Usher performed this year’s Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas—with it came colorful spectacles, dancing and plain mediocrity.
The truth was that the halftime show was doomed from the get-go when, in September, the National Football League picked Usher to perform. In a year of Taylor Swift, SZA, Beyoncé and Drake, Usher was a massive letdown. He’s simply a blast from the past that no one asked for. While other older artists in the past like Jennifer Lopez, Dr. Dre and Mary J. Blige have all performed well, Usher didn’t.
The biggest reason he failed is his discography. Usher just doesn’t have the hits to fill 15 minutes of performing. While writing this article, I have had to look up 75 percent of the song titles on the setlist. He may have been better served just playing 15 minutes of “Yeah!” but instead, he started with a snorer in the song “Caught Up” from his album Confessions.
From the moment he started, a huge group of dancers were on the field as he was bedazzled in his silver coat. The pure amount of dancers is overwhelming and is not the way to start a Super Bowl halftime show. Lady Gaga jumped off the top of the stadium, Rihanna revealed her pregnancy on top of a dangling platform, and Katy Perry started on top of a ginormous animatronic. Starting on top of a throne in a silver coat is none of that. Usher attempted a show similar to those before him, but he should’ve added the massive effects that make the halftime show fun.
After a cacophony of loud noises and dancers, the camera decided to cut to a sudden emotional scene of Alicia Keys singing her best song, “If I Ain’t Got You.” While I do like Alicia Keys and this song, the transition was sudden and sloppy. Not only was the transition bad, but it seemed Keys forgot what the key was at first when she came in off-tune and with a major voice crack with cracks continuing throughout the short segment.
Writer’s Note: Usher and Alicia Keys were getting way too sexual on stage for Usher to be married right after the Super Bowl.
After their brief romance, Jermaine Dupri, who I had to Google, reintroduced Usher in front of a mic now and they sing a brief song called “Confessions Part 2.” One thing I can give credit to is the stage. It lit up into cool-looking images and colors throughout the performance and really carried the aesthetic of the show and maybe even distracted me from the boring songs being performed one after another.
In the middle of the boring songs, Usher took off his shirt to distract people from his boring singing. Soon after, the best part of the show came when H.E.R. came on and sang “U Got it Bad” and “Bad Girl” with Usher. H.E.R. brought nice electricity and music with her appearance even though it was way too short. It’s almost as if H.E.R. should’ve been performing the entire 15-minute show.
Following H.E.R.’s performance, Usher played another monotonous song while he and others roller-skated around the stage. Usher ended the show with his biggest hit, “Yeah!” with big tunes, a blue jacket and synchronized dancing. The ending was nice as it felt more put together and less overwhelming than the rest of the show, and it was a good song to jam to.
Even though Usher ended the show well, I still viewed it as a disappointment compared to past performances. The NFL should learn from their mistakes and pick someone more recent and talented to perform in the next show.