American rapper Jay-Z will headline the Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show, which will take place on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the NFL announced Monday in a statement.
The artist will succeed Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny, whose halftime performance at the previous Super Bowl earned seven Emmy Awards and became the most decorated halftime show in Super Bowl history.
"From Reasonable Doubt to the Super Bowl Halftime Show stage, it's been quite a journey. Thirty years of music, hard work, and culture on the world's biggest stage," Jay-Z said in remarks included in the NFL statement.
The announcement comes during the year marking the 30th anniversary of his debut album, celebrated with three sold-out concerts at Yankee Stadium and additional performances in London, Paris, and Los Angeles.
A winner of 25 Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards, Jay-Z was the first hip-hop artist inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell explained that when the league partnered with Roc Nation to produce the halftime show, he told the rapper that he hoped he would one day take the stage himself.
"Jay-Z's influence on global music culture is both profound and undeniable," said Oliver Schusser, Apple's Vice President of Music and International Content. "We've had the privilege of working closely with him over the past several years to bring some of the world's most exciting and prolific artists to the Super Bowl Halftime Show stage, and we're thrilled that this year it will be his turn to step into the spotlight. We know it will be an extraordinary performance."
In recent years, the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show has earned multiple Emmy Awards and set new milestones in television broadcasting.
Most recently, Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime show made history by becoming the most Emmy-winning halftime show of all time, collecting seven awards, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Music Direction, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special, Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Special, and Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special.
The halftime show headlined by Kendrick Lamar became the most-watched in Super Bowl history, received four Emmy nominations, and won the award for Outstanding Music Direction.
Meanwhile, Usher's performance received three Emmy nominations in 2024, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
In 2023, Rihanna's halftime show earned five Emmy nominations and won two awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, an unprecedented achievement in the history of Super Bowl halftime performances.
And in 2022, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar received five Creative Arts Emmy nominations. The critically acclaimed performance went on to win three Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live), a distinction no halftime show had previously achieved.