Timing actually is every thing in pop music. At varied instances within the final 20 years, an Usher Tremendous Bowl set might need appeared too quickly, too late or simply not fairly proper. However whereas the pre-game debate was actual about whether or not Usher was thuddingly apparent or a attain as a halftime headliner, by the point he stepped into the Allegiant Stadium highlight at Tremendous Bowl LXVIII on Sunday evening (Feb. 11) it ought to have been clear to everybody that the time was proper for Usher to take the world’s greatest stage. And along with his 15-minute, crowd-pleasing, decade-spanning set of traditional hits, he reconfirmed his standing as one among one among pop’s best residing entertainers.
It was the fruits of a half-decade of refined positive factors in profession momentum for Mr. Raymond, who by no means completely disappeared, however spent a lot of the mid-to-late ’10s in industrial erosion amidst underwhelming gross sales and a few powerful headlines. However a handful of successful next-gen collabs, an impossibly excellent Hustlers cameo, a well-received Vegas residency (and a meme-spawning Tiny Desk efficiency) and his greatest chart hit in 10 years (“Good Good”) all served to each remind of his peerless pop and R&B legacy and revitalize his up to date relevance. With a powerful new album (Coming Dwelling) arriving on Friday — only a couple days after the announcement of an upcoming area tour, his first in almost a decade, and a month earlier than the twentieth anniversary of his Confessions blockbuster — the stage was set in about each conceivable manner on Sunday for Usher to reply any remaining “Usher??” questioning round his Tremendous Bowl look with a giant ol’ “YEAH!”
Unsurprisingly, he did precisely that. From the second he slipped off his gown to transition from early signature hit “My Means” to 2005 smash “Caught Up,” Usher was in management, gliding via a few dozen of his greatest hits — all prime 10s on the Billboard Scorching 100 hits, besides the enduring Confessions fan-favorites “Famous person” and “Dangerous Woman” — with the effortlessness of a man who’s been informally coaching for this chance his whole profession. Massive-name friends had been greeted, shirts had been shed, rollerskates had been rollerskated and quarter-hour glided by in a brilliantly choreographed blink.
Actually, for a efficiency billed because the longest in Tremendous Bowl historical past, the set was nonetheless maybe most notable for its effectivity: expertly plotted transitions just like the opening verse to “Good & Sluggish” seamlessly igniting the hissing intro of “Burn” minimized downtime, whereas friends Alicia Keys, H.E.R., will.i.am and Lil Jon had been neatly all given their very own transient highlight moments whereas Usher executed his costume adjustments and caught his breath. And whereas a number of the buzzed-about home-run friends by no means fairly materialized — sorry, BeyHive and Beliebers — the friends current supplied a perfect unfold of Usher’s underrated profession versatility, equally convincing tearing the membership up with Lil Jon, going future-pop with will.i.am and doing traditional pop&B love duets with Keys.
The efficiency thrived extra on small moments than true OH S–T jaw-droppers — not like Usher was ever prone to prime Rihanna’s reveal from final 12 months in that division. However it was such a wealthy manufacturing that you can’ve missed a number of the finest particulars, just like the marching band that punctuated set nearer “Yeah!” spelling out U-S-H-E-R within the bottom-left nook of your display screen, or the wrist-watch graphic projected onto the stage beneath him throughout “Good & Sluggish” highlighting a 7:00 (on the dot) time. And Usher definitely showcased a few of his extra distinctive abilities as a performer, turning the stage right into a roller-rink (and skating between will.i.am’s legs) on “OMG” and tearing his prime off in the course of the climactic “U Received It Dangerous,” flaunting a still-chiseled physique that ought to make him the seething envy of 45-year-old males worldwide.
If there was fault to be discovered with Usher’s halftime efficiency, it will possible concentrate on the inadequate mic-ing on his early vocals, which undersold softer moments like his falsetto’d verses on “U Don’t Need to Name” — he’s a powerful vocalist, however not a lot a powerhouse that he couldn’t have used a little bit additional juice there. And whereas it’s not tragic that stellar present hit “Good Good” didn’t make the reduce for the tracklist, it was a little bit little bit of a bummer that 2010’s “OMG” was his solely track from the final 15 years that did — whereas most of Usher’s greatest songs could have come pre-Obama, he’s by no means stopped releasing glorious singles and albums (and had sizable hits with quite a lot of them). It does Ush a little bit little bit of a disservice to current him solely as a catalog act.
However these are comparatively small complaints for a totally satisfying, comeback-capping efficiency from Usher Raymond. “They stated I wouldn’t be right here right this moment,” he commented whereas dedicating his rendition of “Famous person” to his mom. “Hey Mama, we made it.” From one other performer — particularly one with Usher’s distinctive resumé — it may have simply come off as Khaledian bluster, however for Ush, it felt like a reasonably well-earned second of triumph. And whoever they are, they in all probability received’t be making such feedback once more anytime quickly.
