“A performance. Thirty years of preparation,” we often heard in the promotion of the halftime show. Suffice it to say, the bar was set high for Usher’s performance at Super Bowl LVIII. We can say that the 45-year-old star took up the challenge.
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If we have already seen stars launch themselves from the ceiling or arrive in almost royal carriages in honor of the halftime show, we have instead seen Usher firmly anchored on the field to begin his highly anticipated show.
Dressed all in white and surrounded by several dancers, Usher began his performance with his success Caught Uptaken from his album Confessions, released in 2004. Instead of focusing on the pieces from his new album, Coming Homereleased Friday, Usher rather focused on safe values.
It must be said that in this show of a few tightly packed minutes, Usher had the ambition to summarize 30 years of career.
After Love In This Club, Alicia Keys appeared on stage. Red dress, red piano: we felt the change in tone when she sang her piece If I Ain’t Got You.
A nice foretaste before a moment of complicity with Usher, who joined her to sing their famous duet with her My Boo.
And presto, Usher took off his sweater, just to be more comfortable performing U Got It Bad in the middle of a huge round stage.
Getty Images via AFP
After Jermaine Dupri, HER also joined Usher, guitar in support, to further liven up the party.
As is his habit on stage, Usher indulged his love of dancing on in-line skates to sing the hit OMG with Will.i.am.
Lil Jon then showed up, surrounded by a crowd, to take the atmosphere up a notch with the dynamic Turn Down For What.
The stage was set for Usher’s megasuccessYeah!sung with Lil Jon and Ludacris.
If stress sometimes creeps into the halftime show, it seemed to leave Usher alone, who seemed very relaxed throughout his performance.
Usher, who recently completed a residency at Park MGM in Las Vegas, has announced a North American tour beginning in August.