Usher is buckling down for his headlining performance at next month’s Super Bowl LVIII, giving up all sugar and alcohol as he prepares for the big day.
The performance comes on the heels of the 45-year-old closing his Las Vegas residency
.“The Super Bowl has always been on Usher’s bucket list and he wants to be in the best shape to give the performance of his life to the 100 million-plus people watching,” a source told the Sunday Mirror newspaper’s “No Filter” column, via Fredericksburg.
“He has quit all sugar and alcohol and is rehearsing endlessly.”
It’s the second time Usher will be gracing a halftime show, having joining the Black Eyed Peas in 2011. But it’s always been a dream of his to headline the Super Bowl halftime show on his own.
“I think being able to see performances from artists like Michael [Jackson], you know, eventually Prince, and then even more modern-day artists… I was like, ‘Man, at some point I need to get a call with what’s going on now,'” he told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1
tom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad2">“But I’m really happy that I’m joining that short list of legacy artists from my genre who deserve this moment.”
“And I’m really happy that Jay-Z and also Roc Nation really put thought into making certain that they could bring to the world this kind of experience. It is definitely going to be a moment to remember,” he added.
Usher’s 14-year-old son Naviyd is serving as musical director for the show and designed his dad’s set list for the night, he revealed on Today With Hoda & Jenna.
“He has given me a curation of how much time in addition to the songs.”
Usher follows Rihanna (and her baby bump), who headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023. Dr. Dre headlined in 2022 alongside Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar.
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