The Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show is arguably the most anticipated live performance of the year. With 12.6 million viewers for this year’s show, the R&B artist USHER was expected to blow the crowd away with his performance. Unfortunately, USHER did not exactly meet the mark set by previous years performers.

USHER is a favorite to many, with his music serving as a generational staple. With the well-known hit songs of “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,”  “OMG,” “Yeah!” and “Hey Daddy,” even those who aren’t true R&B fans were highly anticipating his set.

From the opening moment, it was clear that the performance would be underwhelming. Something in the audio of the microphone had obvious problems that took much away from his performance as a whole. His voice was muffled and the background music overpowered his sound. This brief spoiling of technical issues and sound problems left many viewers disappointed. 

Apart from the technological difficulties, USHER himself did not wow the crowd. Except for an impressive moment of singing while on roller skates, USHER’s personal performance wasn’t anything special. He quickly went through many songs and neglected to play some of his most popular. USHER performed a total of 14 songs in his 13-minute segment, meaning some songs received less than a minute of playing time.

However, the show wasn’t all bad. Behind USHER danced beautiful, dressed-up performers and acrobats that were hard to keep your eye off of. USHER himself also showed off some impressive dancing skills throughout his performance. He was accompanied by many talented and impressive surprise guests.

The highlight of the show was Alicia Keys’ appearance. With a beautiful rendition of her song “Ain’t Got You,” Keys’ impressed many with her vocal range and performance skills. The chemistry between USHER and Keys was unmistakable and entertaining as the two sang their hit song “My Boo” together.

After Keys, rapper Lil John appeared for his and USHER’s song “Turn Down for What,” as well as a surprise appearance from Hip-Hop artist, Ludacris. While these are exciting names to perform alongside USHER, there seemed to be too many for each of them to each get the time and performance opportunity they deserved. This was evident when the artist H.E.R appeared for just a short guitar solo, with no opportunity to sing herself. 

USHER has won eight Grammys and even made a guest appearance with Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am in 2011. It is no secret that he is a talented musician after a successful 30-year career. USHER is a well-known and loved artist so it truly is a shame that his halftime performance did not live up to his own best or the great performances before him.