LAS VEGAS — R&B icon Usher is headlining the Apple Music Halftime Show this year, performing for more than 100 million viewers during one of the most-watched television events of the year.
The show itself is typically one of the biggest musical events in the world, with about 1 out of every 3 Americans tuning in.
Usher will be performing in celebration of the 30th anniversary of his debut, a self-titled album released in 1994. "Usher" put the singer on the charts with hits like "You Make Me Wanna..." and "Pop Ya Collar."
Apple Music, the largest sponsor for the event, hinted in a teaser trailer that some other famous faces could be joining Usher on stag -- among them LeBron James, Colombian rapper J Balvin and K-pop singer Jungkook.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,” Usher said when the news was officially announced. “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before.”
Usher went on to say that part of the honor of performing during the Super Bowl was being on a stage where so many great artists had stood before. But above all else, it's the excitement of doing something for the first time.
"You remember the first time you heard your record play on the radio, you remember the first time you heard your voice... this is like that," he said.
OTHERS PERFORMING AROUND THE GAME
Reba McEntire singing the Star Spangled Banner on Feb. 11.
The 68-year-old McEntire, usually referred to as just Reba, is known as the "Queen of Country" for her career as a singer. Since the 1970s, she has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide.
Rapper Post Malone will be singing America the Beautiful.
Post Malone, the 28-year-old rapper from New York, has become one of the best-selling music artists in the world, selling more than 80 million albums since beginning his career in 2011.
R&B singer Andra Day will be performing Lift Every Voice and Sing.
Andra Day is the stage name of 39-year-old Cassandra Batie. Day released her first album in 2015, and has steadily racked up awards and prestige for her work as both a musician and an actor.