Jay-Z will headline the 2027 Super Bowl halftime show

Jay-Z is going from helping pick the Super Bowl halftime performer to being it.

The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Monday night, Oct. 26, that Jay-Z will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The news came at halftime of ESPN's "Monday Night Football" game between the Cowboys and Eagles, NBC Sports reported. The Associated Press, Variety and ESPN also reported the announcement.

What they said

In the announcement, Jay-Z said the road from his 1996 debut album, "Reasonable Doubt," to the halftime stage has been "a journey," and that the moment still feels like a dream come true.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that when the league first reached its deal with Roc Nation to produce the show, he had "just one request": that Jay-Z perform himself one day, when the time felt right to him. Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of music and international content, said Apple was thrilled that Jay-Z would take the stage himself.

From behind the scenes to center stage

Roc Nation has partnered with the NFL since 2019 to advise on and help produce the league's entertainment presentations, including the halftime show, ESPN reported. Roc Nation will executive produce the 2027 show, and Hamish Hamilton will direct, according to the announcement.

The news caps a year celebrating 30 years of "Reasonable Doubt." Variety reported that the run included three sold-out shows at Yankee Stadium in July, shows in London and Paris, and an eight-part docuseries, "Jay-Z in 8." It ended this past weekend with two nights at SoFi Stadium, the same venue that will host the Super Bowl.

How to watch

The halftime show will air on ESPN, ABC and Disney+, and on mobile devices with NFL+, according to the announcement. In Spanish, ESPN's telecast will be available on ESPN Deportes and Disney+, with a separate Spanish-language presentation on Univision.

Jay-Z follows Bad Bunny, whose show at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in February averaged 128.2 million viewers, according to Variety and ESPN.

What we don't know yet

• Whether Jay-Z will bring out guest performers. No guests or songs have been announced.
• Which teams will play in Super Bowl LXI.

*Credits: reporting from the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announcement, the Associated Press, Variety, ESPN and NBC Sports. Photo: Joella Marano / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (archive photo, 2011; cropped). NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*

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