Jay-Z to Perform at 2027 Super Bowl Halftime: A Milestone for Roc Nation
The rapper will take the stage in Inglewood in February, marking a major career milestone as he closes out his 30th anniversary tour.
By John Wisniewski ·
Jay-Z will perform at the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show on February 14, 2027. The performance is scheduled to take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. This announcement confirms that the rapper will headliner the event, a role typically reserved for the most commercially dominant artists of the moment.
The decision aligns with the conclusion of Jay-Z’s extensive 30th anniversary celebration. Throughout 2026, the artist has conducted a series of events under the banner “Jay-Z 30.” These activities began in late May at the Roots Picnic and included three sold-out shows at Yankee Stadium in July. Those concerts marked the 25th and 30th anniversaries of the albums “The Blueprint” and “Reasonable Doubt,” respectively. The tour also included international dates in Paris and London, as well as the eight-part docuseries “Jay-Z in 8,” directed by Rick Rubin.
The global tour concluded this past weekend at SoFi Stadium. The two-night finale featured guest appearances from Scarface, DJ Khaled, John Legend, Blue Ivy Carter, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Too Short. In a statement, Jay-Z described the upcoming Super Bowl appearance as the culmination of a long professional journey. “From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” he said. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the agreement with Roc Nation to produce the show included a specific request for Jay-Z to perform personally. “When we first reached an agreement with Roc Nation to produce the show, I had just one request: that Jay-Z take the stage himself one day, whenever the moment felt right to him,” Goodell said. He added that he is excited for fans to experience the artist’s impact on the stage. Oliver Schusser, Apple’s Vice President of Music and International Content, noted that Apple has worked closely with Jay-Z for several years. Schusser said the company is thrilled that the artist is taking the stage himself this year.
Roc Nation will executive produce the event, with Hamish Hamilton serving as the director. The broadcast will be available on ESPN, ABC, and Disney+. Mobile viewers can watch via NFL+. A Spanish-language telecast will air on ESPN Deportes and Disney+, while Univision will provide a separate Spanish-language presentation. This follows the precedent set by previous halftime performances that have utilized multi-platform distribution strategies to reach diverse audiences.
The 2027 show follows the 2026 performance by Bad Bunny, which drew an average of 128.2 million viewers. That number surpassed the 124.9 million average viewers for the Super Bowl overall but fell short of the 133.5 million viewers reached by Kendrick Lamar in 2025. Usher holds the record for the most viewers from his 2024 performance. Bad Bunny’s show, known as the “Benito Bowl,” won seven Emmy awards last month, including the outstanding special (live) category, musical direction, and choreography.
Creative director Harriet Cuddeford described the 2026 show as a celebration of normal people and human connection. Recent performers at the halftime show have included Rihanna, the Weeknd, and a collective featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Lamar, 50 Cent, and Anderson .Paak. Jay-Z’s upcoming performance will be the next chapter in a series of high-profile acts that have defined the cultural moment of the Super Bowl.
Source: Variety
