Caroline Schilling – Expectations Not Met

Every year, people all over anticipate the excitement of the Super Bowl, but especially the Halftime Show. The halftime show is my favorite part as it provides entertainment to those who might not understand the game of football as much as others do. Let me start by saying… this year’s Halftime Show definitely fell short, and did not come anywhere near meeting my expectations. 

I also must add that I enjoy Usher’s music. I would say I listen to his music quite often and I think he is incredibly talented both vocally, but also in the way he performs. His dancing for the show was amazing, just left me confused at some points. I think he is a very talented performer, but this Halftime Show did not truly encapsulate his talent. I also think there was so much going on during his performance that it was incredibly hard to focus on just him. 

Now, I did enjoy that Alicia Keys was also performing, but I wish she was involved with the performance more. I think that if they were both actively singing together for longer, the show would have been more enjoyable. The dancing choreography was very good, it just seemed like almost too much. 

Also, at the beginning of his performance, the sound started to cut out and did not seem to be as loud as it should have been. Now I know this issue is not on Usher, but I feel like because of the anticipation and recognition this performance brings, that there should be no issues in regards to sound and TV coverage. 

Senior Emily Shea feels similarly. She said, “I felt like he did more dancing than actual singing, and when he did sing the sound was too quiet.” If the Super Bowl performance is based on singing and dancing, I feel like both should be incorporated equally. At the end of the day, he is a performer, he knows how to do both. 

I do have to say, the roller skating and appeal to the eye was there, but still didn’t win me over. I think the songs he chose were good, could’ve been better. I also think that the outfits were there, but also sort of confusing. 

I believe that Usher has what it takes to perform at the Super Bowl, but I don’t think he truly showed his abilities in this year’s halftime show. I expected a lot from him, but my expectations were not met with this performance.

Kate Moriarty – Great and Entertaining

Usher was the main artist of the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show. The show was upbeat, energetic and visually impressive. The coordination among the different artists and songs was smooth. Based on the constant screaming from the fans, it was obvious the entire stadium enjoyed the songs, dancing and light show. Usher went back down memory lane by singing his older songs: “Caught Up”, “U Don’t Have To Call”, “Lovers and Friends” and “Love in this Club”. The other artists that performed with Usher were Alicia Keys, H.E.R., will.i.am, Ludacris, DJ Snake and Lil Jon.

    The performance started out with a bang when Usher sang one of his biggest hits “Caught up.” This first song energized the fans for the rest of the show. Mr. Bailey enjoyed the show and said, “I personally really did like the show! I liked how Usher played his songs that we all love even though they weren’t his most recent songs. The roller skating part was also cool!”

   Usher was creative when he combined Michael Jackson’s dance moves with his own moves. Also how he wore Michael Jackson’s famous sparkly glove and gave Michael a shoutout.

   The transitions between songs and artists was done great with the lighting changes, different camera angles, energetic dancers and spotlights on the different performers. It was amazing how quickly Usher changed into a new outfit between each song, which I would also love to give a big shout out to how greatly designed the outfits were for Usher and the other performers and dancers. It was really nice of Usher to give the other six artists time to perform even though the entire show was only about twelve minutes.

   Alicia Keys was in a beautiful red outfit that matched the beautiful red piano. Singing her biggest hit “If I Ain’t Got You” was a great choice. Even though her voice briefly cracked at the beginning of the song, she did a fantastic job of recovering and continuing on with her performance. Usher and her had great energy while singing together.

   Other than Alicia’s brief cracking of her voice and the microphones maybe being too low, there were no other mistakes in the show. It was obvious the fans were highly engaged from all of the screaming. There was never a dull moment in the show. Watching the show from home was entertaining. I sang along to some of the songs, wanting to be there, myself.

   The halftime show was going at a fast pace when DJ Snake and Lil John sang “Turn Down for What” and “Yeah.” This turned the pace up another notch and into overdrive. These songs are some of the best and most well known songs. DJ Snake, Lil John and the fans were in a mosh pit singing and dancing to some of the best hits out there. Which concluded the great and entertaining 2024 Super Bowl halftime show!