Was this Justin Bieber auditioning for an upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show, or just him feeling himself during the SBLVI Halftime Show? Either way, Justin, 27, was spotted in his feelings when Eminem’s turn came to perform. Justin was recorded rapping along to “Lose Yourself” while on the field of SoFi Stadium, and Biebs was nailing every word. It was pretty epic, and Justin appeared to love every moment.
.@justinbieber rapping to @Eminem at the #SuperBowl is everything I needed and more 😳
Via: @peachesbiebss pic.twitter.com/GBcZpYfJnb
— MuchMusic (@Much) February 14, 2022
Earlier in the night, Justin was spotted with his wife, Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin), sitting next to Kendall Jenner and her date for the night, Devin Booker. The couple kept it casual with athleisure looks, allowing for impromptu dance breaks during the night. Not surprisingly, these four were just some of the many stars who came out to the LA stadium to see the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals. The celebs also saw d Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar (with a surprise 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak) perform in the halftime show.
Ahead of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Eminem spoke with Sway Calloway on SiriusXM’s Shade 45 podcast about his mentality going into the halftime show. “To me, there’s nothing more final than live TV,” said Slim Shady, who noted that he was facing the pressure of potentially screwing up on one of the biggest stages in the world. Calling the Super Bowl Halftime Show “f-cking nerve-wracking,” Em said that if you f-ck up, your f-ck up is there forever.” Em also shed light on how Dr. Dre approached him for the Halftime Show gig.
“I was trying to envision what Dre might do,” he said. “I was thinking, like, ‘Yeah, it’s dope that all of us are going to rap together,’ right? And that kind of thing, but I didn’t expect the production to be like this. So, I was kind of blown away the first time I seen [sic] it. … Once you see it, it’s just different.”
Mary J. Blige also gave fans a preview of what they could expect, telling Zane Lowe that this will be a show fans are going to talk about for years to come. “The rehearsals, oh my God. Everyone wants to be a fan, and everyone wants to come down off the stage and run and watch each other’s performance,” she said. “It’s amazing. People are going to be losing their minds. It’s amazing.” She also shared that Jimmy Iovine, the co-founder of Interscope Records, reached out with Dr. Dre to offer her a spot in the extravaganza. “Jimmy called me. ‘I’m chilling, Jimmy.’ ‘Mary, got a surprise for you.’ And Dre jumps on the phone. ‘Yo Mary, what you think about doing the Super Bowl?’ I was like, ‘What? Say less. I’m there.'”
Since Roc Nation signed a deal with the NFL in 2019 to “advise on the selection of artists for major NFL performances,” the Halftime Show has become more inclusive in its selection of music and headlining artists. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed in 2020, bringing out Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and giving J.Lo’s teenage daughter Emme Muñiz a stage for her surprise performance. The following year, The Weeknd performed a show that channeled the feelings of the pandemic into a dizzying display. After five straight years of white pop headliners (Katy Perry, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, and Maroon 5), artists of color and hip hop performers are now getting the spotlight and not being relegated to “special guest” performers.