Super Bowl halftime show 2025: Who is performing at Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans?

There were plenty of directions the NFL could have gone in to figure out its Super Bowl 59 halftime performer. The spectacle, held smack dab in the middle of America's biggest annual sporting event, routinely lingers in spectators' minds long after the music draws to a close. With this year's game being held in New Orleans, there were a slew of artists capable of leading the line on Super Bowl Sunday.

Lil Wayne was heavily linked with the responsibility, an understandable recommendation given his Big Easy roots. In the end, the NFL opted for another rapper who has been on its radar. He was certainly a popular choice.

With that, here's what you need to know about the star of the Super Bowl 59 halftime show, who will hope to follow in the footsteps of Usher, Rihanna, The Who, and Prince, among many others, as stars to have shown out on the grandest of stages in American sports. SN's NFL HQ: Live NFL scores | Updated NFL standings | Full NFL schedule Who is performing during halftime of Super Bowl 59? Kendrick Lamar will grace the marquee for Super Bowl 59's halftime show in New Orleans. The primary performer regularly calls on a cast of additional characters to join them on the stage.

No special guests have been announced yet, although Lamar has a treasure trove of artists he could call upon if he so desires. This won't be Lamar's first rodeo with the Super Bowl. In 2022, Lamar came to the stage, performing alongside Dr.

Dre. The legendary producer also enlisted Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige to lend their vocals over the course of his performance.

Lamar has 57 Grammy nominations and 17 Grammy wins to his name. He recently dropped his widely-regarded sixth studio album, "GNX." Some believe more music is in store for the Compton-based artist in 2025.

In addition to Lamar, singer SZA has been confirmed to join the rapper onstage for the halftime show in New Orleans. SZA appeared on the "GNX" album, featuring in including "Gloria" and "Luther." The pair previously teamed up for hits such as "All the Stars" and "Doves in the Wind.

" What time does the Super Bowl halftime show start? The Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET, and the first half will end around 90 minutes later.

The halftime will start around 8 p.m. Halftime will last about 20 to 30 minutes to include the performance and production set up and break down.

Who is Kendrick Lamar? Lamar is one of his generation's greatest lyricists, garnering worldwide acclaim over the course of his two-decade career. The 37-year-old built a loyal following in the late 2000s and early 2010s, dropping a pair of high-profile releases — mixtape "Overly Dedicated" (2009) and debut studio album "Section.80" (2011).

In 2012, he released "Good Kid, M.A.A.

D. City," a titan of a record that spawned hit singles "Money Trees," "B—, Don't Kill My Vibe," "Poetic Justice," and "Backseat Freestyle." Lamar has gone from strength-to-strength in the years since, releasing another four albums as well as a smattering of other projects.

Almost all of his drops have earned some form of critical praise. Lamar is coming off a banner 2024, returning to the top of the rap charts after a high-profile feud with Drake. His Super Bowl appearance, while arguably antithetical to some of his previous sentiments, should provide him another opportunity to take a victory lap.

MORE: 5 best Super Bowl halftime shows | 5 worst Super Bowl halftime shows Do performers get paid for the Super Bowl halftime show? The simple answer is nothing. Zero. Zilch.

Nada. Super Bowl performers do not receive a single cent for their exploits. That's not to say the NFL leaves these musicians up a creek without a paddle.

The league covers the costs of the theatrics. That means the plume of smoke you see as Lamar walks onto the stage? The NFL is writing that check. The sturdy stage frame awash with glimmering strobe lights? That, too, is handled by the league's accountants.

Often, the Hollywood-level cinematography needed to put down a Grade-A performance can run the NFL millions of dollars. Free labor isn't ideal. But performing at the Super Bowl can — and has — become fairly economically viable for some of music's acts.

The reason why? It offers a platform to introduce their sound to billions who haven't previously interacted with it. Super Bowl halftime performers generally experience a sudden bump in their streaming numbers after their show. That means more streams, more sales and more money.

Maroon 5's sales sky-rocketed 434 percent on the day of their halftime show back in 2019, per Billboard . Justin Timberlake experienced a similar uptick, upping his album sales 534 percent after his '18 showcase. Lady Gaga was reported to have seen her numbers surge by 1,000 percent after rocking the house at Super Bowl 51 in '17.

Who is singing the national anthem at Super Bowl 59? Five-time Grammy winner — and New Orleans native — Jon Batiste will perform "The Star-Splangled Banner" at Super Bowl 59. History of Super Bowl halftime show performers Super Bowl Year Performer(s) 1 1967 "Super Sighs and Sounds" with University of Arizona and Grambling State University bands 2 1968 Grambling State University band 3 1969 "America Thanks" with Florida A&M University band and Miami-area high school bands 4 1970 "Tribute to New Orleans" with Southern University band, Al Hirt, Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen, Marguerite Piazza 5 1971 Southeast Missouri State band 6 1972 "Salute to Louis Armstrong" with Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt, and U.S.

Marine Corps Drill Team 7 1973 "Happiness Is...

" with University of Michigan Band, Andy Williams, and Woody Herman 8 1974 "A Musical America" with University of Texas Band 9 1975 "Tribute to Duke Ellington" with Mercer Ellington and Grambling State University bands 10 1976 "200 Years and Just a Baby: A Tribute to America's Bicentennial" featuring Up With People 11 1977 "It's a Small World" by Walt Disney Productions, including spectators waving colored placards on cue 12 1978 "From Paris to the Paris of America" with Pete Fountain, Al Hirt and The Apache Band 13 1979 "Salute to the Caribbean" with Ken Hamilton and various bands 14 1980 "A Salute to the Big Band Era" featuring Up With People 15 1981 "A Mardi Gras Festival" with Pete Fountain and the Southern University band 16 1982 "A Salute to the 60's and Motown" featuring Up With People 17 1983 "KaleidoSUPERscope" (a kaleidoscope of color and sound, also featuring spectator-held colored placards) 18 1984 "Salute to the Superstars of the Silver Screen" from Walt Disney Productions 19 1985 "A World of Children's Dreams" featuring Tops in Blue 20 1986 "Beat of the Future" featuring Up With People 21 1987 "Salute to Hollywood's 100th Anniversary and The Land of Make Believe", a Disney production featuring high school bands 22 1988 "Something Grand" featuring Chubby Checker, 88 grand pianos, the Rockettes, and the USC and San Diego State bands 23 1989 "BeBop Bamboozled" featuring 3-D effects 24 1990 "Salute to New Orleans" and 40th Anniversary of Peanuts' characters, featuring Doug Kershaw and Irma Thomas 25 1991 "A Small World Salute to 25 Years of the Super Bowl" featuring New Kids on the Block 26 1992 "Winter Magic" featuring Gloria Estefan and figure skaters Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill 27 1993 "Heal the World" featuring Michael Jackson 28 1994 "Rockin' Country Sunday" featuring Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Wynonna,, and Naomi Judd 29 1995 "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye" featuring Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval, the Miami Sound Machine 30 1996 "Take Me Higher: A Celebration of 30 Years of the Super Bowl" featuring Diana Ross 31 1997 "Blues Brothers Bash" featuring Dan Akroyd, John Goodman, James Belushi, James Brown and ZZ Top 32 1998 "A Tribute to Motown's 40th Anniversary" including Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah, Martha Reeves, and The Temptations 33 1999 "Celebration of Soul, Salsa and Swing" featuring Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Savion Glover 34 2000 "A Tapestry of Nations" featuring Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, and Toni Braxton 35 2001 "The Kings of Rock and Pop" featuring Aerosmith and NSYNC with guests Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige,, and Nelly 36 2002 U2 37 2003 Shania Twain and No Doubt with guest Sting 38 2004 "Choose or Lose" featuring Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Kid Rock, P. Diddy, Nelly, and Jessica Simpson 39 2005 Paul McCartney 40 2006 The Rolling Stones 41 2007 Prince 42 2008 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 43 2009 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 44 2010 The Who 45 2011 The Black Eyed Peas with guests Usher and Slash 46 2012 Madonna with guests Cee Lo Green, LMFAO, M.

I.A. and Nicki Minaj 47 2013 Beyoncé with guests Destiny's Child 48 2014 Bruno Mars with guests Red Hot Chili Peppers 49 2015 Katy Perry with guests Missy Elliott and Lenny Kravitz 50 2016 Coldplay with guests Beyoncé and Bruno Mars 51 2017 Lady Gaga 52 2018 Justin Timberlake 53 2019 Maroon 5 with guests Travis Scott and Big Boi 54 2020 Shakira and Jennifer Lopez with guests Bad Bunny and J Balvin 55 2021 The Weeknd 56 2022 Dr.

Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar 57 2023 Rihanna 58 2024 Usher with guests Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.

R., Ludacris, Lil Jon, Will.I.

Am 59 2025 Kendrick Lamar.