From gravity to comedy: How Usher arguably matched all other legendary Superbowl halftime shows
I'll let you finish, but Cirque du Usher was one of the best Superbowl halftime shows of all time
I’m having a tough time deciding my favorite song from Usher Raymond IV’s “Coming Home” album. (“Bop” is creeping its way up though.) What I’m not having a tough time deciding is whether Usher’s performance at the Super Bowl LVIII rivals Prince’s pouring-down-raining performance to “Purple Rain” during the Super Bowl XLI.
And that’s not to say that Beyonce and Bruno Mars having a “House Party” style dance-off wasn’t one of my favorite moments in music history during the Super Bowl XLVIII.
Nor am I containing my excitement when the rest of Destiny’s Child hopped up out of a stage like popcorn during the Super Bowl XLVII.
And Michael Jackson decided that the only thing better than one of him performing was three of him performing at the Super Bowl XXVII.
I’m not here to say who did it better. All I’m saying is there were some moments of gravity and comedy during Usher’s performance that rivaled all four performances — and aren’t being talked about enough for me. Here are seven underrated moments of Cirque du Usher during his 2024 Superbowl Halftime performance.
1. “Rated U” warning let viewers know we may have “relationship issues” by the end of his performance.
It took everything in me not to stop watching the halftime show long enough to watch the “Boyfriend” video for the 1,000,000 time and stand up to do the “U Don’t Have To Call” choreography. Why “Boyfriend” didn’t make it onto “Coming Home” is beyond me. It’ll stay firmly on my playlist though.
2. The show opening up with a man balancing his entire body on one hand on top of another person’s head.
The irony of these kind of head games happening in a sport notorious for head games is wild. His balance is impeccable. That even rivaled the guy who came flying out of the blue-feathered crowd of women, grabbed his feet mid-air and landed quickly on the other side of the field.
3. Kappas doing what Kappas do with the canes.
No other R&B artist deserves an honorary Kappa membership quite like Usher and all his Las Vegas antics. Revisit number one.
4. While Lil Jon just slapped Usher’s hand as a greeting, Usher decided to skate through will.i.am’s legs and kept on dancing.
Some people wave. Some people give dap. Some people give head nods. Then here comes Usher on those skates to let us all know our coordination is nowhere near his.
5. Bare-chested Usher didn’t let the mic get the best of him.
While Beyonce is still undefeated for singing while her hair was caught in a fan (in Montreal, Canada) and hopping twice so she wouldn’t fall during the Bruno dance-off, an honorable blooper mention goes to shirtless Usher who twirled the mic one too many times. He realized he couldn’t get back to it in enough time and just kept on pop-locking.
6. Usher having a Ray J hat moment.
I’m either easily entertained or … nope, just easily entertained. Usher couldn’t decide what he wanted to do with his hat during “Yeah!” and just kept spinning it around mid-dance. It reminded me of Ray J and that beanie.
7. Pole-dancing performer competing with H.E.R.
H.E.R. did her thing on that guitar, but I was amused by the lady doing a split on the pole and rocking her own head around like she was playing the air guitar during the lyrics, “These women all on the prowl.”
There were plenty more memorable moments that didn’t include Jermaine Dupri’s Easter Sunday outfit or that Valentine’s Day energy hug with Alicia Keys. But these were my top seven while enjoying 30 years worth of Usher songs. What are yours?
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