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The Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show in 2025 will be headlined by Kendrick Lamar. He announced the news on a football field in front of a big American flag via a YouTube video posted on Sunday.
In the YouTube video, Lamar released a statement saying, "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."
The "Not Like Us" crooner will perform in the Super Bowl in 2025 for the second time, but it will be his first as the headlining act. Lamar previously shared the stage with Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige for the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022.
The Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning musician will join a long list of well-received headliners to have taken the Super Bowl stage over the years, including Usher (2024) and Rihanna (2023), who made a surprise pregnancy reveal onstage.
Let's look back at the past ten Super Bowl halftime performers while Kendrick Lamar's performance and Super Bowl 2025 are still five months away:
2024 - Super Bowl LVIII: Usher (Allegiant Stadium; Las Vegas, Nevada) - Kansas City Chiefs 25, San Francisco 49ers 22
2023 - Super Bowl LVII: Rihanna (State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona) - Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35
2022 - Super Bowl LVI: Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre., and Mary J. Blige featuring 50 Cent (SoFi Stadium; Inglewood, California) - Los Angeles Rams 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20
2021 - Super Bowl LV: The Weeknd (Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Florida) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Kansas City Chiefs 9
2020 - Super Bowl LIV: Shakira and Jennifer Lopez featuring J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and Emme Muniz (Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Florida) - Kansas City Chiefs 31, San Francisco 49ers 20
2019 - Super Bowl III: Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia) - New England Patriots 13, Los Angeles Rams 3
2018 - Super Bowl LII: Justin Timberlake featuring The Tennessee Kids (U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota) - Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33
2017 - Super Bowl LI: Lady Gaga (NRG Stadium; Houston, Texas) - New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28
2016 - Super Bowl 50: Coldplay featuring Bruno Mars and Beyonce (Levi's Stadium; Santa Clara, California) - Denver Broncos 24, Carolina Panthers 10
2015 - Super Bowl XLIX: Katy Perry featuring Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott (University of Phoenix Stadium; Glendale, Arizona)
Do Super Bowl performers get paid?
The last two Super Bowl halftime shows had Usher and Rihanna as the main performers, but neither of them received payment.
These well-known performers never get paid for the months of preparation that go into the big show. But even without the paycheck, the exposure artists receive from appearing on one of the most watched TV shows of the year is unmatched. This stage has drawn outstanding talent over the years, including Shakira, Eminem, and others.
The NFL does cover the expenses of producing the Super Bowl halftime show, even though artists are not paid. The league also pays for the artists' other incidentals and travel expenses.
