Every Super Bowl halftime performer in history: Kendrick Lamar joins list with Rihanna, Usher, Beyonce, others

One of the major non-football storylines that centers around the Super Bowl is the halftime show.

These days, the halftime show is one of the most exciting performances of the year and is headlined by some of the biggest artists of all time.

In 2024, Usher took the stage in Las Vegas.

In 2023, Rihanna took the stage at State Farm Stadium during Super Bowl LVII.

Before that, five performers took the stage for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, California: Eminem, Dr.

Dre.

Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J.

Blige performed halfway through the Rams win over the Bengals .

Just a few years after that performance, Kendrick Lamar is once again hitting the Super Bowl stage , this time as a headliner.

The NFL, Roc Nation and Apple Music announced ahead of Sunday's Week 1 games that the 17-time Grammy winner will be this year's performer.

SZA was announced as the special guest a few weeks before the big game.

Usher headlined the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in Las Vegas in 2024.

For the artists who play the halftime show at the Super Bowl, they're entertaining an audience that is exponentially bigger than any they've ever encountered.

It was not always like that however.

So, what were the shows like before they were must-see television? Do you remember that killer halftime show featuring the Rockettes, Chubby Checker and the 88 grand pianos in 1988? Do you remember the captivating "Be Bop Bamboozled" at the Orange Bowl in 1989? No, no you do not.

Ditto Carol Channing (twice) or any one of those four annoyingly contrived Up With People performances in the late '70s and early '80s.

The Super Bowl halftime show, before Michael Jackson, was an endless wasteland of college marching bands and maddening flag-spinning tributes, from salutes to Hollywood (twice), to Motown, to the Big Band Era, to the Caribbean, to Duke Ellington.

We also got the New Kids on the Block (1991) not singing any of their biggest hits and Gloria Estefan (1992) providing the soundtrack for Olympic figure skaters Dorothy Hamill and Brian Boitano of "What would Brian Boitano do?" fame, because nothing says a Minnesota Super Bowl like the lead singer of the Miami Sound Machine.

Then we got the King of Pop at the Rose Bowl in 1993 -- and the Super Bowl halftime show was never the same again.

Here is the complete list of previous Super Bowl halftime performers and themes: 2025: Kendrick Lamar with special guest SZA 2024 : Usher with special guests Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., will.i.am, Lil Jon, Ludacris 2023: Rihanna 2022: Eminem, Dr.

Dre.

Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J.

Blige 2021: The Weeknd 2020: Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Emme Muniz 2019: Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi 2018: Justin Timberlake, The Tennessee Kids 2017: Lady Gaga 2016: Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars 2015: Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott 2014: Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers 2013: Beyonce 2012: Madonna 2011: The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Slash 2010: The Who 2009: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 2008: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 2007: Prince and the Florida A&M marching band 2006: The Rolling Stones 2005: Paul McCartney 2004: Janet Jackson, Kid Rock, P.

Diddy, Nelly and Justin Timberlake 2003: Shania Twain, No Doubt and Sting 2002: U2 2001: "The Kings of Rock and Pop" featuring Aerosmith, 'N'Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J.

Blige and Nelly 2000: "A Tapestry of Nations" featuring Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton and an 80-person choir 1999: "Celebration of Soul, Salsa and Swing" featuring Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and tap dancer Savion Glover 1998: "A Tribute to Motown's 40th Anniversary" including Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah, Martha Reeves and The Temptations 1997: "Blues Brothers Bash" featuring Dan Akroyd, John Goodman and James Belushi (also featuring "The Godfather of Soul" James Brown and ZZ Top) 1996: Diana Ross celebrating 30 years of the Super Bowl with special effects, pyrotechnics and stadium card stunt.

Finale featured Diana Ross being taken from the stadium in a helicopter 1995: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye" featuring Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval, the Miami Sound Machine and stunts including fire and skydivers.

Finale included audience participation with light sticks 1994: "Rockin' Country Sunday" featuring Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Wynonna & Naomi Judd.

Finale included flashlight stunt 1993: "Heal the World" featuring Michael Jackson and 3,500 local children.

Finale included audience card stunt 1992: "Winter Magic" including a salute to the winter season and the winter Olympics featuring Gloria Estefan, Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill 1991: "A Small World Salute to 25 Years of the Super Bowl" featuring New Kids on the Block 1990: "Salute to New Orleans" and 40th Anniversary of Peanuts' characters, featuring trumpeter Pete Fountain, Doug Kershaw & Irma Thomas 1989: "Be Bop Bamboozled" featuring 3-D effects 1988: "Something Grand" featuring 88 grand pianos, the Rockettes and Chubby Checker 1987: "Salute to Hollywood's 100th Anniversary" 1986: "Beat of the Future" 1985: "A World of Children's Dreams" 1984: "Super Bowl XVIII's Salute to the Superstars of the Silver Screen" 1983: "KaleidoSUPERscope" (a kaleidoscope of color and sound) 1982: "A Salute to the 60s and Motown" 1981: "A Mardi Gras Festival" 1980: "A Salute to the Big Band Era" with Up with People 1979: "Super Bowl XIII Carnival" Salute to the Caribbean with Ken Hamilton and various Caribbean bands 1978: "From Paris to the Paris of America" with Tyler Apache Belles, Pete Fountain and Al Hirt 1977: "It's a Small World" including crowd participation for first time with spectators waving colored placards on cue 1976: "200 Years and Just a Baby" Tribute to America's Bicentennial 1975: "Tribute to Duke Ellington" with Mercer Ellington and Grambling State band 1974: "A Musical America" with University of Texas band 1973: "Happiness Is." with University of Michigan marching band and Woody Herman 1972: "Salute to Louis Armstrong" with Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt and U.S.

Marine Corps Drill Team 1971: Florida A&M band 1970: Carol Channing 1969: "America Thanks" with Florida A&M University band 1968: Grambling State band 1967: University of Arizona and Grambling State marching bands.

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