Usher well and truly bowled everyone over with his Super Bowl Halftime performance.
The Texan-born musician headlined the 2024 gig at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs went head-to-head in the National Football League (NFL) championship game.
This was far from his first rodeo, as Usher previously joined former headliners The Black Eyed Peas for the 2011 Super Bowl.
With the pressure on, it’s safe to say he left no stone unturned, not only performing all the bangers from his back catalogue but also treating fans to a slew of A-list guests, including Alicia Keys.
While Usher, 45, well and truly gave it everything, from outfit changes to choreography in actual rollerskates, viewers couldn’t help but notice someone was missing.
Following weeks of anticipation that Baby hitmaker Justin Bieber would join Usher for their pop smash Somebody to Love, alas, he was a no-show.
Well, he showed up. He just stayed in the stands instead.
But let’s not dwell, as there were more celeb cameos than you could shake a stick at in Usher’s 13-minute set.
Along with powerhouse vocalist Alicia, the star brought out Ludacris, Lil Jon, Will.i.am, and H.E.R.
Usher kicked things off with his tune Caught Up, wearing a massive white coat before shedding layers throughout the set, at one point removing his shirt completely – a moment that (obviously) received rapturous applause from the 65,000-strong stadium.
During a rendition of U Don’t Have To Call, the R&B icon also gave a sweet shoutout to a loved one.
He said: ‘Hey, mom. We made it, now this, this is for you.’
It didn’t take long for the stars to appear, as Alicia wowed us all with a duet to If I Ain’t Got You, which she played on piano.
The songstress looked gorgeous in a sizzling red sequined bodysuit, getting up from the piano to share a rather intimate moment with Usher as he wrapped his arms around her waist playfully.
Lil John and Ludacris jumped on stage soon after, accompanying Usher for his 2004 smash hit Yeah!
Usher then launched into Confessions and Burn before totally stripping off and revealing just a medallion, while H.E.R. shredded on guitar.
He gyrated through his track U Got It Bad, continuously lapping up the attention with slick dance moves and hip thrusts.
For OMG, Usher changed into his skates as Lil Jon got the crowd vibing to Turn Down For What.
Rounding things off, Usher switched from his white look (well, what was left of it) into a sparkly blue and black number.
Reacting to the incredible set, social media users were sent into a frenzy.
‘Usher just single handedly brought back roller skates…’, quipped X user JacobHester18.
‘Usher was everything my millennial heart wanted’, said jenniferlever.
User onlydioria penned: ‘usher, lil jon, and ludacris being together again literally felt like the infinity stones all got collected’.
Others hailed him as a ‘legend’ while some were even in tears over the nostalgia hit.
While fans will likely be rewatching the performance for months to come, there’s also a behind-the-scenes insight to look forward to.
Usher has revealed that acamera crew had been documenting the experience, from when he got the first call to when he walked off the stage.
The world-famous star, whose latest album titled Coming Home was released on Friday, follows in the footsteps of pop star Rihanna who used her 2023 half-time performance to debut her second pregnancy.
His performance marks 30 years since Usher released his debut, self-titled album in 1994.
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