Music icon Jay-Z has been in charge of the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime booking for years now and is credited with their wildly successful shows featuring Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. But with no official announcement about the Super Bowl LXI halftime show just yet, it appears that the man who sang “Empire State of Mind” has himself in mind for the job.
According to Dave Brooks of Puck, Jay-Z has chosen himself to put on the Super Bowl halftime show amid rumors that Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber were candidates for the spot. The decision comes as he approaches the end to his JAY-Z30 tour, his first headlining tour since he co-headlined On the Run II with Beyoncé in 2018. It’s worth noting that his final two concerts will be at SoFi Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LXI.
“After weeks of handwringing, Jay-Z, the chief decision-maker on who plays the Super Bowl halftime show, has finally picked the artist who will take the stage in L.A. in February: himself. That’s according to multiple sources, who say the pick has long felt inevitable and more compelling than Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, both of whom were considered for SBLXI. Besides, a Jay-Z performance is the natural next step in the $5 million-a-year deal his Roc Nation signed with the NFL in 2019—and re-upped in 2024— to curate and produce the halftime show. The league re-upped that deal in 2024 for another five years,” Brooks wrote.
The Crowd Goes Mild
Football fans weren’t all that impressed by the choice and many mocked Jay-Z for picking himself as the performer.
“Out of the thousands of performers that are better than him, he chooses himself. I will flip the channel the minute halftime starts,” one user pledged on X.
“Great. Another half time show I’m not going to watch…” wrote another.
“Jay-Z picked himself to headline the Super Bowl. Most honest hiring process in America,” a third wrote.
But it’s pretty hard to take the online noise seriously when there has been criticism over the last two halftime show announcements, only for both shows to rank among the most viewed halftime shows in Super Bowl history.
No amount of political pressure, halftime show alt-casts, boycotts or even threats are likely to change that.
Whether you personally like Jay-Z or not, Jay-Z has shown that he knows what the hundreds of millions who watch the Super Bowl will sit through.
