How did Jay-Z get involved with the Super Bowl halftime show?
Super Bowl halftime shows have been very successful in recent years. Viewership figures have been high and performances have been widely praised—and one man, arguably, can claim credit for it.
Since 2019, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company has been partnered with the NFL to help organise the halftime show. Lots of people from the Roc Nation side are involved in the process, but it’s been said that Jay-Z himself has the ultimate say over everything. Nobody performs without his explicit approval.
Jay-Z’s influence on the show is apparent simply by scanning the list of its performers since 2020. Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Usher, Bad Bunny—the rap and R&B flavour of Jay’s sensibility is quite easy to detect.
The producer of the halftime show since 2021 has been a man named Jesse Collins, who, in 2024, spoke with Variety about Hov’s involvement. When it comes to selecting the artists to perform, according to Collins, Jay is the most important figure.
“It’s a decision that Jay makes,” he said. “Since we’ve been on board with that show, he’s made it every year, and it’s been amazing. He’s always picked right!”
Jay-Z had previously been dismissive of the Super Bowl gig, even rapping about it on his 2018 song ‘Apeshit’ alongside his wife Beyoncé. “I said no to the Superbowl,” he spits on the track. “You need me, I don’t need you.”
Jay was eventually won over, reportedly after the New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, reached out and told him that the NFL needed assistance with publicly dealing with social issues. Whether or not that is the true reason Jay was persuaded to take the job is open to debate, but the fact that the initial five-year deal Roc Nation signed was reportedly valued at $25 million can hardly be ignored.
In terms of attracting eyeballs, which is, after all, the primary point of the Super Bowl halftime show, Roc Nation’s stewardship has been hugely successful. Viewership figures have been unprecedentedly high in recent years, with Rihanna’s 2023 show attracting 121 million viewers, Usher’s 2024 show getting 123.4 million, and Kendrick Lamar setting a new record last year with 133.5 million people tuning in.
It’s unclear at the time of writing quite how well Bad Bunny’s performance did, in terms of generating viewers. But it certainly attracted lots of press attention, so it seems very likely that Roc Nation’s form for high viewership numbers continued this year.