We are 166 days away from Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Feb. 6. And even though the regular season doesn’t kick off until Thursday (Aug. 28), that doesn’t mean we can’t begin cranking up the speculation machine on who might perform during halftime at the big game next year.
Coming off of Kendrick Lamar’s universally lauded halftime show in New Orleans earlier this year featuring cameos from SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams and Mustard, Usher’s star-studded 2024 show in Las Vegas featuring Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., Lil Jon, Ludacris and will.i.am and Rihanna’s baby bump bonanza in 2023, it feels like anything goes for next year’s show.
And while Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has been bringing the hip-hop/R&B heat since coming on as co-producers of the hugely watched extravaganza in 2019 with sets from The Weeknd in 2021 and 2022’s iconic performance by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, so far the biggest buzz for a potential ’26 headliner surrounds one of the biggest names in music who has never played the big show before: Taylor Swift.
Swift, who performed a pair of dates at Levi’s stadium in July 2023 on her Eras Tour has been in the conversation before, but the stage seems more perfectly set than ever this year for her to add a halftime show to her already gaudy resumé of achievements. Not only has the singer become a fixture at NFL games over the past two years due to her romance with three-time NFL champ Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, but on the baller’s New Heights podcast earlier this month she dropped a few breadcrumbs suggesting that she might enhance the sparkle of her upcoming 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (Oct. 3) with a halftime ramble.
Swift isn’t the only name that has been in circulation as fans begin the annual ritual of searching for clues about who might headline the most-watched broadcast of the year. With the traditional September announcement of next year’s headliner possibly just a few weeks away, she joins a star-studded list of artists who have been mentioned as potential performers. Other names in the buzz bin this year include Justin Bieber — after his recent surprise drop of Swag, his first album in four years — Roc Nation boss Jay-Z, who is rumored to be prepping his first LP in more than eight years, as well as Bay Area locals Metallica and Green Day, Mariah Carey, Post Malone and Drake.
Check out the case for each of those acts (and a few more) below.
