R&B singer Usher has promised to roller-skate during his Super Bowl half-time show, in Las Vegas, on Sunday.
He would recreate a skating sequence that had become a viral highlight of his recent Vegas residency, he said.
And the show would be a “crescendo” marking a “new beginning” in his 30-year career.
Previous Super Bowl half-time show performers include Katy Perry, Prince and Beyoncé.
But Usher will be the first independent artist to take the stage, having left his previous record label, RCA, to self-release his album, Coming Home, this weekend.
Hit records
Interviewed by Apple Music’s Nadeska Alexis, he ducked several questions about his setlist.
“It definitely has been a challenge to squeeze 30 years in to 13 minutes,” Usher said, eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.
He had been “very mindful of my past” and the “songs I feel people know me for”, as well as iconic dance routines from his career.
Asked about potential guest performers, Usher hinted he would be joined by singers who featured “on songs that became hit records”.
“That gave me the greatest point of reference,” said the singer, whose collaborators include Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Lil’ Jon.
Usher will play at the Allegiant Stadium, as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.
He follows Rihanna, who performed the 2023 half-time show while pregnant, and 2022’s all-star team of Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
Usher himself has previously appeared on the Super Bowl stage. As a special guest with the Black Eyed Peas, in 2011, he performed a breathtaking leap over will.i.am, landing in the splits.
Country singer Reba McEntire will perform America’s national anthem. Post Malone will sing America the Beautiful. And Andra Day will conclude the pre-game concert with Lift Every Voice and Sing, often called the black national anthem. While dance musician Tiesto will be the Super Bowl’s first-ever in-game DJ.
Source: BBC