Usher might not be alone during the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show as he belts out some of his biggest songs.
“I would be a fool to not play ‘Yeah!’ let’s just start there,” Usher, 45, quipped to Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on Thursday, February 8. “It would be foolish to make it all the way to Las Vegas, Jon is here, Luda’s here and not play ‘Yeah!’”
One of Usher’s early hits was 2004’s “Yeah!,” which was a collaboration with rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris. The trio then joined forces again on 2020’s “SexBeat.”
“It was a collective of all of our process, like I can remember Luda … working with Poon Daddy and Lil Jon was working at [record label] So So Def and that was the all-star city’s DJs,” Usher recalled of meeting the pair during a 2020 interview on SiriusXM. “We always tried to support each other in Atlanta. I think at some point [it was a producer,] who thought it was a really great idea to bring Lil Jon and myself [together], and then Luda was the icing on the cake.”
Lil Jon, 53, brought “Yeah!” to Usher and Ludacris, 46, before they recorded and released it and it became a massive hit.
It was announced in September 2023 that Usher would headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII before fans started speculating what songs would be included in the musician’s 15-minute set and if any surprise guests would make an appearance. Ludacris even pitched himself for a cameo.
“If he makes that call, cool. I’m not gonna say no to that,” Ludacris told ET in November 2023. “That’s a great opportunity and that’s my friend. We’ve been friends for a long time. If he makes that call then, of course, I will. That would be crazy.”
Before Usher takes the Allegiant Stadium stage on Sunday, February 11, he’s made sure that the show will be one to remember.
“It’s just reinvigorated my brand, my energy, my excitement about music,” Usher gushed to ET on Wednesday. “I love the energy, I love the people more than anything. I remind myself to smile. Most of the time you get so caught up in being serious and making certain that everything is perfect and has a certain intensity. Every day I come in, I try to give positive energy. No matter how tired I am, no matter how much the day before me will drain me right, I’m smiling. Because I’m here.”
He continued, “We work to be here and everybody that is here deserves to be. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we deserve to have what we have. And we’re so caught up in trying to hold on to it, we don’t enjoy it. So I really want to enjoy this moment, smile and enjoy.”
Usher has also made sure that he is at his “healthiest” for the big day, telling ET that he’s cut out gluten, sugar and alcohol from his diet. He also hasn’t “had a cigar or anything” during his preparations.
