Taylor Swift has already eclipsed Usher as Super Bowl’s headliner

As America gears up for Super Bowl LVIII, Usher is at risk of becoming an after-thought.

The R&B legend is booked for the halftime show entertainment. But everyone’s attention is focused on Taylor, Taylor, Taylor.

It hasn’t been confirmed but there’s a strong likelihood that Taylor Swift, the most famous music star on the planet right now, will be attending the game to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, as he and his Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.

With Swift present in the Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, will anyone care that Usher is the halftime act?

The R&B legend is coming off a well-received Las Vegas residency. But as the Daily Beast and other outlets have reported, most of the breathless reports on the pop cultural aspects of the Super Bowl have to do with Swift and her epic romance with her football hero boyfriend.

Since Swift and the Chiefs tight end began dating, the NFL season has been Swift-centric, which has been “great news for almost everyone” involved in the league, according to the Daily Beast. But in the runup to the Super Bowl, this focus hasn’t been great news for Usher, “who almost no one is talking about,” the Daily Beast said.

Swift’s appearance at the Super Bowl became a possibility when the Chiefs defeated the Ravens 17-10 in Sunday’s AFC championship game.

As Swift cuddled up to Kelce on the field after Sunday’s game, and they reportedly exchanged an “I love yous,” the big question that immediately popped into the minds of NFL fans and Swifties is whether she would be able to make it to the Feb. 11 game.

The singer soon embarks on the 2024 leg of her Eras tour, which begins in Tokyo on Feb. 7 — four days before the Super Bowl. She has to perform four straight shows, with the final scheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 10. For her to attend the Super Bowl, she’ll have to make a super-quick turnaround.

Tokyo is 8,900 miles from Las Vegas — or about 12 hours of flying. Fortunately, Swift has a concept known as time zones working for her. Japan is 17 hours ahead of Las Vegas. She could be in the air by late Saturday night Tokyo time, which turns out to be early Saturday morning, Las Vegas-time. That means she could potentially be in Las Vegas by late Saturday afternoon or early evening, according to New York magazine and other outlets. 

But the other big question about Swift being at the Super Bowl is whether she’ll perform a song or two.

So far, the word is no, she won’t, according to TMZ. Not only is Taylor not going to pick up a microphone to sing, TMZ’s sources said there’s “no chance” she will go anywhere near a stage, allowing Kelce to be the focus of all the cheers and applause. New York magazine also said that Swift has never performed at the Super Bowl, probably because she inked a “long-term partnership” with Diet Coke in 2013, the same year Coca-Cola’s arch-nemesis Pepsi kicked off its decade-long halftime show sponsorship deal.

It also may be that she’s happy to cede the spotlight to Usher, even if the announcement about his halftime gig came via a promotional video in September that featured Kim Kardashian, a sometime Swift nemesis. In the video, Kardashian is seeing getting her makeup done as she calls Usher to let him know he’s been chosen to perform at the Super Bowl. Kardashian also promises to bring along her entire reality TV show family.

Fortunately for Usher, he and Swift seem to be on good terms, according to the Daily Beast. He performed his hit song “Yeah!” with Swift on her Speak Now world tour in 2011.

And in November, he wisely told the “Today” show that he would be thrilled to have Swift in the audience at the big game, if the Chiefs ended up playing.

“If her boyfriend makes it, definitely, she’s going to be there,” Usher said on “Today.” He also said he wouldn’t mind sharing the stage with her. “I mean, she could be one person that I serenade,” he said.

As America gears up for Super Bowl LVIII, Usher is at risk of becoming an after-thought.

The R&B legend is booked for the halftime show entertainment. But everyone’s attention is focused on Taylor, Taylor, Taylor.

It hasn’t been confirmed but there’s a strong likelihood that Taylor Swift, the most famous music star on the planet right now, will be attending the game to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, as he and his Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.

With Swift present in the Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, will anyone care that Usher is the halftime act?

The R&B legend is coming off a well-received Las Vegas residency. But as the Daily Beast and other outlets have reported, most of the breathless reports on the pop cultural aspects of the Super Bowl have to do with Swift and her epic romance with her football hero boyfriend.

Since Swift and the Chiefs tight end began dating, the NFL season has been Swift-centric, which has been “great news for almost everyone” involved in the league, according to the Daily Beast. But in the runup to the Super Bowl, this focus hasn’t been great news for Usher, “who almost no one is talking about,” the Daily Beast said.

Swift’s appearance at the Super Bowl became a possibility when the Chiefs defeated the Ravens 17-10 in Sunday’s AFC championship game.

As Swift cuddled up to Kelce on the field after Sunday’s game, and they reportedly exchanged an “I love yous,” the big question that immediately popped into the minds of NFL fans and Swifties is whether she would be able to make it to the Feb. 11 game.

The singer soon embarks on the 2024 leg of her Eras tour, which begins in Tokyo on Feb. 7 — four days before the Super Bowl. She has to perform four straight shows, with the final scheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 10. For her to attend the Super Bowl, she’ll have to make a super-quick turnaround.

Tokyo is 8,900 miles from Las Vegas — or about 12 hours of flying. Fortunately, Swift has a concept known as time zones working for her. Japan is 17 hours ahead of Las Vegas. She could be in the air by late Saturday night Tokyo time, which turns out to be early Saturday morning, Las Vegas-time. That means she could potentially be in Las Vegas by late Saturday afternoon or early evening, according to New York magazine and other outlets. 

But the other big question about Swift being at the Super Bowl is whether she’ll perform a song or two.

So far, the word is no, she won’t, according to TMZ. Not only is Taylor not going to pick up a microphone to sing, TMZ’s sources said there’s “no chance” she will go anywhere near a stage, allowing Kelce to be the focus of all the cheers and applause. New York magazine also said that Swift has never performed at the Super Bowl, probably because she inked a “long-term partnership” with Diet Coke in 2013, the same year Coca-Cola’s arch-nemesis Pepsi kicked off its decade-long halftime show sponsorship deal.

It also may be that she’s happy to cede the spotlight to Usher, even if the announcement about his halftime gig came via a promotional video in September that featured Kim Kardashian, a sometime Swift nemesis. In the video, Kardashian is seeing getting her makeup done as she calls Usher to let him know he’s been chosen to perform at the Super Bowl. Kardashian also promises to bring along her entire reality TV show family.

Fortunately for Usher, he and Swift seem to be on good terms, according to the Daily Beast. He performed his hit song “Yeah!” with Swift on her Speak Now world tour in 2011.

And in November, he wisely told the “Today” show that he would be thrilled to have Swift in the audience at the big game, if the Chiefs ended up playing.

“If her boyfriend makes it, definitely, she’s going to be there,” Usher said on “Today.” He also said he wouldn’t mind sharing the stage with her. “I mean, she could be one person that I serenade,” he said.