Kendrick Lamar performs during the 2023 Governors Ball Music Festival at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on June 11, 2023 in New York City. Photo / Getty Images
Kendrick Lamar performs during the 2023 Governors Ball Music Festival at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on June 11, 2023 in New York City. Photo / Getty Images
Grammy-winner Kendrick Lamar has been confirmed as the headline act for American football’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, scheduled for February 9 in New Orleans.
In a statement confirming the news, Lamar said: “Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”
Jay-Z is set to produce the halftime show. It will be the sixth consecutive year he and his company Roc Nation have produced the show, Vanity Fair reports.
“Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” he said in a statement. “His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Kendrick Lamar performs in Inglewood, California in June, 2024. Photo / Getty Images
Last year’s show, sponsored by Apple Music with Usher as the headline act, was the most-watched in history and netted over 129 million viewers, according to Statista.
The NFL does not usually pay performers an appearance fee for the halftime show, though it does cover expenses that include travel, production, crew, security – costs that can be up to $1 million, according to Rolling Stone.
In 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that in 2015 the NFL had asked Katy Perry, Rihanna and Coldplay to make a financial contribution to the league in exchange for securing the halftime show slot.
It won’t be the first time Lamar has played the show. In 2022 he joined Mary J Blige, 50 Cent, Dr Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Anderson.Paak for a tribute to hip hop.
Originally from Compton, California, Lamar is considered one of most significant artists of his generation, winning multiple Grammys, and in 2018 was awarded The Pulitzer Prize in Music.
His debut album Section.80 was released in 2011. The following year’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D Cityincluded hits like Swimming Pools (Drank) and Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe and the album became Billboard’s longest-charting studio album of the hip hop genre. Lamar’s next four albums all went to number one on the chart.
Kendrick Lamar will headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. Photo / @kendricklamaer
He visited New Zealand in 2018, playing Auckland and Dunedin, and again in 2022, playing a nearly two-hour-long show in Auckland.
In 2024, Lamar’s single Not Like Us – a diss track and part of the much-reported Drake feud – debuted at the number one spot of the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released in May.
It was Lamar’s fourth number-one single on the chart, and the rapper has had 15 songs reach the top 10.
Super Bowl LIX is scheduled for February 9, 2005, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
