No matter if you were cheering for Taylor Swift’s boyfriend or Iowa State alumni Brock Purdy, it’s clear the most important part of the Super Bowl is the halftime show. 

Artists like Rhianna, Prince, Katy Perry and Beyonce have all made their marks as some of the best halftime shows in Super Bowl history. This year, Usher performed and left me a little underwhelmed. 

Halftime shows are known for their dramatic flare and wild field use. Unlike the game itself, Usher just didn’t hit the mark for me. 

He began by literally standing up out of a chair to sing “Caught Up” from his 2005 album “Confessions” but to be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever even heard of it. The start was underwhelming, to say the least. 

I kind of just sat around until Alicia Keys came on with that now infamous voice crack to start the hit song “If I Ain’t Got You”. Besides the brutal start and the memes that ensued, it was honestly one of the highlights of the show for me. 

If you haven’t heard the tragic voice crack from one of the best voices of the 21st century, the NFL TikTok still has it up, otherwise, it’s been subbed over, so hopefully everyone will forget it (even though I don’t think anyone ever will). 

But the fact that Usher was handsy with Alicia when they were singing “My Boo” was uncomfortable. Despite both being married, Usher was ALL OVER her. I get that it was part of the performance, but something about it just gave me the ick. 

For all the die-hard Usher lovers out there, he pulled a classic strip tease during his 2001 hit “U Got It Bad”. 

And, honestly, another one of the highlights. Usher was, and will always be, an A-List heartthrob.  

Don’t get me wrong, it was a fine performance, but imagine what the performance would have been if Alicia Keys did not make an appearance, or if H.E.R, Will.i.am, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon or Ludacris hadn’t joined the performance. 

It would have been pretty bland, to be brutally honest, singing out-of-date songs our generation hasn’t heard except in our infant years. Some hits brought up the entertainment value, but for us Gen-Zers who probably don’t have Usher’s discography on queue, it was kind of a letdown. 

But, what made it for me, and what prevented this performance from being in the bottom ranks of halftime shows, was the rollerskate number during “Bad Birl” and “OMG” in his bedazzled outfit while dancers were on stripper poles along the stage (but we don’t talk about the one that fell). 

So, it wasn’t the worst show in the world. Usher brought out some of his biggest hits, big stars (even though Justin Bieber declined to join him) and pretty decent production value. I wish we would’ve gotten something more reminiscent of Snoop Dog’s performance in 2022 or even something as extravagant as Katy Perry’s performance in 2015. 

I know it’s all subjective, but the halftime show was less entertaining for me than the football game itself. If you know me, that’s a wild statement.