Kendrick Lamar brought the house down with his 2025 Super Bowl performance — and surprised the crowd with a slew of special guests.
Samuel L. Jackson introduced Lamar, 37, ahead of the Sunday, February 9, performance at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome and made several appearances throughout show. “Salutations, it’s your Uncle Sam,” Jackson, 76, said at the beginning of the performance, while dressed like Uncle Sam. “And this is the great American game.”
Lamar was later joined by SZA, who sang their joint songs “Luther” and “All the Stars.” While Lamar rapped his hit track “Not Like Us,” Serena Williams was spotted dancing. Before the show came to a close, Mustard joined Lamar on-stage.
Ahead of the halftime show, SZA, 35, was announced as a performer when a trailer showed Lamar walking onto a football field — and SZA came up from behind and splashed him.
“Catch @KendrickLamar with guest @SZA. #AppleMusicHalftime #SBLIX,” the NFL wrote via social media in January. (SZA appeared alongside Lamar on his November 2024 album, GNX, and was featured on songs including “Gloria” and “Luther.” The pair are set to co-headline a Grand Nation Tour that kicks off in April.)
❤️ @KendrickLamar + @SZA #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/OZBFLMhKp8
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
While the players of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will not have an opportunity to watch the performance live, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes gushed that he will be tuning in to a recording of the show.
“I’m a huge fan of Kendrick Lamar,” Mahomes, 29, said at a Monday, February 3, press conference. “The GNX album, I thought, was top tier. Right now, I’ve been listening to ‘Dodger Blue,’ ‘The Heart Part 6.’ But he’s going to have some bangers out there, man. I’m excited. I wish I could watch. I’ll watch it back on replay.”
Related: Kendrick Lamar Announces He’ll Be Headlining Super Bowl 2025 Halftime
Kendrick Lamar announced on Sunday, September 8, that he will be performing at the Super Bowl LIX’s halftime show in February. In a post to Instagram, the rapper, speaking from an Astroturf field with a large American flag as backdrop, shot a bag of footballs from a training launcher while revealing his big news. “What […]
In September 2024, Lamar shared that he would be headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show while uploading a video from an Astroturf field with a large American flag in the background.
“What it doing everybody?” he said via social media at the time. “My name’s Kendrick Lamar and I’ll be performing at Super Bowl 59. Will you be pulling up? I hope so. You know there’s only one opportunity to win a championship. No round twos. Let’s get it, boom!”
“I wouldn’t want you to miss it,” Lamar concluded. “Meet me in New Orleans February 9, 2025. Wear your best dress, too, even if you’re watching from home. Let’s go! Now we can get to it for real!”
Related: Sorry Swifties, Taylor Swift’s Not on New Kendrick Lamar LP Despite Rumors
Despite fans’ hopes and widespread rumors, Kendrick Lamar’s latest album doesn’t feature a duet with Taylor Swift. Lamar, 37, surprised his fans on Friday, November 22, after he dropped a new LP, titled GNX. The surprise record features 12 songs with titles such as “Wacced Out Murals,” “Squabble Up,” “Luther,” “Man at the Garden,” “Dodger […]
While this is Lamar’s first time headlining the halftime show, he previously performed at the 2022 Super Bowl held at California’s SoFi Stadium. The performance featured a lineup including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent.
“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” Lamar said in a September 2024 statement. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”
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