There are still just under two weeks until Super Bowl LVIII, which this year will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. By the way, the final game of the National Football League (NFL) will take place for the first time in the “Sin City”, which has mutated from a gangster and gambler’s paradise into an event hotspot between EDM rave and Adele residency.
Not only has the countdown been counted down in the sports departments in the USA, VIP and people magazines are also clapping and gossiping about the toy egg. Thanks to international TV broadcasting, the Super Bowl has long since mutated into the largest single media sports event in the world. With mega-sized advertising sports when the closet-like players get tangled up again. And when the halftime break comes, the spectacle becomes a much-discussed Mecca of (US) pop music thanks to superstar performances.
The “Halftime Show” is presented by Apple Music. Jay-Z’s label conglomerate Roc Nation is taking over production and management of the music spectacle. In addition to Post Malone as a “warm-up” this year, R’n’B superstar Usher is at the center of the sports and music party. The AMG-Mercedes driver naturally feels incredibly honored and promises a sensational (short) appearance that the world has never seen before. It’s certainly NOT a coincidence that Usher’s ninth album “Coming Home” is coming out on Super Bowl Sunday. His first record since 2016’s “Hard II Love,” which peaked at number five on Billboard’s official 200 chart.
The specialist and charts magazine is starting its event and party list on February 7th with the boozy and cheerful “Fred Minnick & Friends’ Big Game Bourbon”. The next day it will be electronic with DJ Shift and DJ Stephi K, the evening headliner will be added later. The program increases the artist’s popularity until the eve of the Super Bowl. Country star Luke Combs is the headliner at the “BetMGM Big Game Bash” on Saturday. The Chainsmokers and the Norwegian tropical house performer Kygo are at the party hosted by the (economically unstable) magazine “Sports Illustrated”. There is also a lot of bling in the large nightclubs along Las Vegas Boulevard. Nevertheless, the impression persists: more mass than class.
This is especially true for the central halftime break in the match between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. Nothing against Usher, but the 45-year-old from Dallas, Texas is a shining light of the 2000s. The organizers are having a hard time with current big names. A target group decision on the part of marketing, which focuses on forty-plus people with well-filled wallets. Tyler Swift has other plans? Is there too much risk with younger stars; and K-pop is not music for football arenas?
Looking back at the last half-time stars of the Super Bowl, it is clear that the bowl stirring team is relying on big names from yesterday. “Cutting Edge” is also not in great demand in the American ratings battle. In 2023 it was Rihanna, the year before that it was rap triumvirate Snoop Dogg, Doc Dre and Eminem. 2020 Shakira. Justin Timberlake stopped by in 2018. In short: the ladies and gentlemen should have a certain level of maturity, so to speak, for the mega-crossover event. Solid sizes with memorable value.