Usher gives Kendrick Lamar blunt advice for 2025 Super Bowl halftime show

Usher didn’t sugarcoat his advice to Kendrick Lamar, who's set to headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. During The Jennifer Hudson Show, Usher, who took the same stage last year, spoke about how Lamar should approach the moment.

"I haven’t had the chance to catch up with him and tell him, one, how excited I am,” Usher said, sounding genuinely hyped for the rapper. "I’ve talked to everybody around... I’ve talked to all the producers, his creative team."

He didn’t waste time with unnecessary pep talks. His message was clear: stay in the moment and don’t obsess over perfection.

Usher wants Kendrick Lamar to forget about perfection—live the moment instead

According to Usher, it's easy to get stuck chasing the "perfect" performance. But that’s where artists trip up.

“The one thing I would say is savor the moment. You get obsessed in trying to build the best performance but you don’t realize that it’s really about enjoying it,” Usher said. He kept it real with Lamar: “It might not be perfect, everything may not go exactly the way it’s supposed to but if you are in your mind and like stuck trying to make something perfect you’re not going to look up and smell the flowers.”

His point? Super Bowl performances are chaotic and fleeting. There's no time to stress over perfect execution. Instead, Lamar should take a breath, own the stage, and soak it all in. “I’m here and I get a chance to have this moment and I’m not going to get it again... So my encouragement to him is to really be present,” he explained.

Usher also made sure to emphasize Lamar’s influence on the culture. He called the rapper “an incredible benchmark for what it is to be an artist,” saying he’s done more for hip-hop than most realize.

Kendrick Lamar takes the Super Bowl stage after Grammy domination

Lamar isn’t walking into this without momentum. He just swept the 2025 Grammys, winning five awards for “Not Like Us.” That’s Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video—all in one night. He’s got heat behind him.

SZA, fresh off her own success, will join him as a guest performer. Lamar knows this stage well, too. He performed at Super Bowl LVI in 2022 with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent. But this time, it’s his moment.

Super Bowl LIX airs on FOX on February 9, 2025. Lamar has all the tools to pull off a legendary show. Let's see if he takes Usher’s advice and lives in the moment.

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