Usher will bring his skates to Allegiant Stadium.
It's just one of the tricks he's borrowing from his two-year Las Vegas residency for his halftime performance this Sunday, when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.
“For everyone who heard about my show in Las Vegas, you won't get the chance to see some of what I did here, but you will see the best because it will be in front of 60,000 people in this room. and hopefully another 180 million people for the world to see,” the “OMG” singer told Apple Music’s Nadeska Alexis in an interview Thursday.
As this year's halftime performer, Usher replaces Rihanna, whose performance last year drew more than 121 million viewers, a record the R&B singer could break with a stellar skating routine and a special appearance by Alicia Keys. , collaborator of “My Boo”.
TMZ reports that Keys rehearsed her duet with Usher inside Allegiant Stadium on Thursday, making the song the first confirmed track on Usher's newly negotiated 15-minute set list.
As for the remaining tracks, Usher told Alexis that he was being “very conscious of my past” and choosing “songs that I feel like people know me for.”
Lil Jon and Ludacris, with whom Usher collaborated on the club hit “Yeah!” – are strong candidates for additional special guests.
The R&B superstar debuted the skating segment he plans to recreate on Sunday at the grand opening of his Las Vegas residency in July 2021. Accompanied by his dancers, he donned roller skates while performing “Don't Waste My Time,” their duet of 2019 with Ella Mai.
The performance went viral in 2021 among concertgoers. material published online.
“Imagine how hard it is to skate and sing!” he told Essence in 2022, adding that he has always been inspired by technically skilled dancers like Gene Kelly.
“I don't know if I could see myself in those characters because they were white. But there was something amazing about what they were doing that made me say: one day I will have the opportunity to be that.”
Usher will be the first independent artist to take the Super Bowl stage, having left his record label, RCA, to release his new album, “Coming Home,” on Friday.
“Although [this album] “It's part of my legacy, it feels like a separate beginning from something else that has more to do with a lifestyle, a feeling, being immersed and also involved in things outside of music,” Usher told The Times in a recent interview.
