Usher was the perfect pick for the Super Bowl

Sorry, Swifties, Usher had the most cultural allure at the big game. vox.com/culture CULTURE   The most-watched television broadcast in history happened over the weekend. The game was a meeting of titans — by which we mean [the NFL and Taylor Swift]( — and oh yeah, the Chiefs and the 49ers were alright, too. Yet the most interesting cultural phenomenon on display was not Miss Americana’s attendance in the stands, but Mr. Love in This Club himself performing on the halftime stage. As Fabiola Cineas observes, Usher getting an arguably long-overdue halftime slot is [a watershed moment]( for millions of elder millennials, a generation who probably can’t think of 2004 without hearing the first four bars of “Yeah.” As Cineas explains, Usher’s long string of R&B hits and years of success make his performance a validating moment in his career — and featuring him is a strategic move for an NFL still grappling with decades of racism. —Aja Romano//link.vox.com/click/34363155.16494/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9jb25zdGFuY2VncmFkeT91ZWlkPTNhNTA3ZmY1ZmYzNzViYTNjYWU5MjFkMzUzMTNiN2Nk/6094319a7418d377a33af3d5Cae9f5040, culture writer P.S. Vox launched a new daily newsletter. [Sign up here]( to get a deep dive into one big story, plus the most compelling news of the day. Usher has a Super Bowl-worthy legacy. Why don’t people act like it? [a photo of Usher performing with fog in the background.]( Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Dolby Live at Park MGM Across his 30-year career, Usher has been deemed the “King of R&B” and a “legend” for his catalog of Top 10 hits, smooth dance breaks, life-changing serenades, and lighthearted, meme-worthy energy. And yet, fans and music experts still have to explain why the superstar is a big deal ahead of his career-defining Super Bowl moment. In September, Usher surprised his younger self with the news that he’d be performing during the major event. A promotional video following the NFL’s announcement shows present-day Usher calling Usher from the 2004 “Confessions Pt. II” music video to deliver the big news. “Stop playin’ with me,” the younger Usher responds.[Many saw the eight-time Grammy-winning singer as an obvious, even overdue, choice.]( Fans rejoiced, posting “Yeahhhh!” (a nod to Usher’s 2004 hit featuring rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris) and jokingly claiming to be [prepping the Y2K]( outfits they’ll wear to their living rooms to watch one of the country’s biggest stars hit the NFL stage. But critics also spoke out. On a Reddit post about the announcement, a user commented, “Wow, this would have been really exciting news 20 years ago” and received nearly 4,000 upvotes. Another wrote, “Seriously the best they could do?” On X, one user wrote ahead of the announcement, “I know y’all think Usher should perform the next SB but I don’t think he has enough pop/hip-hop hits.” More recently, as Taylor Swift’s romance with Travis Kelce — who will play in the big game — continues to dominate the news cycle, Swifties have demanded that Usher bring Swift onstage. [Some have argued the attention on the Eras star is already dimming Usher’s moment.]( One could say that the mixed reactions ahead of Usher’s show are typical responses for any Super Bowl announcement: One artist, or genre, can’t please the more than 100 million viewers who tune in. But experts told Vox that the critics questioning Usher’s impact and relevance are illustrating something much bigger: It’s a reaction that’s indicative of racial, generational, and cultural divides in America. 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