For this article, I asked my family and friends who they’d want to see perform at the 2025 Apple Music Superbowl Halftime show, and who they predict will actually end up performing. It’s a competitive year for music with many huge artists making long-awaited comebacks after a hiatus, so we’re bound to get an amazing artist chosen to perform.
Personally, I’d love to see Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Kesha, or Dua Lipa. Their music is super upbeat and they all have multiple amazing surprise guests they could bring out with them. That being said, my prediction for next year is Miley Cyrus, not only do I want to see her perform, but after her first Grammy wins this year, I think it’d be a great step to further her career. She also has music that spans many genres and generations. Plus, to cater to the older crowds, she could bring out Dolly Parton to sing ‘Jolene,’ or her younger sister Noah Cyrus to help further her singing career.
One of my older sisters, Tiffany, would want to see Pitbull, Billy Joel, Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, or Nicki Minaj. She predicts Pitbull will perform, solely for manifesting purposes. I loved these picks, especially Pitbull, I think he could bring a really fun performance, and have so many great guests, and almost everyone knows his music so he’d be catering to the whole crowd. Just imagine the entire stadium bopping to ‘Fireball.’
My oldest sister, Traci, said she’d love to see Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber, or the Foo Fighters perform. This is the second time we’ve heard Miley Cyrus and Justin Beiber suggested…NFL and Apple Music should take notes. Although they weren’t her first choice, she predicts Drake and Lil’ Wayne will perform together with a surprise appearance from Nicki Minaj. Based on the trends from past Superbowl, this isn’t a bad guess. Plus, both Drake and Nicki Minaj were listed in the Top 10 most-wanted headliners for 2024.
My Mom wants to see either Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, or Taylor Swift perform. This is our second time seeing Taylor suggested, however, based on many interviews from previous years, it seems unlikely she’ll perform at halftime anytime soon. Although, I would love to see what she chooses for her setlist. I think Billy Joel would also be an amazing performance. My Mom predicts either Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga or Ariana Grande will perform next year. Overall, these are some great guesses.
My Dad went a very untraditional route with who he’d like to see. He’d want Metallica, Foo Fighters, Morgan Wallen, or Ed Sheeran to perform. Many of these are great choices to appear the year after Usher, as they would cater to very different crowds genre-wise and generation-wise. He didn’t choose a specific artist for his prediction, but he believes it will be a mashup of different artists spanning different decades and genres. After a few years of solo artists, it makes sense for the NFL and Apple Music to try and gather a group of artists to shake things up.
My best friend, Olivia hopes to see Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, or Drake, with her main prediction being Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande isn’t a bad guess because she will be releasing a new album, Eternal Sunshine, this year to make a comeback into the music industry. Based on Superbowl artist trends, those are the perfect conditions to be invited to perform.
My friend, Mel, would love to see Doja Cat, and Miley Cyrus with guest appearances from Dolly Parton, or Beyonce. For her prediction, she went solely based on Superbowl trends. She believes Coldplay or Beyonce are most likely to headline next year’s Superbowl as they are both releasing albums in the upcoming year. Although they’ve both already performed at the halftime show, I can definitely see them being asked to perform again.
My friend, Lily, is hoping for Drake, Selena Gomez, or Justin Beiber. I thought Selena Gomez was a great idea as she has recently been making a comeback in the music industry after a long hiatus to pursue acting. She has a large discography and is super well-known. However, with the reboot of Wizards of Waverly Place, this seems unlikely. Lily’s actual prediction for the Super Bowl is Drake. That makes for two people predicting Drake to perform next year. If he does, you heard it here first!
Lastly, my sister Tiffany’s best friend Julia would love to see Pitbull, Lil’ Wayne, or Justin Timberlake. Again, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard these names so there are some clear contenders that the NFL and Apple Music should be after to perform next year. Although she’s not Julia’s favorite, she also predicts Miley Cyrus will perform. I’m just hoping for some Hannah Montana if she does.
All in all, the clear contenders the NFL and Apple Music should be after are Drake, Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber, or Taylor Swift for next year’s half-time show. After asking everybody, I was shocked Britney Spears wasn’t requested more… I’m still hoping she does sometime soon…just imagine the set, the setlist, the outfits, the guests. It’d be amazing. On the other hand, whoever gets chosen will do an outstanding job. Can’t wait to see if any of us are right!