Jay-Z will perform at next February's Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL announced, ending years of speculation about whether the rapper would ever take the stage himself at the championship game his company has helped produce since 2019.
Roc Nation, Jay-Z's entertainment company, selects the Super Bowl's halftime performer each year, a role that has not previously included Jay-Z performing in the slot. Super Bowl LXI will be played near Los Angeles on February 14, and Jay-Z will follow recent headliners including Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Rihanna and The Weeknd. Kendrick Lamar's 2025 performance became the most-watched halftime show in history and won an Emmy for outstanding music direction.
A deal fifteen years in the making
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that when the league first struck its agreement with Roc Nation to produce the halftime show, he had "just one request: that Jay-Z take the stage himself one day, whenever the moment felt right to him." Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, called the booking the culmination of a three-decade arc: "From 'Reasonable Doubt' to standing on the Super Bowl halftime stage, this has been a journey. Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world's biggest stage."
The announcement followed two shows Jay-Z played last weekend at the Los Angeles stadium hosting the Super Bowl, part of a tour marking the 30th anniversary of his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt. The NFL noted that speculation over potential guest appearances will likely center on his wife, Beyoncé, who is "atop the list" of names fans expect to see join him.
Jay-Z's résumé includes 25 Grammy Awards, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, and recognition as the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Super Bowl halftime show draws tens of millions of US viewers each year, making the booking one of the largest single stages in American entertainment.