Bare-chested, on roller skates and with lots of friends, Usher celebrated a Super Bowl party.
Dressed all in white, sporting proud clunkers and gloves, Usher kicked off his Super Bowl halftime show. No new song, but two classics: “Caught Up” and “U Don’t Have to Call”. Usher danced on the field like his former role model Michael Jackson.
Immediately afterwards, what the sparrows were whistling from the rooftops came true: Alicia Keys was there, in a skin-tight red robe, at the cherry-red piano. After the singer gently introduced her own song “If I Ain’t Got You”, both of them then gave it their all in the duet “My Boo” and finally cuddled together while laughing.
The show alternated between quiet pieces and the rapper’s hits. The performance knew no limits: Usher took off his shirt and strutted half-naked through the arena. Later, he glided across the stage on his personal roller skates.
One of the absolute eye-catchers of the show was HER on the guitar, who gave the mini-concert a rock touch. Together, they both ripped off Usher’s 2001 track “U Got It Bad.”
But the guest list had more surprises in store. will.i.am joined in for “OMG,” and Lil Jon rapped along with “Turn Down for What.” It also stuck to the big ending with Usher’s mega hit “Yeah!”, with “Fast & The Furious” star Ludacris providing the absolute coolness factor and Usher looking like a comic hero in his blue and black bodysuit.
A mega-show with good friends that was thought out in all directions and was at least somewhat marred by the very poor sound quality on television.
Usher with new album
Usher released his comeback album “Coming Home” on Friday (February 9), his first since 2016’s “Hard II Love.”
It features many guest stars including Summer Walker & 21 Savage, HER, Jung Kook from BTS, Burna Boy and Latto. The songs – including the single “Kissing Strangers” – were produced by Pharrell Williams, Hitboy, Brian-Michael Cox, Tricky Stewart, D’Mile and Jermaine Dupri. The album will be released on vinyl on March 8th.
Ahead of his Super Bowl moment, the rapper, who previously made a guest appearance in 2011, said: “It’s the greatest honor of my life to be able to check off a Super Bowl appearance on my bucket list. I can’t wait to give the world a show like they’ve never seen from me before.”