LAS VEGAS — Usher believes after his 100-show sold-out residency he “Turned Vegas into Atlanta.”
He’s going to squeeze that experience into 13 minutes during the halftime time show of Super Bowl 58 on Sunday.
“That was the influence that Atlanta has had on me so much so that I collected everything in my spirit that I benefited from and brought that culture to Las Vegas,” Usher said Thursday. “Now (it will go) to the rest of the world in the Super Bowl.”
Nadeska Alexis, of Apple Music, interviewed Usher, who didn’t take any questions from members of the media. After the Super Bowl performance, he is releasing his latest album and has announced a new North American tour.
It’s not Usher’s first time on what has become entertainment’s biggest musical stage — he joined the Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am for his 2011 set and has said he’d use that performance as a “cheat sheet” for Sunday’s show.
“My hand got caught in the wire that was holding me 30 feet in the air,” Usher said of that performance. “I almost missed my first mark. Don’t let this malfunction cause me to miss it. That was one. The second one was afterwards, how amazing it felt to be front of that many people. So much so that I really made me passionate about reaching and getting this moment.”
Usher, 45, released his first album in 1994. With more that 180 million people expected to watch the Super Bowl halftime show, he can take his music to new listeners worldwide.
“Sometimes affirmations and confirmations are not enough,” Usher said. “You have to put in the work. It was great that Jay-Z and the Super Bowl would have me here to be able to entertain. Las Vegas has been amazing for me. Having 100 sold-out shows in my residency and have the next one to be the crescendo, which is the Super Bowl … is really giving my time here an incredible ending.”
Usher reflected on his career.
“It’s amazing,” Usher said. “It’s really a testament of dedication. I don’t have this moment by myself. All of my fans that I bring with me, each and every person that anything to do with the music, the creativity … everybody is a part of this celebratory moment.
“But what I feel is that this is only the beginning because I launched that album as an independent artist. Until this day, I’ll be the only independent artist who’s ever performed the Super Bowl halftime show. So, this is a beginning.”
The show will be challenging.
“I’ve got to do it in 13 minutes,” Usher said. “That makes it a bit difficult. It definitely has been a challenge to squeeze 30 years into 13 minutes.”
He’s thought about what to open with, the middle and the ending of the show.
“What I did was very mindful of the past, celebrating my past, which is here in Las Vegas, and thinking about where we are headed in the future,” Usher said. “That was really the idea about what songs have been a celebration of all of the charting of life, love and emotion has offered in my music.”
Usher said he definitely will bring some flavor of Atlanta to his show. His 100-show Las Vegas residency last year was a perfect workshop to help make that happen, using dancers from the Blue Flame and roller skating.
“I’ve been able to bring a great deal of Atlanta and the melting pot that it is, musically and culturally, to Las Vegas,” Usher said. “It wasn’t easy to do, but I turned Vegas into Atlanta. I took the V and turned it upside down.”
Usher is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with more than 23.8 million albums and 38.2 million digital songs sold in the United States. He has sold more than 80 million records worldwide.
