Kendrick Lamar is set to take the field on Sunday, Feb. 9, to headline the Super Bowl 2025 halftime show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
In a statement issued when the news broke, the Pulitzer Prize-winning hip-hop icon responded to the honor by proclaiming, “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.”
Music’s biggest stage will also feature award-winning artists performing the national anthem, “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Apple Music Super Bowl 2025 halftime show.
Who is doing the Super Bowl halftime show 2025?
That would be Kendrick Lamar, and this won’t be his first appearance.
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He co-headlined the Super Bowl LVI halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige on Feb. 13, 2022, which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
What does Kendrick Lamar sing?
Lamar hit No. 1 on Billboard’s album chart in late November with his fifth consecutive release to do so, “GNX.”
Complex named it Album of the Year while several other publications placed it in their year-end Top 10 lists, including Billboard, Consequence, Dazed, Esquire, the Line of Best Fit, Stereogum and the Washington Post.
Among his biggest hits are “Humble,” “Like That” and “Not Like Us.”
Is SZA performing at the Super Bowl 2025?
Yes. SZA is performing at Super Bowl 2025.
The announcement came when Lamar teased his halftime show performance in a video that featured SZA sneaking up behind him with a cooler and dumping blue blue energy drink on his head as he mentioned he was “thinking about a guest performer.”
Lamar and SZA have several hit collaborations they could dust off at the big game, from the double-platinum “All the Stars” to recent hits “Luther,” “30 for 30” and “Gloria.”
SZA songs
“Saturn,” “Kill Bill,” “Broken Clocks,” “Love Galore,” “Good Days” and “The Weekend” are among the biggest SZA songs.
How to watch the Super Bowl halftime 2025
You should probably check out the game while you’re at it, but the halftime show will be broadcast live (as will the Super Bowl itself) on Fox.
It will also stream on Fubo TV.
What time does the Super Bowl start?
Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. PST on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025.
What time does the Super Bowl halftime show start?
The first half of the game usually lasts somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 minutes, so sometime after 5 p.m. seems likely for Lamar to take the stage.
How long is the halftime show at the Super Bowl?
Super Bowl halftime shows tend to last 12 to 14 minutes.
Is Kendrick Lamar bringing special guests?
SZA is a sure thing. They’re touring stadiums together, they’ve collaborated on several hits and that video Lamar released hyping the halftime show certainly felt like confirmation.
There’s been no word on other special guests, though.
Who is singing the national anthem at Super Bowl 2025?
Jon Batiste will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl 2025.
Batiste appeared nightly with his band, Stay Human, as musical director on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” from 2015 to 2022.
In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film “Soul,” for which he won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award (all shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). In 2022, Batiste won Album of the Year at the Grammys for “We Are.”
Who is singing ‘America the Beautiful’ at Super Bowl 2025?
Trombone Shorty and Christian singer Lauren Daigle will collaborate for “America the Beautiful.”
Trombone Shorty picked up his first Grammy in 2022 for featured contributions to Batiste’s “We Are.”
Daigle has topped Billboard’s Christian album chart with all four albums she’s released. The two-time Grammy winner also won Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational four years in a row at the American Music Awards.
Are they singing the Black national anthem at the Super Bowl?
Yes. Ledisi will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Ledisi has portrayed Mahalia Jackson in two films — “Selma (2014) and “Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story” (2022).
In 2021, she picked up her first Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance.
Who is the sign language interpreter at the Super Bowl?
Super Bowl 2025 will feature American Sign Language performances by Stephanie Nogueras, Matt Maxey and Otis Jones IV.
Nogueras will interpret the “Star-Spangled Banner” as performed by Jon Batiste and “America the Beautiful” as performed by Lauren Daigle with Trombone Shorty.
Jones will sign “Lift Every Voice and Sing” with Ledisi.
Maxey will deliver the ASL rendition of Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show.
Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at [email protected].
