Usher has confirmed that Justin Bieber turned down the invitation to join his Super Bowl halftime show last Sunday (11 February).
Before the weekend, Bieber had been heavily rumoured to participate in the performance, but ultimately he did not appear. Usher’s guests included Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Ludacris and HER.
Speaking on New York-based radio show The Breakfast Club, Usher confirmed that he had approached Bieber but the singer declined.
“I honor and recognize the fact that my brother… I think it might have just been that he’s just wanting to tell a different story right now, and I did understand that,” said Usher. “We did have a brief conversation, and we’re gonna do something else in the future.”
Usher added: “No love lost or anything like that. It’s a lot of pressure for the Super Bowl, obviously, for me to put together a show. I reached out to everybody. Justin wasn’t the only person I spoke to about doing the Super Bowl, but the moment was maybe for later.”
Usher went on to predict that Bieber would headline the Super Bowl halftime show himself one day, saying: “[Bieber is] going to play the Super Bowl… I’ll go ahead and give you that for the future. I profess that over his life because he has a career that deserves it. It just didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to.”
In 2022 Bieber had been scheduled to embark on his Justice world tour, but those dates were postponed and then ultimately cancelled.
The singer announced he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome and revealed that he had been experiencing “full paralysis” on the right side of his face as a result of the rare virus.
He gave his first performance in a year as part of the 2024 NHL All-Star Game at the start of this month.
Usher and Bieber have a lengthy working relationship that dates back to the start of Bieber’s career. The pair collaborated on “Somebody to Love” on Bieber’s debut album.
In a three-star review of Usher’s performance, The Independent’s Mark Beaumont wrote: “Rapper Lil John essentially steals the whole thing by doing his own “Turn Down for What” out in a synchronised moshpit. And Ludacris takes us home by effectively fronting a popping “Yeah!” while Usher, presumably too knackered to sing by now, just concentrates on staying on the dance moves.
“In the end, Usher’s show seems like a fun, half-memorable mess. But, with the likes of Justin Bieber, Paul McCartney and Lana Del Rey watching on from the luxury boxes, it could have shifted so many more tour tickets.”
