Usher Shares His Super Bowl Halftime Show Advice for Kendrick Lamar | Video

“Everything may not go exactly the way it’s supposed to,” says Usher, who took on halftime duties at last year’s Super Bowl

Usher and Kendrick Lamar
From left to right: Usher (Cindy Ord/Getty Images) and Kendrick Lamar (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Usher wants Kendrick Lamar to make sure he “maximizes the moment” during his halftime show performance at Super Bowl LIX this Sunday.

The pop and R&B artist, who headlined last year’s Super Bowl halftime show, recently revealed on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” the advice he would give to Lamar if he could.

While Usher noted that he hasn’t had the chance to catch up with Lamar about his upcoming performance, he said, “The one thing I would say is savor the moment, ‘cause you get obsessed in trying to build the best performance but you don’t realize that it’s really about enjoying it.”

“Everything may not go exactly the way it’s supposed to,” Usher continued. “But if you are in your mind and stuck trying to make something perfect you’re not going to look up and smell the flowers and realize, ‘Wait a minute, I’m here and I get a chance to have this moment and I’m not going to get it again.”

Elaborating further, Usher added that he wants Lamar to look at his Super Bowl spotlight as both a testament to how far he’s come and the standard he’s set as a musician.

“My encouragement to him is to really be present. I hope that he uses the moment well. There’s a lot that could be said. There’s a lot to be said for where hip hop has come from. There’s a lot to be said for that young man and how he’s completely been an incredible benchmark for what it is to be an artist,” the “Jennifer Hudson Show” guest explained. ““I’m just hoping that he really maximizes that moment.”

There aren’t many artists more qualified to offer Lamar some Super Bowl advice than Usher. Not only did he lead the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show performance in Las Vegas, but he also appeared during the Black Eyed Peas’ halftime show in 2011. Lamar, notably, has some prior Super Bowl experience as well, having performed alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Anderson .Paak and 50 Cent at the 2022 Super Bowl in Inglewood, CA.

That performance was a collab where performing duties were shared by multiple artists. Conversely, while Lamar’s performance this year is set to feature a guest appearance from SZA, it’ll ultimately be his halftime show. That’s only fitting, though, coming off a year where Lamar consistently remained one of the world’s most talked-about musicians. This past Sunday, he was rewarded for his work in 2024 with five Grammy Awards. Now, he’s set to follow his big Grammys night by taking the biggest stage of his career to date this weekend.

Super Bowl LIX airs this Sunday, Feb. 9 on FOX.

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