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Here Is Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Setlist

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Usher Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show 2024
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So far, Super Bowl LVIII hasn’t been a note. Most of the action has come from the evening’s entertainment starting with Post Malone’s rendition of “America The Beautiful.” But let’s be real: everyone was really tuned in for Usher’s highly anticipated halftime performance.

Given how many details were leaked, including Alicia Keys’ cameo, not much was left to the imagination. However, Usher still managed to deliver a notable set (and yes, it did feature his love of roller skating). Throughout the performance starring guest cameos from HER, Lil Jon, and Ludacris, Usher jumped across his multiple decade-long career. He even squeezed in some of the biggest hits of others on the stage.

Continue below to view Usher’s full setlist for the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show.

Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Setlist

1. “Caught Up”
2. “U Don’t Have To Call”
3. “Superstar”
4. “Love In This Club”
5. “If I Ain’t Got You” With Alicia Keys
6. “My Boo” With Alicia Keys
7. “Confessions Part II” With Jermaine Dupri
8. “Nice & Slow”
9. “Burn”
10. “U Got It Bad” With HER
11. “Bad Girl” With HER
12. “OMG” With Will.I.Am
13. “Turn Down for What” With Lil Jon
14. “Yeah” With Lil Jon & Ludacris

Watch the full performance presented by Apple Music below.

Beyoncé And Rihanna Were Considered For ‘The Color Purple,’ According To Oprah, Who Quickly Shut The Notion Down

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The Color Purple is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. A cast featuring Danielle Brooks, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, and Fantasia is already promising on its own, but according to Oprah Winfrey, who produced the movie musical and starred in the original 1985 movie, the cast almost looked different.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Oprah revealed that Rihanna and Beyoncé were once considered for the cast, but she felt it more appropriate to give other actors an opportunity to shine.

“To be completely honest about it, if you were doing this film for $30 or $40 million, the interest in the cast would be very different,” Winfrey said. “Once the film moved to $90 to $100 million, then everybody wants us to bring Beyoncé. ‘Can you get Beyoncé or can you get Rihanna?’ So we’re sitting in a room saying, ‘Listen, we love Beyoncé. We love Rihanna, but there are other actors who can do this job.’”

Both Bey and Rihanna have had their hands full this year — Beyoncé with her Renaissance World Tour and film, and Rihanna with her fashion and make-up brands, and the birth of her newborn son. According to Oprah, their stacked schedules were taken into consideration.

“I do remember conversations about, ‘Y’all, Beyoncé is going to be busy this year.’ It wasn’t even a negotiation, because you’re not getting Beyoncé,” said Oprah

HER’s Lights On 2023 Festival Has Been Canceled A Month Before It Was Scheduled To Take Place

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Although live entertainment has been back for two years, the industry is still being hampered by logistical issues, leading to the cancellations of a number of festivals this year, including Made In America, Kid Cudi’s Moon Man’s Landing, and Rolling Loud New York, among others.

The latest event to suffer this fate is the third edition of HER’s Lights On Festival, which has been canceled just one month before it was due to return to Mountain View, California’s Shoreline Amphitheatre. The festival, which was to have been headlined by Jazmine Sullivan and supported by Alina Baraz, Don Toliver, PartyNextDoor, Smino, and Syd in addition to rising Bay Area stars like Rexx Life Raj and Symba, was scheduled for September 16-17.

In a statement sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, a representative of the festival wrote, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lights On Festival will not take place this year. We sincerely appreciate and value the Lights On Festival community and look forward to returning with an incredible experience in 2024.” Refunds are expected to be processed automatically.

Lights On was previously held at the Concord Pavilion in 2019 and 2021, postponed in 2020, and was not held in 2022. It moved to the larger Shoreline Amphitheater this year to accommodate a larger fan turnout.

HER Is Officially Looking To Complete That EGOT With Her Broadway Show Opening This Month

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Singer and actress Gabriella Wilson, better known as HER (but she should really consider going by her real name, already), told Entertainment Tonight in 2021 that she wanted to win an EGOT (one each from the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards) shortly after taking home an Oscar for her Judas And The Black Messiah track “Fight For You.” Then, last year, she picked up an Emmy for producing on Netflix’s We The People with the Obamas. This month, she’ll take an earnest swing for the final award, a Tony, with a producer credit on the upcoming Broadway show, Here Lies Love.

Co-written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Love follows a narrative centered on former Philippines first lady, Imelda Marcos. It’s fitting, then, that Wilson is also producing, as she proudly represents her Filipina heritage in her work, such as the designs on her dress in Disney’s Beauty And The Beast: A 30th Celebration. Should the show win a Tony Award next June, it’ll make her the youngest woman to ever achieve an EGOT by ten years; the current youngest woman is Jennifer Hudson, who was 38 when she won in 2021, becoming the 17th person overall, the third youngest person, and just the second Black woman to win ever. She was most recently succeeded by Viola Davis, the 18th person and third Black woman, last year.

HER shared a preview video of the show on her Instagram on Sunday, sharing the opening date, July 20. Check it out below.

HER Announced The Return Of Her Lights On Festival For 2023 With Jazmine Sullivan As A Headliner

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HER‘s Lights On Festival, which she launched in her native Bay Area in 2021 with co-headliner Erykah Badu before expanding to Brooklyn with Maxwell, is coming back for another round of soulful performances this September in Mountain View, California. This time, she’ll be accompanied as co-headliner by Jazmine Sullivan, with support from PartyNextDoor, Don Toliver, Alina Baraz, Toosii, Smino, and Syd, in addition to many more breakout artists in hip-hop and R&B.

The Lights On Fest is billed for the weekend of September 16-17 at Shoreline Festival Grounds in Mountain View. The presale for tickets begins this Thursday, June 28, at 12 pm, while the general sale begins on Friday at 12. You can get more information at LightsOnFest.com.

While some fans thought HER was in danger of becoming oversaturated, what with her numerous Grammys, Oscars, and Emmys — she’s only a Tony Award away from an EGOT — she has kept a low profile early this year after declaring that she wanted “people to get to know the person behind [the HER persona]” — a process that drew plenty of positive attention. Making a comeback with her well-received festival will help with that, as will her upcoming role in the musical remake of The Color Purple dropping later this year.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

HER Is ‘Grateful’ For ‘The Journey’ In Her Soaring Ballad, Helping ESPN Soundtrack The 2023 NBA Playoffs

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HER (real name Gabriella Wilson) knows about winning trophies. She’s well-positioned to earn EGOT status. All that’s left is a Tony Award, which she’ll have a shot at as a member of the production team of Here Lies Love, debuting on Broadway this summer.

So it’s fitting that HER’s newest single, “The Journey,” is helping ESPN soundtrack its coverage of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. It had been included as an unreleased track, but as of Thursday, May 18, it’s her first solo release since 2021’s Grammy-nominated Back Of My Mind album.

One week ago, HER teased the single with an Instagram video of her listening back to her vocals in the studio with live strings instrumentalists recording. “ITS THE VOCAL AND STRINGS FOR ME,” she captioned the post. “I can’t wait for you to hear what I’ve been working so hard on.”

She took to Instagram again with a clip of the polished version earlier this week. “THE JOURNEY… It hasn’t been an easy one. But I’m grateful for it all. Ready for the next chapter… I’ll share more soon,” the five-time Grammy winner wrote.

“‘The Journey’ has been included within various in-game ESPN production elements, including vignettes voiced over by HER,” a press release explained. “The vignettes and additional production elements outline, through the song lyrics, the unique paths through the NBA Playoffs for all 16 teams.”

The field is down to four. The 2023 NBA Playoffs continued with the Denver Nuggets topping the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday, May 16, and the Miami Heat claiming Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, May 17. Whichever team hoists the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy will still have a ways to go to catch HER.

Listen to “The Journey” below.

Kaytranada Ran Through His Iconic Collaborations With HER, Tinashe, And Anderson .Paak At Coachella

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A bad Kaytranada collaboration doesn’t exist. And the prolific DJ and producer has proven that with his star-studded albums 99.9% and Bubba. Last night (April 21), Kaytranada brought out several guests who have given his songs the magic touch over the years.

Early in the set, HER joined Kaytranada in a performance of their collaboration, “Intimidated.”

Shortly after, Tinashe arrived to the stage to perform “The Worst In Me” from Kaytranada’s 2019 album, Bubba. During this performance, Tinashe displayed her signature silky, futuristic vocals, while grooving flawlessly to the beat.

In another surprise, Kaytranada and Anderson. Paak threw it all the way back to 2016 for a performance of “Glowed Up” from 99.9%. As Anderson says on the song’s opening line, this magical pairing between him and Kaytranada proves that there still ain’t a damn thing you can tell them.

This comprehensive set proved that Kaytranada doesn’t miss, and in the coming weeks, he’ll have even more hits in his arsenal.

Next month, Kaytranada and Aminé will release a collaborative album called Kaytraminé.

In the meantime, you can see some clips from the performance above.

Kaytraminé is out 5/12 via CLBN and Kaytranada Music.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary

HER Kicks Her EGOT Campaign Into High Gear With A Production Credit On Broadway’s ‘Here Lies Love,’

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HER (real name Gabriella Wilson) was a producer for Mary J. Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous, including on the title track, earning her a few nominations at the 2023 Grammys. She didn’t win any this year, but that’s OK: She already has five Grammys.

Wilson also has an Oscar for “Fight For You,” written for Judas And The Black Messiah, and she won at the Children’s And Family Emmys last year for her contributions to We The People, a Netflix animated series.

It appears she’s zeroing in on EGOT status.

According to Billboard, Wilson “has joined the production team of Here Lies Love.” The publication additionally noted, “If Here Lies Love were to win best musical at the 77th annual Tony Awards in June 2024, HER would become an EGOT. Not only that, but she would become, at 26, the youngest EGOT by more than a decade.”

In January, Variety reported that Here Lies Love will debut with preview performances beginning on June 17 and opening night on July 20 at the Broadway Theatre in New York and “will be produced in the fully immersive, mostly standing-room format,” which is how it was staged initially at the Public Theatre a decade ago as well as in London and Seattle.

Playbill sums Here Lies Love as “the immersive disco-pop musical based on the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos and the People Power Revolution of the Philippines” and will feature scoring from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim.

Wilson provided a statement, as relayed by Billboard, “Filipinos are a global people. We come in all colors and build bridges across cultures. I am beyond excited to produce my first Broadway musical and forge a unique and meaningful partnership with Here Lies Love.”

Wilson made history last December as the first Black and Filipina woman to portray Belle on-screen. She starred as the iconic Disney princess for ABC’s Beauty And The Beast: A 30th Celebration television special.

HER Is Pumped To Be Making History As The First Filipina Belle In The ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Anniversary Special

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R&B sensation HER (real name Gabriella Wilson) is making history again. As the singer prepares for her musical special debut as part of Disney’s 30th celebration televised special of Beauty And The Beast, Wilson becomes the first Black and Filipina woman to play the role of Belle.

For clarity, singer Toni Braxton was the first Black woman to star as Belle on Broadway in 1998. But Wilson’s portrayal will mark the first time a woman of color has played the character on the small screen. During a stop at Good Morning America, the “Back Of My Mind” singer shared with host Michael Strahan what this opportunity means to her.

Wilson confessed, “I never thought I could be a Disney princess.” She later added, “Of course, every little girl wants to be a Disney princess, but I’ve never seen one that looks like me — so I get to be that to little girls now.”

When asked about her experience as Belle, Wilson replied, “Being a Disney princess is fun!”

Striving for the coveted EGOT status, Wilson could very well earn an Emmy as she also serves as a producer of the special. Wilson discussed the production side of the special, stating, “that’s such a huge deal on top of being a producer on Beauty And The Beast, which is crazy. I got to do a lot of the new arrangements and work with Alan Menken, the original arranger and producer. It’s been an amazing experience just learning so much about myself, and it’s been a lot of fun, honestly.”

Without giving too much away vocally, Wilson sang a teaser of the production’s opening number, “Belle,” and let’s say viewers are in for a treat.

@gma

@herofficial singing ‘Belle’ is the highlight of our week! 😍❤ #HER #Belle #BeautyAndTheBeast #Disney #Princess

♬ original sound – Good Morning America

Other notable names joining Wilson in the production include Shania Twain (in the role of Mrs. Potts), Josh Groban (in the role of Beast), Martin Short (in the role of candlestick Lumière), Joshua Henry (in the role of Gaston), and David Alan Grier (in the role of Cogsworth, the clock). Rita Moreno will narrate the special.

The Beauty And The Beast: A 30th Celebration television event will air on ABC on December 15 and on Disney+ the next day.

Watch the full interview above.