Who is SZA, and why is Kendrick Lamar touring with her?
Follow live reaction to Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime show, which featured SZA, Serena Williams and Samuel L Jackson.
Kendrick Lamar, a 22-time Grammy Award-winning artist, took center stage for this year's Super Bowl halftime show.
Lamar, who was joined by frequent collaborator SZA, performed his hit diss track 'Not Like Us' amongst other songs.
His set included appearances from Samuel L Jackson — who portrayed Uncle Sam — and Serena Williams.
The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. Follow postgame coverage here.
SZA is an R&B powerhouse known for her soulful sound and genre-blending style. She broke out with her 2017 album Ctrl, which tackled love, self-doubt, and everything in between. Since then, she's only gotten bigger, dropping hits like Kill Bill and Snooze, and collaborating with stars like Doja Cat, Travis Scott, and of course, Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick and SZA go way back to their days at Top Dawg Entertainment, teaming up on songs like All the Stars from the Black Panther soundtrack. Now, they're taking things to another level with the Grand National Tour, a co-headlining stadium run kicking off in April 2025.
Their Super Bowl halftime performance is a preview of what's to come. SZA recently said Kendrick has been grinding hard for the show, and fans are hyped to see what they bring to the biggest stage in music. With both artists at the top of their game, this collab isn't just a tour—it's a moment.
The song was performed by singer-songwriter and producer Ledisi, a New Orleans native.
Ledisi is a longtime R&B and jazz artist who won her first Grammy Award in 2021 for 'Anything for You,' the debut single off her 2020 album 'The Wild Card.'
She has also dabbled in acting, with two different portrayals of famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in the 2014 film 'Selma' and 2022 film 'Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story.' She also appeared as gospel legend Gladys Knight in the 2023 film 'Spinning Gold.'
Otis Jones IV is an actor, performer, teacher and Deaf influencer on TikTok with 600,000 fans and on Instagram with 130,000 followers. He has performed at major festivals like Rolling Loud, Bonnaroo and ACL and has collaborated with Disney, Netflix and Apple. He has used his influence to inspire and teach others, leading courses on American Sign Language. His family is from New Orleans and he said him mom grew up listening to Ledisi, who is performing the vocal for the song.
At a news conference on Thursday, he said: "When I look at myself, I'm thinking about other young Black deaf kids who are out there. I'm using my platform to try to make some change in the world, to try to make things better. I want to educate people about language deprivation and the importance of American Sign Language."
Fans are reportedly trying to pay up for Super Bowl suites with a view of Taylor Swift or President Trump. The typical answer: Sorry, not possible.
Security teams keep VIP suite locations top secret. Mike Zandman, President and CEO of luxury hospitality company Entertainment Access, told PEOPLE, "Everybody is hoping to see Taylor Swift or President Trump. Those are the two... I tell them, 'You're not the first person to ask me this, but this is something they keep under wraps.' There's no way we're going to find out what suite either of them are in until the game kicks off.'
Taylor Swift was shown in her suite 45 minutes until kickoff.
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Here's a partial list of celebrities seen inside the Caesars Superdome so far with roughly an hour left before the Super Bowl kicks off: U.S. President Donald Trump
Rapper and producer Jay-Z, and daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi Carter
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion
Actor Kevin Costner
Actor Adam Sandler
Actor (and Eagles fan) Miles Teller
Actor (and Eagles fan) Bradley Cooper
Soccer superstar Lionel Messi
MLB All-Star Paul Skenes and LSU gymnast/influencer Livvy Dunne
YouTube influencer Kai Cenat
Many more are expected at the game, including music superstar Taylor Swift, whose boyfriend, Travis Kelce, is a star tight end for the Chiefs.
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The broadcast has just shown President Trump in attendance at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Trump is the first sitting U.S. president to attend a Super Bowl in person.
Trump wrote about the game on his Truth Social platform on Friday, praising both Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts — but criticizing the NFL's new kickoff rule.
He wrote: 'Two great Quarterbacks in this game. Also, an unbelievable running back, and the absolute best tight end in football (Ever!). Incredible coaching! If they would only get rid of that really weird looking new Kickoff 'deal,' which actually makes football more dangerous, they would be doing everybody, especially the fans, a big favor. ANYWAY, IT WILL BE A GREAT GAME!!!'
One thing is clear from our staff's Super Bowl picks: It's not easy picking against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
But it's not as difficult to do as it was a year ago when 80 percent of our 50 voters predicted the Chiefs would beat the San Francisco 49ers (they were correct). This time, 63 percent of our 41 voters believe the Chiefs will win their third consecutive title and beat the Philadelphia Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Check out which staffers voted for which team.
GO FURTHER
Super Bowl 59 predictions: Why our staff leans toward a Chiefs victory
Sportsbooks are looking to capitalize on Taylor Swift buzz by marketing their betting options with Swiftie themes. Both DraftKings and FanDuel offer 'Swiftie Specials' in some states, which use Swift song titles to name various prop bets. A few examples: 'The Man" — Patrick Mahomes to record 300+ passing yards and 3+ passing TDs
'You Need to Calm Down" — Jalen Hurts to have 200+ passing yards in the first half
'I Knew You Were Trouble' — Saquon Barkley to have 250+ rushing and receiving yards
"Cruel Summer" — Travis Kelce under 50.5 receiving yards and Chiefs to lose
"Bad Blood" — Travis Kelce to have MORE receiving yards than A.J. Brown
BetMGM Ontario allows bettors to wager on whether Travis Kelce will propose (No -2000; Yes +800).
GO FURTHER
Taylor Swift Super Bowl prop bets: Will she sit next to Caitlin Clark? Will we see an on-field kiss?
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Lionel Messi has eight Ballon d'Or awards. Internationally for Argentina, he has two Copa Américas and one FIFA World Cup.
The most decorated soccer player of all time, who currently plays for Inter Miami in the MLS, arrived at the Caesars Superdome for Super Bowl LIX. He's not the only prominent soccer figure in attendance. Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, is also at the Super Bowl.
MLB star Mike Trout's Eagles fandom is well known, as the South Jersey native is always a fixture at Lincoln Financial Field during the later stages of the NFL season. But Trout has found a unique way to express his support outside the Linc: by inscribing it on his baseball cards.
In recent years, Trout has autographed some of his rarest cards with Eagles themed inscriptions, including his 1/1 autographed card from Topps' 2023 Pristine set. Along with his rookie of the year and MVP accolades, Trout wrote 'Fly Eagles Fly!' on it. That card is currently listed on eBay with a 'buy it now' price of $49,995.
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To quote Nate Bargatze, "nobody knows." We only know that she is in town! Swift was seen out and about enjoying a Friday night dinner with Travis Kelce and Patrick and Brittany Mahomes at Lilette in the Garden District, and then a Saturday night dinner at Gianna Restaurant just south of the French Quarter with musicians Danielle and Alana Haim along with Kylie Kelce and Swift's parents Scott and Andrea Swift.
For those who care (me): The first night, Swift wore Jonathan Simkhai's "Joy" black lace mini dress with a Larroudé "Eleonor" Bootie in black leather. On Saturday, her statement piece was the "Billie Coat" by Charlotte Simone, a black coat with fuzzy collar and sleeves.
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The celebrity athletes are starting to arrive at Super Bowl LIX. Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher who is the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is accompanying his girlfriend Livvy Dunne, an American gymnast and influencer.
Skenes used to play college baseball with the LSU Tigers. Dunne is a current member of the LSU women's gymnastics team.
Heat forward Nikola Jović, who admits he may not watch the Super Bowl but is a Kendrick Lamar fan, when asked to name his favorite K-Dot song: 'The that won all the Grammys."
Miami Heat forward Kevin Love is excited for Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime show.
"A diss track won all those awards [last week]," Love said. "Think about that. He had Beyonce and Taylor [Swift] dancing when he got up on stage.'
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We officially have our first audible of our Super Bowl party prop sheet game — which you should fill out if you haven't already! — with Eli Manning beating his brother Peyton Manning in a field goal kicking contest in a promotion for Fanduel.
Since this didn't happen during the game, we won't be scoring it for official purposes for our own prop sheet game, which is still taking submissions until about 30 minutes before kickoff. That said, you all overwhelmingly picked Eli to win the 'Kick of Destiny 3,' with only about a third of quiz respondents picking Peyton.
Honestly, that makes a lot of sense. Peyton got the better of their head-to-head matchups when they were NFL quarterbacks, but Eli has been better while coaching in Pro Bowl challenges. Of course, both guys missed a 25-yard field goal and then Peyton doinked his 20-yard attempt off the right upright before Eli recovered to nail his clincher.
GO FURTHER
Super Bowl guests love a great party game. Our ultimate prop sheet delivers the fun
Connections: Sports Edition has officially launched for sports fans worldwide. If you love sports and you love puzzles, then this is the game for you.
Our own Mark Cooper can teach you how to play. The goal: Find four words that are equal, like-minded, together ... "connected," even.
Exactly how hard (or easy?) is Connections: Sports Edition? We asked Atlanta Falcons running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier to give it a go.
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Below is The Athletic 's top five Super Bowl halftime shows of all time, compiled by The Athletic 's Levi Weaver: Prince (2007) Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem (2022) U2 (2002) Beyonce, Destiny's Child (2013) Michael Jackson (1993)
Will Kendrick Lamar crack the top five after tonight's performance?
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