H.E.R. Posts 'How It Started vs How It's Going' from Singing at 49ers Games as a Kid to 2024 Super Bowl
The Grammy-winning musician played guitar alongside Usher for "U Got It Bad" and "Bad Girl" during his 2024 Super Bowl halftime performance
Performing at Super Bowl LVIII was especially significant for H.E.R.
After the Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winner popped up as a surprise guest during Usher's Super Bowl halftime performance, she took to social media and shared a throwback photo of herself as a child singing at a San Francisco 49ers game after the team played in Sunday's big game.
"How it started vs how it’s going. Who woulda thought," wrote the 26-year-old San Francisco Bay Area native, whose real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, on X (formerly Twitter). "thank you @Usher."
Related: Usher Strips Down and Roller Skates During Career-Spanning Super Bowl 2024 Halftime Show
How it started vs how it’s going.
Who woulda thought 🥹 thank you @Usher #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/j5ldxyNY6Q— H.E.R. (@HERMusicx) February 12, 2024
Hours the show-stopping performance, H.E.R. also shared the childhood photo to Instagram — without revealing she'd be hitting the stage later that night. "BANG BANG NINER GANG ❤️in honor of niners at #superbowllviii here’s me at 11 singing national anthem at 49ers game 😂 let’s get itttttt," she wrote.
H.E.R. joined Usher, 45, during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to display her impressive guitar skills during his hit songs "U Got It Bad" and "Bad Girl."
She previously sang "America the Beautiful" at Super Bowl LV, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
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Usher's performance was jam-packed with an array of guests, also including Alicia Keys, who played piano for a rendition of her hit "If I Ain't Got You" before duetting 2004's "My Boo" with the headliner.
Following Keys' and H.E.R.'s appearances, Jermaine Dupri spoke onstage, and then Will.i.am performed "OMG" with Usher and Lil Jon rapped "Turn Down for What" — before Ludacris entered the mix for the grand finale, "Yeah!"
"I took the world to the A. I took the world to the A," Usher repeated at the end of the halftime show, referring to his hometown of Atlanta and displaying what a full-circle moment the career milestone meant to him.
Related: Patrick Mahomes Wins 2024 Super Bowl MVP After Kansas City Chiefs Defeat San Francisco 49ers
When he was announced as the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show headliner in September 2023, Usher called it the "honor of a lifetime."
"It's an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can't wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they've seen from me before. Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I'll see you real soon," he said in a statement.
Super Bowl LVIII ultimately saw the Kansas City Chiefs win 25-22 over the San Francisco 49ers.
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