photo credit: Daniela Tiberi
The Super Bowl means the iconic halftime show that comes with it. Last year’s performance was by Usher with special guests Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., will.i.am, Lil Jon and Ludacris. The 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show was performed by Kendrick Lamar, with special guest SZA.
Lamar is a known artist, specifically popular for his rapping. Lamar’s first album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 was “To Pimp a Butterfly”, and first song to hit No. 1 was “Bad Blood” with Taylor Swift, according to Biography.
In the following year, he was nominated for 11 Grammys. In total, Lamar has been nominated for 57 Grammys Awards and won 17. One of Lamar’s most recent popular songs is “Not Like Us” which is a part of Lamar’s diss towards another famous artist, Drake, during their feud. “Not Like Us” recently won “Best Rap Performance”, “Best Rap Song”, “Best Music Video”, “Record of the Year” and “Song of the Year” at the 2025 Grammys, according to MSN.
Lamar had appeared at the 56th Super Bowl halftime show and now reappeared at the 59th. At the 56th halftime show, Lamar performed alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige, all rap/R&B artists. Anderson Paak and 50 Cent were also there, according to USA Today.
Lamar also made history at his Super Bowl performance this year as he was the second person to perform more than once at Halftime, first being Justin Timberlake, and Lamar was the first solo rap artist to headline the Super Bowl, according to USA Today.
Lamar has not released his setlist for the Super Bowl yet, but it is expected that he will perform his most popular songs, including the diss tracks.
Lamar’s halftime show started with Samuel L. Jackson, who narrates the performance from the beginning of the show until the end. Throughout the performance, Lamar is joined by SZA, DJ Mustard and even Serena Williams. Seven songs were played including, All the Stars, DNA, Not Like Us and more. All dancers and performers wore American colors, which followed an American theme, also seen by Samuel L. Jackson being “Uncle Sam”, according to People. Overall, the halftime show was followed by mixed feelings. While some thought the performance was creative and good, others disagreed and believed the performance was dull, according to Forbes. Though Lamar does perform a different genre of music than many watching the Super Bowl may be used to, which is a reason why many hadn’t loved the show.
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