Kendrick Lamar‘s half-time performance at the Super Bowl became the second-highest-watched show in history. The iconic Super Bowl took place on 9th February at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. A significant moment of every Super Bowl is who performs at the ceremony. Some of the biggest stars in the industry have had the honour to perform at half-time.
Michael Jackson, Prince and Gloria Estefan are some of the most influential artists who have given a half-time performance. Beyoncé, Rihanna, Coldplay, and The Weeknd have also been picked to perform at the Super Bowl.
The most-watched halftime performance on YouTube has been Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent. The performance has 324 million views on YouTube. Second in the list is Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 Super Bowl performance with a view count of 320 million views.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Michael Jackson’s 1993 Super Bowl still remains the most watched one. 133 million viewers tuned in to watch the king of pop perform. Until Lamar’s performance last week, Usher held the record for the second-most-watched performance in history.
The star had brought out singers like Alicia Keys, will.i.am, Lil Jon to perform with him last year. 123 million viewers tuned in to watch the star perform at the 2024 Super Bowl.
Kendrick Lamar who performed his famous diss track Not Like Us at the Super Bowl made history that night. The 22-time Grammy-winning artist’s performance became the second most-watched half-time performance. The performance reportedly received a viewership of 126 million viewers. The viewership count is estimated to be a total of viewers watching across various platforms like FOX, Tubi, and more.
The rapper brought out Serena Williams, SZA, and Samuel L. Jackson as part of his performance. People on the internet claimed that Kendrick did something that gave him the label of being a “reverse” racist.
Netizens rushed to X, to express their outrage at the fact that none of Kendrick’s backup dancers were white. Critics were quick to note that hundreds of dancers that filled the stage were all people of colour.
Some trolls even went as far as to say that the artist did not do justice to the half-time show. Several comments labelled Lamar’s performance as the “most boring” show in Super Bowl history.
Kendrick Lamar recently returned to the 2025 Super Bowl in a big way.
The 37-year-old “Not Like Us” rapper headlined the Halftime Show three years after joining Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige in a five-artist lineup in 2022 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans,… pic.twitter.com/Xzg8fwIDGu
— Precious X Radio (@PreciousXUnity) February 10, 2025
The criticism was countered by people who fiercely defended the rapper. “I thought DEI ended? Why are you getting mad?” one user commented.
Another added, “ Wait lol I want to make sure I understand this post fully. So when movies and pretty much everything else have all white casts no one says anything and the one moment….You know what nevermind lol Amazing Super Bowl Halftime show!!”
Another topic of discussion that went viral on social media was Lamar’s height. Netizens could not stop from expressing their shock at “discovering” that the rapper was only five foot six. “Bro, why did no one tell me Kendrick Lamar was three-foot-six?” one comment read. “Kendrick is a great representation for short little cutie pie haters,” another user added.
