Usher

 

Usher's R&B legacy shone through the chaos of the Super Bowl Halftime Show 👈

Certainly! The statement is saying that as Usher prepared to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, he didn't need to prove himself. Throughout his nearly thirty-year career, he has built up a lot of positive reputation and has recently become more culturally relevant again, partly due to the success of his Las Vegas residency, which has attracted a mature and sophisticated audience.

Nevertheless, getting to headline the event can be akin to earning an EGOT for any pop superstar, and on Sunday evening, Usher approached it as a hard-earned capstone to his legacy.



"They said I wouldn't make it; they said I wouldn't be here today, but I am," he pronounced early into his ebullient set before shouting out his mother. For anyone who's been a fan of his going back to the days of "My Way" and "U Make Me Wanna," it was hard not to feel joyful about this moment.



The performance that was labeled "rated U" (presumably meaning suitable for all audiences) according to Apple Music was acknowledged to be disorderly and rushed for most of its duration. The first song, "Caught Up," showcased Usher embodying the flashy atmosphere of Las Vegas, accompanied by an excessive number of background performers, including women wearing feathers, acrobats, and stilt walkers. Usher stood out due to his bright all-white and sparkly outfit, but the camera work was fast-paced and seemed to divert attention away from the main performer right from the beginning. Additionally, the quality of the vocals and sound mixing were also found to be lacking.



What followed was essentially a montage of his immersive catalog that at times whipped by too quickly—a single line from "Superstar" here, a very short taste of "Nice and Slow" there. The medley was at its best when he gave us a bit of time to revel in his smooth, swaggering choreography and sit with a song for a bit, as he did with his classic ballad "U Got It Bad." This was the moment he stripped off his shirt, the vocals got a chance to shine, and he brought out H.E.R. to shred on the guitar solo. Magic.)



As mentioned before, some of the well-known artists that Usher has worked with were also present to demonstrate his credibility. Alicia Keys performed a portion of her solo song "If I Ain't Got You" and her duet with Usher, "My Boo." Jermaine Dupri joined in for "Confessions (Part II)," Will.I.Am for "OMG," and Lil Jon and Ludacris for "Yeah," which was the obvious choice for the final song.



If the show was kind of all over the place, Usher's ultimate point still stands: the man's got a lot of hits and is no real challenger to the current title of King of R&B. (As most of us can all agree, the less said about his EDM era, the better.) It wasn't his best performance, but it was still fun, and it was a testament to his star power. As "Yeah" brought the show to a rousing conclusion, Usher and co. had by then transformed the aesthetic theme to that of a glitzy football game, with costumes resembling football gear, dancers winding on poles, a marching band, and the chorus jumping up and down, puffing their chests as if they'd just won the trophy.