’clock” Usher was in his “drop top,” but no one knows that he was “cruisin’ the streets.”
The guest stars were absolutely incredible, and I definitely cried the hardest when Alicia Keys first made her appearance. My favorite part, though, was when Ludacris performed his verse of “Yeah!” Actually, that part is tied with Usher’s roller skating, specifically because of this TikTok.