You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t love a good halftime show. It’s an aspect of the Super Bowl — an event that nearly amounts to a national holiday in scale — that football and non-football fans alike are able to unite around. One of few things annually that for a brief window everybody seems to be talking about, it becomes a hot topic of water cooler talk during the months leading up to the Super Bowl every year.
Two questions naturally arise given how much the halftime show captures our collective attention: What do we expect from it? Which ones have set the gold standard? Usher, who performed at Super Bowl LVIII last Sunday, provides a convenient and relevant way to broach this topic. By breaking down which elements were present that made his performance work — and what was missing — we might be able to answer these questions. To do this, I’m going to talk about three aspects of the show: artist choice, performance and production.
Artist Choice
When Usher was announced as the halftime show headliner, many questioned the choice based on relevance. His most successful years were in the 2000s and early 2010s, so why should he headline in 2024?
The NFL has chosen many older artists that appeal to nostalgia in recent years (the Weeknd, still in his prime, is an exception) but is far from a new phenomenon. While going for nostalgia can be a problem if that’s all you do, older artists can make for a great choice if their skill as a performer hasn’t atrophied and if they were relevant enough in their time to still be cared about.
With a solid catalog of commercially successful R&B that includes both slow jams and danceable club hits, Usher has the level of recognizability required for the show. No one wants to hear songs they don’t know. Hits like “Yeah!” and “My Boo” give viewers something to get excited about seeing on live TV. Even if his legacy isn’t as enduring as other artists from his era, it was, at least, fun to see him on stage again.
Performance
To me, this is the area where Usher most clearly met the standards for a halftime show. If he hadn’t succeeded here, the whole show would have been a flop. You can’t just be a star to make it work: you need the stage presence and charisma of one as well.
Usher’s performance worked because he looked like he was having fun the whole time — and fun is infectious. No one wants a performer to go through the motions. Maroon 5’s performance in Super Bowl LIII failed (among many other reasons) because Adam Levine’s energy was muted and kept him from commanding the stage. Executing complex dance routines with fluidity and control, Usher kept his performance lively with an energy level that stayed consistent throughout the entire show.
Additionally, Usher’s on-stage chemistry with the show’s cameo performers was compelling, in particular during his performance of “My Boo” with Alicia Keys. Usher and Keys seemed genuinely happy to be performing together, successfully capturing the song’s romantic subject matter through apparent friendship and mutual respect.
Production
Advances in technology have greatly expanded what performers can do with set design, leading to a general increase in its grandeur and complexity. While halftime shows may often verge on over-production, this change is still positive overall. If halftime shows didn’t evolve, the event would probably age out of its relevance.
That said, there is a balancing act when it comes to production. If it’s a messy conglomeration of bells and whistles, it doesn’t work. Production should be cohesive and ultimately serve to highlight the artist. Production is the art of augmenting a performance, not defining one.
Despite extensively using varied sound and lighting, the production never stole the show in Usher’s performance. Usher remains firmly in the center, even when production is used cover to cover with the set and costume changes. Backup dancers, lighted costumes and a stage that changes colors all strengthened his performance, which made the show entertaining but not over-bloated.
Does the show meet the gold standard?
Despite Usher’s performance being a success, it still missed something key that defines an ideal halftime show. To explain, I want to compare Usher’s performance to Prince’s at Super Bowl XLI in 2007.
If you want a master class in crowd work, Prince’s halftime show is the one to watch. After opening by telling the crowd “Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered together to get through this thing called life,” Prince repeatedly addresses the crowd, telling them to dance and shout and the crowd’s response is instantaneous.
Unlike Usher, Prince had very little by way of choreography. Instead of dancing, he strutted around the stage with an electric guitar as charismatically as you’ve ever seen anyone do it. Singing before a crowd looked like the most natural thing in the world for him — there was not even a hint of strain or exhaustion in his performance. Few possess that level of magnetism. Those who do possess it know how to do a Super Bowl halftime show.
Prince’s halftime show was also fairly minimal in terms of its production. The biggest piece of set design was simply a giant curtain that silhouetted Prince as he played an electric guitar solo. For the most part, it was just Prince being Prince. On the other hand, I don’t know if this year’s Super Bowl would have worked if it was Usher just being Usher. Few are captivating enough to carry a show in that way.
I don’t know when, if ever, we’ll get another great halftime show. For all of today’s top stars, I can think of reasons they don’t quite reach the heights of Prince. Every person in today’s top 40 either has not stood the test of time, doesn’t command the same level of widespread acclaim or just isn’t as good. This could be due to fundamental changes like stardom or simply because I’m too young to have seen anyone from my generation ascend to truly iconic status.
Either way, I don’t know when we’ll get another Prince to perform the halftime show. In the meantime though, I’ll gladly take another Usher.