Super Bowl LIX halftime show

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Super Bowl LIX halftime show
SBLIX Halftime Poster.jpeg
Part of Super Bowl LIX
DateFebruary 9, 2025
Location New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Venue Caesars Superdome
Headliner Kendrick Lamar
Sponsor Apple Music
Director Hamish Hamilton
ProducerJesse Collins, Roc Nation
Super Bowl halftime show chronology
LVIII
(2024)		LIX
(2025)		 LX
(2026)

The Super Bowl LIX halftime show, officially known as the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, is the upcoming halftime entertainment of Super Bowl LIX, which is scheduled to take place on February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It will feature American rapper Kendrick Lamar as the headline performer. The show will be televised nationally in the U.S. by Fox, Fox Deportes, and NFL+. [1]

Contents

Background

Selection process

The process of deciding a headline performer for the Super Bowl halftime show is disputed. [2] According to the Charlotte Observer , it begins with a panel that includes the National Football League's (NFL) director of entertainment, members of its production company, and the halftime show's director and producer. A short list of potential performers is created and given to the Super Bowl's host city, who makes the final decision. [3] However, members of its host committee claimed that a headline performer is solely picked by the league, and they are notified on who was chosen in the same manner as the general public. [4]

On August 13, 2019, the NFL announced a partnership with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and his entertainment company Roc Nation to be named the league's live music entertainment strategist. [5] In that role, Jay-Z and his firm became co-producers and consultants of the Super Bowl halftime show, allowing them to be involved in selecting music for NFL usage and choosing entertainers to perform in televised promotional spots throughout the season. [6] "We really wanted to start to focus on leading to culture," Seth Dudowsky, the league's head of music, explained. "Whether that’s the culture of the city, what’s happening in culture at large and then focusing on it so that what we’re doing feels culturally relevant and using that platform for artists to be able to be themselves and show their art on stage. We want them to feel empowered." [7]

Artists in contention

Kendrick Lamar previously headlined the Super Bowl LVI halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige, with 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak serving as special guests. [8] The first halftime show to be centered entirely around hip hop music, [9] it was met with critical acclaim and won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including a historic win for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). [10] Lamar's "thrilling" and "electrifying" performance was highlighted by several critics. [11] [12] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it "stunning — ecstatically liquid in flow, moving his body with jagged vigor." [13] Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield opined that he deserved an entire slot to himself. [14]

Lil Wayne publicly campaigned to headline a Super Bowl halftime show, especially one hosted in his hometown of New Orleans. [15] He was an initial candidate to perform, according to Stephen A. Smith for ESPN. [16] "I'd kill that shit," Wayne exclaimed in an interview with Rolling Stone's Andre Gee. "We wouldn’t even worry about the game after that. Everybody knew that one kid [who] was watching the halftime show, but that’d be one of the first Super Bowls that they’ll be like, 'Both teams were out on the field watching the halftime show.'" [15] By February 2024, Wayne was not given the call from the NFL, but he remained hopeful about his chances. [17] "We all praying, we keeping our fingers crossed," he told YG. "I'm working hard. I'm going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer, so I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy." [17]

Headliner announcement

Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.

– Lamar on headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, The Hollywood Reporter [18]

On September 8, 2024, before the first full slate of regular season matches went underway, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Lamar as the headlining act for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. [19] He is expected to be the first solo rapper to headline the performance, and the first rapper to lead the festivities multiple times. [20] Lamar shared the news by posting a promotional trailer on YouTube, which was directed by his longtime creative partner Dave Free. [21] The one-shot trailer shows him on a football field in front of a large American flag throwing footballs through a passing machine at off-screen players. [21] As he shouts motivational remarks to them, he introduces himself as the headliner. [21]

Reception

The decision to have Lamar headline the halftime show polarized the rap industry. [22] Media outlets described Lil Wayne not being chosen as the headliner as a snub, and he admitted the announcement "broke" him. [23] [24] Birdman, [25] Boosie Badazz, [26] Cam'ron, [27] Mase, [28] Master P, [29] and Nicki Minaj condemned Jay-Z for the "egregious" selection and accused him of factoring in his complicated relationship with Lil Wayne and other artists under his record label, Young Money Entertainment. [30] [31] On the other hand, Charlamagne tha God, [32] Fabolous, [33] Fat Joe, [34] and Jay Electronica defended Jay-Z, noting that he was not the only one involved in deciding the headliner. [35] Funkmaster Flex and Juvenile placed the blame on the NFL and its commissioner Roger Goodell for their negligence towards people of color. [36] [37]

Critics were more positive about Lamar's announcement, praising it as a historic and full circle accomplishment that ties to the beginning of his escalated feud with Drake. The editorial staff of HipHopDX , led by Elliott Wilson, opined that he was the right choice, citing his legacy, catalog, and showmanship as prime examples. [38] Justin Sayles of The Ringer believes the halftime performance is the capstone of a year that has seen Lamar "ascend to the highest levels" of popular culture, and seen Drake "sink to the lowest levels" of his career. [39] David Dennis Jr. of Andscape declared the announcement as a final, definitive reminder that Lamar has completed "one of the most undeniable one-sided victories in rap history." [40] USA Today's Mike Freeman argued that it showcased a prominent example of Jay-Z's influence on the NFL's mostly conservative owners by "unabashedly injecting Black culture into the league's Super Bowl bloodstream." [41]

However, some commentators found it hypocritical of Lamar to headline the performance given his reputation as a socially aware rapper and the NFL's troubled history with social justice initiatives. [40] Gee argued that by partnering with a corporation that "ran to Black music when they needed to distract the country from their racial biases," he and other artists who have "won favor by feigning pro-Blackness" are helping the league enforce and propagandize the American Empire, and throw dirt on Colin Kaepernick's fight. [42]

On November 22, 2024, Kendrick Lamar released his sixth studio album, GNX. In the song, "Wacced Out Murals", he mentions Lil Wayne's reaction towards his Super Bowl announcement. He says that he thinks that his hard work let Lil Wayne down, and that Nas was the only rap artist to praise him for it.

Development

Creative direction for the performance will be provided by Lamar and Free's company, PGLang. [18] It will be produced by Diversified Production Services (DPS) and directed by Hamish Hamilton. [18] Jesse Collins, Jay-Z and Roc Nation will executive produce the telecast for a sixth year; the latter agency will also serve as strategic entertainment advisors. [18]

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References

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  15. 1 2 Gee, Andre (June 9, 2023). "Lil Wayne Is So Prolific He Hardly Remembers Tha Carter III". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
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  40. 1 2 Dennis Jr., David (September 9, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show announcement is bigger than his victory over Drake". Andscape . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
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  42. ↑ Gee, Andre (September 9, 2024). "The NFL Doesn't Deserve to Be in on Kendrick's Moment -- But He Let Them". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
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