Super Bowl LVIII halftime star Usher has everyone saying “Yeah!” and then some after his Sunday-night performance. Though, to be fair, that man could’ve danced his body rolls and pelvic thrusts all over the field without singing a word and I would still call it a success.
As suspected, the Confessions singer, outfitted in Dolce & Gabbana, put on one hell of a Vegas-worthy spectacle, complete with a marching band, Vegas showgirls, dancers on Rollerblades, and people flying in the air. A list of accomplishments, in no particular order: Usher took his shirt off. Usher danced in Rollerblades. Usher performed footwork so good the only reaction is to giggle. Usher even made time to dedicate the show to his “mama.”
The show was packed with the usual pyrotechnics and stacked star power, with a special appearance from Alicia Keys for a joint serenade of “My Boo.” On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Confessions, the Grammy winner opened with “Caught Up,” followed by a medley of “Love in This Club,” “Let It Burn,” “OMG,” and more of the hits that filled early-aughts clubs. He was also joined by H.E.R., will.i.am, Lil Jon, and Ludacris.
On top of an action-packed performance, Usher appears to have leaned into the Vegas of it all and gotten married. Ahead of the game, People reported that he’d obtained a marriage license with longtime girlfriend Jennifer “Jenn” Goicoechea in Clark County on Thursday. The couple was first linked in 2019 and welcomed daughter Sovereign Bo in 2020 and son Sire Castrello in 2021. Sure enough, Usher and Giocochea showed up to his private Super Bowl after-party in all white. In a video from the night, his producer, Bryan-Michael Cox, announces, “Congrats to the newlyweds in the building!”
At the end of last year, Usher wrapped up his Las Vegas residency — a 100-show run popular among horny women — but has hardly slowed down since. Last week, he did us all a solid by teaming up with Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims to model underwear. He’s also been busy promoting the release of his ninth studio album, Coming Home, which dropped on Friday, just two days before the Super Bowl.
Congrats to Usher (and his new wife). In the meantime, someone give that man’s assistant a raise.