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Usher has addressed some of the chatter around Justin Bieber not joining him during his Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show last week, confirming that he’d reached out to Bieber about an appearance
“I think that it might’ve been the fact that he’s just wanting to tell a different story right now, I understand that,” Usher told Charlamagne tha God on the Breakfast Club on Friday, adding that the two “are gonna do something else in the future. “No love lost or anything like that.”
Whether or not Bieber would make an appearance during Usher’s halftime performance was one of the biggest questions among fans heading into the big event, given Bieber’s close ties to the R&B singer, who played an instrumental role in helping launch Bieber’s career.
Usher said Bieber — who watched the Super Bowl from the stadium that day alongside his wife Hailey Bieber — wasn’t the only major performer he contacted that didn’t end up on the stage, saying that he’d “reached out to some hitters,” though he wouldn’t say who. The show would end up featuring Ludacris, Alicia Keys, Will.i.am., Jermaine Dupri and Lil Jon.
“It’s a lot of pressure for the Super Bowl, obviously, so I reached out to everybody,” Usher said. “Justin wasn’t the only one I spoke to about doing the Super Bowl but the moment was maybe for later. He’s gonna play the Super Bowl, I profess that over his life. He has a career that deserves it. But it just didn’t happen. But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to.”
Earlier this week Lil Jon similarly confirmed to TMZ that Bieber had considered performing, but that he ended up declining given the time commitment required to make it happen.
The halftime show was a launchpad for Usher’s latest album Coming Home, which released days before his performance and is currently in contention to top Billboard’s Album chart next week.
