Super Bowl LIX was memorable for three things: the Philadelphia Eagles absolutely smoking the Kansas City Chiefs, Seal as a seal singing about Mountain Dew Baja Blast, and all of the other fantastic non-aquatic performances we got from artists during the event.
Before the game started, Lady Gaga sang her Top Gun: Maverick original song "Hold My Hand" on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street as part of a pre-taped segment. She played alongside a backing band for a crowd of police officers, firefighters, and sports fans. Football legend Tom Brady introduced the performance.
“This year began with a terror attack that tried to shatter it’s spirit,” Brady said, referencing the New Years Day New Orleans truck attack. “But the resilience of New Orleans is matched by the resolve of our country.”
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After that, singer-songwriter Ledisi tackled "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The Grammy Award-winner was backed by a New Orleans youth choir and wowed the crowd with some very impressive upper register riffs. There was also Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle, who performed "America the Beautiful," and fellow Grammy Award-winner Jon Batiste, who had the honor of belting out the National Anthem. Page Six wrote that he put an "Orleanian twist" on the tune, using a colorful grand piano, a backing band, and an original arrangement to give "The Star-Spangled Banner" a jazzy flair.
But of course, it was Kendrick Lamar's Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show which made the biggest waves. With the performance, Lamar became the first rapper to headline the event as a solo artist. After a special introduction by actor Samuel L. Jackson (he played the role of Uncle Sam throughout the show) the Compton rapper opened with “Bodies,” while standing on top of a car, then segued into the popular single “Squabble Up.”
After that, Lamar launched into crowd-pleasers like Damn. classic “Humble.” while all-Black backup dancers dressed in red, white, and blue outfits took formation resembling an American flag. He then switched to another Damn. single, “DNA.,” and last year’s standalone track “Euphoria” while walking over a mock field and past an enormous light post.
Red lights lit up a box as Lamar performed GNX’s “Man at the Garden” and “Peekaboo,” both live debuts, and dancers continued to circle around while he strut about the relatively plain stage design. Of course, Lamar knew everyone at home was waiting to hear one particular song that won two Grammy Awards this year, so during the outro of “Peekaboo,” he took the opportunity to tease “Not Like Us.” But Lamar stopped the song short, despite instant cheers from the stadium crowd. “I wanna perform they favorite song, but you know they love to sue,” he half-sung.
SZA then joined Lamar on the field to perform together, singing GNX’s “Luther” and their Black Panther hit “All the Stars.” Samuel L. Jackson hopped back in front of the camera to praise Lamar, yelling, “That’s what America wants! Nice and calm! You’re almost there, now don’t mess this-” before getting cut off by the hook from “Not Like Us.”
Backup dancers asked Lamar if he was really about to do this, to which he replied by staring confidently into the camera and rapping a new “Not Like Us” verse. “This is bigger than the music,” said Lamar. “They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.” Dancers moved around him in rotating concentric circles while tennis legend Serena Williams (Drake's ex) danced side-stage to the massive hit. And yes: Lamar and thousands of people in the crowd sang the diss track’s infamous, lawsuit-prompting lines.
To close the career-spanning set, DJ Mustard ran onstage and threw his arm around Lamar as the GNX song “TV Off” blasted over the speakers. In perfect sync, the Compton rapper repeated the line “Turn his TV off” right as the stadium, and consequently viewers’ TV screens, went black. The camera zoomed out to show the stage shaped like a tic-tac-toe board with the words “GAME OVER” written with lights in the crowd.
Lamar’s company with Dave Free, pgLang, handled the creative direction for the halftime show performance. Diversified Production Services served as producers for the halftime show telecast with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Jesse Collins as executive producers, Hamish Hamilton as director, and Roc Nation acting “as the strategic entertainment advisor of the live performance.” It was Lamar's second time performing during the Super Bowl Halftime Show, as he previously rapped on the field back in 2022 alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Anderson .Paak, and Mary J. Blige.
Watch all of the musical performances from Super Bowl LIX below. (Find Kendrick Lamar's performance by clicking the YouTube link.)
🙏 @ledisi performs "Lift Every Voice And Sing" prior to Super Bowl LIX pic.twitter.com/LapZMgywZQ
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 9, 2025
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Article Image: Photos of Kendrick Lamar, Jon Batiste, and Lady Gaga. (Moffly, Jean_Nelson and Jean_Nelson via DepositPhotos.)
