With Super Bowl LVIII almost upon us and big anticipation for headline act Usher hitting the stage between the action as the Chiefs and 49ers go up against each other, it’s hard to believe that some stars have previously refused to participate in the Super Bowl’s halftime show, citing reasons from disagreement with the sports league’s political views, lack of interest in the theatrics of the show, or being too busy on the day.
Here are some big-name artists who refused to be a part of the biggest day for football.
Rihanna
In 2019, Rihanna told Vogue that she rejected the NFL’s invitation to perform at the halftime show.
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler,” she told the magazine. “There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.
She performed a u-turn and was the star performer for the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show, with a surprisingly big reveal on stage.
Taylor Swift was rumored to be performing at the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show until TMZ reported that sources close to the artist revealed she turned down the invite to focus on rerecording all six of her first six albums after Scooter Braun sold the rights to her masters in 2020.
She is expected to attend the 2024 edition, but as a famous fan with tight end romance.
Jay-Z
Although Jay-Z is the executive producer of the halftime show for the upcoming Super Bowl, he once declined to perform after he was told who he had to perform with.
“I said, ‘No, you get me.’ That is not how you go about it, telling someone that they’re going to do the halftime show contingent on who they bring,” he told The New York Times in a 2020 interview. “I said forget it. It was a principle thing.”
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Adele
The booming vocals of Adele would certainly wind up a Super Bowl audience, but when addressing rumors that she was performing, she admitted the show wasn’t for her.
During her stop at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on her 2016 tour, the artist told her audience, “First of all, I’m not doing the Super Bowl. I mean, come on, that show is not about music. And I don’t really… I can’t dance or anything like that. They were very kind, they did ask me, but I said no.”
Cardi B, Taylor Swift, Adele, Rihanna, Dolly Parton, Jay-Z, P! nk, and Metallica are some of the famous artists who have declined to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. The Super Bowl is an annual league championship game for the National Football League (NFL) in the United States.
n 2019, Rihanna turned down the Super Bowl halftime show due to political reasons. She told Vogue that her refusal was to support ex-NFL player and activist Colin Kaepernick, who protested against police brutality in 2016 by kneeling during the national anthem.
Usher understands Justin Bieber's intentions. In fact, the "Yeah!" singer said he has no hard feelings over the reason the "Baby" singer declined his invited to be a special guest during his 2024 Super Bowl Halftime performance.
From A-listers like Adele and Taylor Swift who have never performed, and reportedly don't intend to anytime soon, to stars like Rihanna who once boycotted the event before changing her mind, there are many reasons why some artists have avoided the Super Bowl.
In 2015, rapper Big Boi opened up about Outkast's invitation to perform at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show on ESPN's "The Dan LeBatard Show." He revealed that it was the other half of the beloved duo that refused to perform.
But despite delivering such an incredible performance, Rihanna won't be getting a paycheck from the NFL for it. "We do not pay the artists," NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter told Forbes back in 2016. "We cover expenses and production costs."
Tiësto Cancels Super Bowl DJ Performance Due to "Family Emergency" The Dutch dance music icon was poised to become the first in-game DJ in Super Bowl history.
Taylor Swift was rumored to be performing at the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show until TMZ reported that sources close to the artist revealed she turned down the invite to focus on rerecording all six of her first six albums after Scooter Braun sold the rights to her masters in 2020.
A music industry was quoted telling the outlet: "There's no bad blood between Usher and Justin. Justin just wasn't up for it - he just wasn't feeling it." As many would have seen from Usher's high-intensity dance routine, it can be an exhausting process performing in the Super Bowl halftime show.
Although the Canadian singer didn't perform at the Super Bowl, he was there in attendance in the stands where he watched the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers with his wife Hailey Baldwin Bieber.
The halftime show was headlined by Bruno Mars alongside his band The Hooligans with special guests The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Mars made history as the youngest artist ever to serve as the sole NFL Super Bowl halftime headliner at 28 years old.
Well, during the Super Bowl, Usher sang "Turn Down for What." But the original song was performed by Lil Jon — who helped sing it during the performance — in a collaboration with producer DJ Snake.
No game in Super Bowl history has ever ended with a shutout. While there are a number of occasions where one team's offense failed to score, no team was completely blanked on the big stage. In 1972, the Washington Redskins' lone score came on a fumble return following a blocked field goal attempt.
Tiësto, whose real name is Tijs Verwest, wrote on social media on Thursday he would miss the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas as he needed to return home. “It was a tough decision to miss the game, but family always comes first,” the 55-year-old wrote on X.
No rock star has ever repeated as a Super Bowl halftime performer, but plenty of worthy candidates remain. Among those who've never played are Guns N' Roses, Billy Joel, Foo Fighters, Elton John, Eagles, Pearl Jam, Bon Jovi and Metallica.
The incident, sometimes referred to as Nipplegate or Janetgate, led to an immediate crackdown and widespread discourse on perceived indecency in broadcasting. Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake immediately after he tore off part of her clothing covering her breast at the end of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.
Moreover, the band placed all of their studio albums inside the Billboard 200 chart after the concert, while Beyoncé became subject of controversy for performing "Formation", since she had aligned herself with the Black Lives Matter movement. Conservatives likewise accused Coldplay of promoting a "gay agenda".
Introduction: My name is Francesca Jacobs Ret, I am a innocent, super, beautiful, charming, lucky, gentle, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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