Yahoo Lifestyle Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Garners Mixed Reactions
Kendrick Lamar took the stage at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show on Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., to perform an array of his hit songs for an amped-up crowd.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper brought on a few guests for the theatrical show, including SZA, with whom he collaborated on many tracks in the past. The two performed "luther" and "All the Stars" together, which brought the energy for fans in the audience.
Lamar also performed some of his other popular songs, including “gnx,” “peekaboo” and “HUMBLE.” The controversial yet acclaimed song "Not Like Us," which took home five Grammys on Feb. 2, was also included in the setlist.
BE HUMBLE. @kendricklamar #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/rjDLWMoT8w
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
Fans at the show and watching at home shared their thoughts on Lamar's performance, with reactions quite mixed. There were many big fans of the rapper who praised his creativity and talent, writing notes on social media like, “The dude is performing like a boss!” and “Great halftime show. Long production and a sprint for Kendrick. He did excellent.”
One person even dubbed it “One of the best halftime shows I have seen," adding that the performance had "so much symbolism and passion.”
But others were a little let down by the Super Bowl Halftime Show, such as one fan who called it "Boring" and another who shared that it was the "First time in a decade that I actually changed the channel during halftime. I've come close the last few years as well. Time for a change, NFL."
"Worst halftime performance?" one person wondered on X, formerly Twitter.
A few days before the big game, Lamar, 37, spoke about his show at a press conference with Apple Music, touching on what he would bring to the performance.
"I love being present. Man, it’s my favorite," he said. "It’s very hard for me to live in the past."
"But being in the now and being just locked into how I feel and the energy I have now, that's the LA energy. For me, that’s something that I wanted to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see," he concluded.
While Lamar took over the stage at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles battled it out for the coveted title on the football field.
