The big weekend of the NFL it’s here. For days Las Vegas has been beating to the rhythm of the kickoffs, downs, yards and touchdowns of the Super Bowl and half the planet has its eyes on the grand finale. And in addition to sports, the music industry also experiences this gigantic event with shows and concerts spread throughout the city. To such an extent that two names have centralized all the spotlights. And yes, you read correctly: two. Because the prominence of Taylor Swift He has been eclipsing the guest artist for the intermission for days: Usher.
Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl 2024
In fact, this story does not begin now. Not even when the Kansas City Chiefs won their conference finals and Taylor caught the attention by kissing him with Travis Kelce. We cannot even trace the origin of the first time that the artist from Pennsylvania was seen in the boxes of the team’s stadium watching her partner’s games.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift kiss at a Chiefs game / Patrick Smith
Because the story really begins in August of last year when the NFL asked Taylor Swift to become the Super Bowl halftime artist.. An offer that ends with the soloist’s refusal, citing, according to some media, incompatibility of agenda. But the reality was very different.
By then, the relationship between the American football player and the artist had already been going on for a couple of months. The singer had abruptly ended her relationship with Joe Alwyn and she preferred that the spotlight not fall on the sport in which her new partner was involved. Obviously, only a star like the creator of Anti Heroes can reject a similar proposal.
It’s clear that Taylor Swift doesn’t need a 14-minute show in front of an audience of more than 300 million viewers because she already has it. His The Eras World Tour He won’t reach those numbers of attendees but between his concerts, his albums, his film… they won’t be very far away either.
The Super Bowl, however, could be a challenge for her. A challenge that she has not yet faced despite the NFL’s insistence on having it. Perhaps on other occasions her refusal could be due to scheduling problems. In 2024, the most shared theory was that the performer and composer preferred not to have to face a fan that she could consider her rival for dating a person from the other team. You just have to look at some quite sexist and out-of-tone comments that accompanied the usual images of her on television celebrating her partner’s matches.
Usher and the Super Bowl 2024
As I imagine you have seen up to this point, Usher’s name has barely been spoken. And that is no exception in these months in which the R&B soloist’s performance has had a lower profile than the doubts about whether or not Taylor Swift would be present at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas during the final.
The headlines that other years would occupy supposed leaks about the show’s rehearsals, about the possible list of songs or about the artist’s latest controversy (in Usher it is difficult to find them) have focused this year on the itinerary of the singer whose round trip from Tokyo to Las Vegas is going to be the talk of the weekend.
And we do not say it. If the Japanese embassy in the United States issues a statement according to which the Japanese government guarantees that the musical star’s plane will be on time for the game, little more can be added: “Despite the 12 hour flight and 17 hour time difference, the Embassy can speak now with confidence to say that if she leaves Toko at night after her concert, should easily reach Las Vegas. “We wanted to confirm that all interested parties can be Fearless knowing that this talented artist can surprise the Japanese public and come to Las Vegas to support the Chiefs when they take the field dressed in Red.”
At the level of show and spectacle, Usher knows that he can do little to confront the Swiftmania that will be installed in the LVIII edition of the Super Bowl. So his bet seems to have focused solely and exclusively on the musical section where at least he will be able to do something that Taylor cannot.
Its 14 minutes of music in the intermission are a complete mystery. And so it seems that it will continue to be until the evening of Sunday, February 11 (early morning of Monday, February 12 in Spain). Usher has cited the best advice he’s received from the likes of Katy Perry and Rihanna.. And we already know what Riri achieved exactly a year ago.
The mystery works in their favor. And with that in mind, Usher has only revealed vague details of what we can expect: “It will definitely be a giant event. There will be special guests. And I’ve considered new songs. But you know, it’s 12 to 15 minutes. So it’s really hard to determine which moment matters more than others, especially with a new song. Then there’s the dancing, the costumes, the lighting, how long you stay in a song, the fact that the audience can sing along… It’s a lot. So I’m doing my best not to think about it too much,” said the interpreter.
The surprise factor is on your side. Will Usher manage to recover the Super Bowl that Taylor Swift has ‘stolen’ from him?
