While most of us are more concerned with which teams will be playing in next year’s Super Bowl, those who stick around for the halftime show are just as curious to see who will be selected to perform the halftime show for Super Bowl 58 in 2024. The NFL and Apple Music will not release who will perform until next fall, but here are some of the early favorites fans want to see at the Super Bowl 58 halftime show in 2024.
5 Super Bowl 58 Halftime Show Candidates
As one of the biggest musical events of the year, who performs at the Super Bowl is a significant deal to many. Here are some early candidates who could perform in Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.
Drake
If you are going to have a Super Bowl in Las Vegas, you need a halftime show worthy of the bright lights of Sin City. Few artists right now have the star power Drake carries, and he has a portfolio of songs that features a who’s-who of top-tier artists that could make surprise appearances as well.
The NFL is careful in who they select to perform the Super Bowl halftime show. It needs to be trendy enough to get people excited but not so edgy that they risk something going wrong (ex: Janet Jackson). Drake is the perfect mashup of these two.
Drake released his sixth album in 2022, “Honestly, Nevermind,” and his name is big enough to carry the show on his own. Arguably one of the most successful names in Billboard history, Drake would be a slam-dunk selection for the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show.
Outkast
Super Bowl 56 showed the NFL and the music industry as a whole that fans still love and miss the 90s and 2000s when it comes to hip-hop and rap. Widely considered one of the greatest groups ever to form, Outkast would not only fill the nostalgia void of many who listen to their CDs but also introduce them to a younger generation.
Allegedly, Outkast was asked to perform back in 2004, which turned out to be the infamous Janet Jackson show. Yet in an interview with ESPN’s Dan LeBatard in 2015, Outkast member Big Boi stated the offer was turned down as Andre 3000 refused to shorten any of the group’s songs to fit the tight schedule. He noted they were asked to play condensed versions of “The Way You Move” and “Hey Ya!”. André refused.
He went on to say he did try to get Andre 3000 to change his mind “a lot,” and the pair reportedly wouldn’t be so quick to say no if approached again as the significance of playing has not been lost on them.
Big Boi did perform alongside Maroon 5 and Travis Scott when the Super Bowl was hosted in Atlanta, but an Outkast-focused show would be electric. Few artists have the portfolio as they do with hits like “BOB,” “Rosa Parks,” “Hey Ya!,” “Ms Jackson,” “Roses,” and “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,” just to name a small fraction of their songs. Normally, I walk away during the Super Bowl halftime show, but this is one that would have me on the couch the whole time.
Ariana Grande
When it comes to vocal talent, few can match Ariana Grande and her four-octave vocal range. Additionally, Grande is known as one of the better live performers out there, while some artists sound completely different on stage without the use of sound mixing or autotune.
She has produced six albums with many hits, including 31 Billboard nominations. Her sixth studio album, Positions, was her fifth consecutive nomination in the Best Pop Vocal Album category, tied for the most by any artist, and Best Pop Solo Performance for the single, “Positions,” where she also tied for the most nominations in this category with four total.
Grande is the most streamed female artist ever. She is the most followed female artist on Spotify and the most subscribed female artist on YouTube. She has been on Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world twice. Additionally, she was on the Forbes Celebrity 100 from 2019 through 2022.
Add in the collaboration potential Grande brings, and she would be a no-brainer to perform in the 2024 Super Bowl 58 halftime show.
Taylor Swift
There is no denying Taylor Swift’s place in the music industry, whether you like her or not. Her cross-genre style of music allows her to perform songs that appeal to the majority of people, which also makes her a prime Super Bowl 58 halftime show. After a lengthy court battle in 2021, Swift has begun to re-record and re-release her songs and albums, something people can’t get enough of based on the sheer volume of units being sold.
The NFL consistently wants to appeal to a younger audience to create future fans. Due to this, Swift is a logical choice. Swift has done basically everything else there is to do except the Super Bowl. I have no doubt she has been asked before by the powers that be to perform but declined in the past. Yet, maybe now is the right time for Swift to take the stage and perform the Super Bowl 58 halftime show in 2024.
Beyonce and Jay-Z
2023 was the fourth year Jay-Z and Roc Nation hosted the Super Bowl halftime show. Yet rather than facilitating it and producing it, why not play the darn thing? Rumors were swirling that Jay-Z could appear with Rihanna during Super Bowl 57, but ideally, this would be a feature rather than an appearance. And for my money, it only makes too much sense for one of the true power couples in entrainment to take the stage as Jay-Z and Beyonce would be a draw no one could match.
It would be the third appearance for Beyonce at the Super Bowl. She performed in 2013 as a solo act, with a special appearance from Destiny’s Child members Rowland and Michelle Williams, and in 2016 alongside Coldplay and Bruno Mars. However, Jay-Z has yet to perform.
This is another one of those “this is too simple” plans as the artists and producers are the same people and two the legitimate mega-stars in the world today. It feels inevitable Jay-Z and Beyonce will play the Super Bowl together, perhaps as soon as Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.