By Carol Badaracco Padgett
To kick off the week of February 11-17, 2024, the Kansas City Chiefs brought it — in a game that was superb down to the last second on the clock.
Game-time underway, could Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium have gotten any better? YES. And Atlanta’s Usher made it so — with a show-stopping celebratory halftime performance for the ages. One that played out before a record-setting 123.4 million viewers, with unimaginable reach around the globe.
The eight-time Grammy Award-winning Georgia R&B superstar gave us all an 11-song gift with his Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, one where he and fellow Atlanta artists turned 13 minutes into as powerful a memory as the 74-minute, 57-second longest running Super Bowl in history.
Brennen Dicker, executive director of the Creative Media Industries Institute at Georgia State University in Atlanta, described the magic like this, “The amazing performance by Usher and Ludacris at the Super Bowl underscores the history of the undeniable entertainment prowess of Georgia. With their captivating music and magnetic stage presence, these Atlanta icons showcased the state’s vibrant cultural legacy in music, sports, and entertainment, solidifying Georgia’s status as a global hub for talent and creativity.”
Artists performing alongside Usher and Ludacris included Atlanta’s Lil’ Jon and Jermaine Dupri, joined by Alicia Keys and will.i.am.
On Instagram @mamajanmusic, Mama Jan of Jan Smith Music in Atlanta, Usher’s longtime vocal coach, Georgia Music Hall of Fame recipient, and multi-platinum certified vocal coach, posted: “This! “Know that God answers prayers.” s/o to the REAL MamaThang @jpatjames for all you’ve poured into your son(s) since his first breath. And thank you for the call nearly 30 years ago and placing your trust in the work of my hands. SO stupid awesome!! SO proud for you and of @usher for this huge milestone.”
Media outlets around the world took note of the powerful Georgia entertainment presence as well, including forbes.com, which reported, “Super Bowl LVIII was in Las Vegas, but Usher used his platform there to transport millions of viewers to the city he has called home for more than three decades. ‘I took the world to the A,’ the R&B megastar repeatedly chanted at the end of his electrifying Apple Music Halftime Show performance … This year’s [Halftime performance] took viewers from Sin City to the peach state’s entertainment epicenter. Usher did it his way: dripping in Black Southern culture.”
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