Topline
Usher was recently announced as the 2024 Super Bowl headliner following Rihanna’s record-breaking performance at this year’s Super Bowl, begging the question of whether the Grammy-winning singer can top the performance in viewership.
Singer Usher was recently announced as the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show headliner. (Photo by Kevin … [+]
Key Facts
Usher is slated to headline the halftime show of Super Bowl LVIII which is taking place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, February 11 and airing on CBS.
The last time CBS aired the Super Bowl, the game recorded its lowest viewership since 2007, with a total of 96.4 million viewers, the network reported, though the game itself was a blowout victory for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Only two halftime shows from the 2020s have been recorded among the most-viewed Super Bowl halftime shows: this year’s performance from Rihanna and the 2020 show featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
The Super Bowl is regularly the most-watched television broadcast of the year and the games rank among one of the most-watched broadcasts in history—the event saw considerable growth in viewership in the 2010s.
Key Background
In 2019, Roc Nation became the official Live Music Entertainment Strategists of the NFL. It, along with Apple and the NFL, announced Usher as the next Super Bowl halftime headliner on Sunday. Usher is an eight-time Grammy award-winning singer who has been performing in Las Vegas under residency since July 2022. The year 2024 will see Usher’s Las Vegas residency extended, along with his Super Bowl halftime show and the release of his ninth studio album. Usher joins his peers Beyoncé, Rihanna and The Weeknd in adding a Super Bowl halftime performance to their list of music achievements. The Super Bowl halftime shows featuring pop singers of the day essentially started with Michael Jackson headlining the show in 1993, as the NFL pivoted away from smaller acts that often involved collegiate marching bands. Here are the 10 most viewed Super Bowl halftime shows of all time:
- Rihanna (2023): 118.7 million views
- Katy Perry (2015): 118.5 million views
- Lady Gaga (2017): 118 million views
- Coldplay (2016): 115.3 million views
- Bruno Mars (2014): 115.3 million views
- Madonna (2012): 114 million views
- Beyonce (2013): 110.8 million views
- Black Eyed Peas (2011): 110.2 million views
- Justin Timberlake (2018): 106.6 million views
- Shakira and Jennifer Lopez (2020): 104.1 million views
Further Reading
Usher Will Headline The 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show (Forbes)
Super Bowl Draws Near-Record 113 Million Viewers—Just Shy Of Fox’s Lofty Expectations (Forbes)
The Most-Watched Super Bowls Of All Time (Forbes)
Super Bowl Viewership Drops To Lowest Level Since 2007 (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/darreonnadavis/2023/09/25/rihannas-super-bowl-halftime-performance-was-the-most-watched-in-history-could-usher-top-that-in-2024/