Football fans gathered around their Televisions on the Night of February 9th to watch the Eagles and Cheifs battle it out to be the 59th Super Bowl Champion. Now, as someone who knows very little about America’s game of Football, I needed to reference Charlixcx’s Football breakdown to figure out each position. However, I tend to know more than the Football fans in the room during the night's vast number of musical performances. From the opening ceremony to the halftime performance, Super Bowl LIX is filled with Grammy winners and standout performers.
Tonight, instead of focusing on who gets the trophy, we’re breaking down all of tonight's performances; Starting with the Preshow, and Ending with the Halftime Show.
YOUTUBE PREGAME SHOW
The Pregame show was set to honour the “rich musical legacy of New Orleans” (Seth Dudowsky, Head of Music at the NFL), and that promise was followed through. Staring the night was Ledisi with her performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing. The vocalist and actress is known for being an R&B and Jazz legend, having won Grammys for her work. Ledisi was raised in New Orleans and her performance was accompanied by 125 Youth Choir members from the city. Lift Every Voice and Sing has been credited as “The Black National Anthem”, and was celebrating its outstanding 125th anniversary this year. Ledisi’s performance brought great honour to the hymn, and you can watch her performance in the link below.
Ledisi's Performance via NFL on Twitter
[ Ledisi via Twitter]
Following Ledisi was Lady Gaga, who was our first surprise performance of the night. She was performing straight from New Orleans down on Bourbon Street, where she was featured in an all-white outfit, sitting at a grand piano. Gaga performed an emotionally driven rendition of Hold My Hand, a song she had written initially for Top Gun: Maverick in 2023. Her performance was a tribute to the victims of a brutal New Year’s attack that left 14 people dead. Gaga was joined by a full band and choir for her track, with her crowd being filled with Louisiana State Police troopers, New Orleans Police officers, and first responders, putting their contributions to the city and state on full display to one of the largest Television crowds.
[ Lady Gaga via Twitter]
After Gaga was the Human Jukebox Marching Band who strutted across the field during the pregame show surrounded by the bright colours of New Orleans. The marching band is from Southern University, an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) from nearby Baton Rouge. They’re one of the more famous bands, having played at the Ceasers SuperDome before for a Battle of the Bands the weekend prior. You can view their performance at the link below.
Human Jukebox Performance via Twitter
Lousiana natives Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty gave a Jazz-esc performance of America the Beautiful on the field alongside ASL Performer Stephanie Nogeraus. Daigle is a Christian Singer and Grammy Winner, carrying strong vocals and a playful attitude. Trombone Shorty, who was born in New Orleans, matched Daigle with, of course, his trombone. His skills are incredible, as not all artists can stand out on a single brass instrument the way he can, which would explain why the artist is a five-time Grammy winner. The duo’s version of the iconic track was memorable not only through musical talent but also through stage presence, as they both looked incredibly elated to be performing for not only the stadium but also those at home.
Daigle and Trombone Shorty's Performance via NFL on Twitter
[ Daigle and Trombone Shorty via Chandan Khanna/AFP Getty Images]
Oscar and Grammy Winner Jon Batiste was the last to take the stage before the kickoff, giving a moving piano rendition of the American National Anthem. During an ET interview on Thursday Batiste said he hoped to honour his late grandfather with his performance. “I’m thinking a lot about my personal story and the story of this country, and how we can honour the best of us,” Batiste said. His grandfather was not the only family member Batiste was honoured last night, with his wife, Suleika Jaouad having hand-painted the tapestry that was on his piano. Even without the implications of family ties, Jon Batiste put on a powerful performance, not only putting a modern spin on the anthem but putting an immense amount of passion behind his vocals, causing players and fans alike to shed a tear. Batiste perfectly ended the string of pre-show performances, with the musical talents and history of New Orleans having been reflected with each artist.
[ Batiste via Cindy Ord / Getty Images ]
APPLE MUSIC HALFTIME SHOW
[ Kendrick Lamar via Twitter ]
Since he was announced to perform at this year's Super Bowl back in September 2024, people have been wondering what type of performance Kendrick Lamar would put on. Although this wasn’t Lamars first time on the stage, as he was a surprise guest during Dr Dre’s headliner in 2022 for Superbowl LVI, fans were left in the dark about what his 2025 full-stage performance would look like. The most fans knew was Lamar planned to bring an element of story-telling into his performance, wanting people to not only listen but think a little about what he would be bringing onto the stage.
Before the performance, everyone was focused on whether Lamar would be playing his Grammy award-winning diss track on Drake, Not Like Us, which walked away with both Record and Song of the Year the prior weekend, sweeping the Pop girlies completely. However, due to everyone anticipating this track, they may have missed the overarching story Lamar was trying to convey, one that was a commentary on American Society told through song choices, a cameo from Samuel L Jackson, stage set, and choreographed dancers.
Samuel L. Jackson starts Lamar’s set by introducing himself as propaganda “Uncle Sam” and telling viewers that this is “The Great American Game.” Cameras focus on Lamar atop a car in a 'Gloria' jacket, backward hat, and a big A chain. He opened his performance with an unreleased teaser song from his most recent album, GNX. He is then joined by his dancers hopping out of the car, dressed in White, Red, and Blue, the colours being important to note for later aspects of the performance. Before moving into squabble Up, Kendrick announces…
“The Revolution ‘bout to be Televised You Picked the Right Time But the Wrong Guy”
squabble Up revealed a larger portion of Lamar's set, showing a plain grey stage, street lights, and a set of stairs. It reflected that of a parking lot, or a city late at night, adding to the atmosphere and story Lamar was slowly forming. As squabble Up came to an end, the camera panned back to Samuel L. Jackson, who was speaking in distress. “No No No No! Too Loud! Too Reckless! Too… Ghetto… Mr Lamar! Do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!” Jackson cried as Lamar moved into playing his smash hit HUMBLE.
[ Kendrick Lamar via NAACP on Instagram ]
Lamar stood on the stage steps in the middle of all his dancers. Their positioning and colours reflected an American flag. Initially, they stood stagnant within their positions, only moving their arms and upper bodies to the beat. Towards the end of the track, they began to march along to the beat before dispersing rapidly at the beginning of DNA, with one of the dancers in red becoming a “gunman.”
During DNA, we saw the true length of the stage, with Kendrick moving from one end to another alongside his dancers. He transitioned smoothly into Euphoria, one of two diss tracks he would play that night. He continued his choreography until he reached the middle of the stage, where the camera focused square on Lamar as the dancers continued to march past him. The track ended with a boom, as pyrotechnics made it appear like the prop streetlights were blown out.
The live debut of man at the garden followed, showing Lamar surrounded by his dancers who all sat on the base of one of the street lights, dancing together and miming the backing vocals before being spooked by another Samuel L. Jackson cameo and running off, with Lamar following on their tails. This time, Jackson went on to say “Oh, so you brought your homeboys with you? The old culture cheat code! Score keeper… deduct one life”.
We meet Kendrick again within a giant red glass X that sits on the field. In each pocket of the shape is a group of dancers, ready for Lamar to perform peekaboo. At the end of peekaboo we get introduced to a group of ladies, who Lamar tells he “Wants to make a move” and “Wants to perform their (the viewers) favourite song... but you know they love to sue”, and here watchers catch a glimpse of the iconic beat of Not Like Us, which could be recognized anywhere at this point. Instead of throwing himself into the hit, Lamar tells us he’s going to “think about it” and take this time to slow things down.
[ SZA and Kendrick via Twitter ]
Alongside Kendrick Lamar, fans were prepared for special guest SZA. The two have been collaborative partners since 2014, and are going on their co-headline “Grand National” tour later this year. As always SZA wowed with her outstanding clear and heavenly vocals, during luther and again for All The Stars which the two collaborated on for the Black Panther Movie. Personally, I would have loved to see a little more from SZA for her Super Bowl Debut, but given the limited time for these performances, I understood why she was around for only two tracks.
Yet another “Uncle Sam” monologue came rolling in, this time one of praise, saying: “That’s what I'm talking about! That's what America wants. Nice and Calm… you’re almost there… Dont. Mess. This. Up.” If it has gone over your head at this point, Lamar has been creating a commentary on how America views the world of Rap, and those who consume the genre. They’re seen as aggressive, gang affiliated, and their music would be more ‘digestible’ if they were calmer, simmering down their ‘attitude’. Of course, this is not the case for the entire genre, with these labels causing harmful stereotypes to be brought into the scene, or for people to live up to these expectations because that is all America could ever see them as. Especially with the current political state of the country, it is essential to bring conversations of these oppressions to light, as even though rap is a mainstream music genre, the rights of those who have pioneered this genre will slowly begin to be impacted due to policies and behaviours of those in power.
[ Samuel L. Jackson as “Uncle Sam” via Twitter ]
Lamar's penultimate song was none other than Not Like Us, with Lamar opening the track by saying “It’s a cultural divide ima get it on the floor… 40 acres in the [unsure] this is bigger than the music… Yeah they tried to rig the game but you can’t fake influence” before bursting right into the iconic lyrics. Where I was truly jaw-dropped was when they brought in the crowd vocals for “A-Minor” and the entire stadium was as loud as the music itself. It felt reminiscent of when Lamar played the song five times in a row back in June of 2024 and the crowd carried the vocals every time. Among the dancers was tennis player Serena Williams, crip walking in a blue outfit.
The final track of Kendrick Lamar’s performance was tv off, where he brought out producer Mustard to dance around on stage for the final moments of the halftime show. With one last smile, Lamar pointed at the camera, and the lights went dark. As the cameras panned over to the crowd, we could see the lights reflecting the words “GAME OVER” across the crowd.
Kendrick Lamar's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show
For those of you curious, The Philadelphia Eagles walked away with the trophy tonight… but if you were to ask me, I think Kendrick Lamar took home the biggest win of the night.
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