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What Post-Super Bowl Impact Will We See From Usher, Beyoncé and Other Superstars?

Usher and Beyoncé were the two most impactful artists on Super Bowl Sunday this year -- what will it mean for their respective catalogues?

Jason Lipshutz: Considering that his Super Bowl performance included a slower R&B medley in between pop smashes, I was surprised that he couldn’t sneak “Good Good” in between songs like “Burn,” “Nice & Slow” and “U Got It Bad.” Obviously the old-school fans loved seeing stars like Alicia Keys, Lil Jon and Ludacris come out during the halftime show, but having Summer Walker and 21 Savage arrive on the Super Bowl stage would have thrilled a whole new generation of Usher fans — while also demonstrating the breadth of Usher’s decades-long run as a crossover hit machine. Beyond that, it’s a little harder to predict: Radio will likely be slower to fully embrace this sonic left-turn than it was the top 40-accessible “Break My Soul,” and streaming momentum will depend on one of the songs catching heat on TikTok and other social media platforms. Jason Lipshutz: I think she will, although I’d guess it’s still a few years away, after her six-album re-recording project is completed (so she can play Taylor’s Versions of all of her hits) and the Eras Tour is long in the rearview (so that the halftime show doesn’t feel like a rehash of a mega-tour and its accompanying concert documentary).

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