Jay-Z to headline the 2027 Super Bowl halftime show at SoFi Stadium

By Tom Whitfield

Jay-Z will perform at the Super Bowl LXI halftime show on 14 February 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced on Monday night.

The announcement makes the 56-year-old rapper the featured performer. It also places him back at the venue where he closed the Jay-Z 30 concert tour over the weekend, following dates in New York and London.

The booking followed a week of reports and several days of speculation. Some observers, the announcement noted, considered it unlikely because of Jay-Z’s lack of recent hits. The discography dates behind that judgment are clear: 4:44, his last solo album, appeared in 2017, while his last collaborative album was made with his wife, Beyoncé, in 2018, with the two performing together as the Carters.

Jay-Z linked the booking to a 30-year career:

“From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” he said. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.”

Roc Nation has advised and helped produce the NFL’s entertainment presentations since 2019, including the Super Bowl halftime show. Its involvement began with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez at Super Bowl LIV in 2020.

In comments at the time, Jay-Z said he had told NFL commissioner Roger Goodell:

“If this is about me performing at the Super Bowl, then we can just end this conversation now.”

Goodell said on Monday that the NFL had wanted Jay-Z to perform for years. He recalled:

“When we first reached an agreement with Roc Nation to produce the show, I had just one request: that Jay-Z take the stage himself one day, whenever the moment felt right to him,” he said.

“I couldn’t be more excited for fans around the world to experience the artistry, creativity and cultural impact he will bring to the Super Bowl stage.”

The announcement also supplied a compact account of Jay-Z’s career and standing:

• Born Shawn Carter, he has won 25 Grammy awards and received 89 nominations, the second-highest nomination total in history behind his wife. Beyoncé has performed at two Super Bowls.
• His catalogue includes the albums Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint and The Black Album, plus the hit songs “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “99 Problems” and “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys.
• His 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame last year.
• Jay-Z co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records and founded Roc Nation in 2008. His career also extends into music publishing, artist management and sports, while Roc Nation works with artists and athletes.
• He became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017 and joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.

The announcement cited Bad Bunny’s performance at the previous Super Bowl in February as the latest comparison. Special guests included Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Jessica Alba, Karol G, Cardi B, Young Miko and Pedro Pascal. The Puerto Rican artist’s songs then registered sharp gains across streaming charts, playlists and music discovery platforms in the hours after the show. The claim came without audience, streaming or revenue figures.

Past Super Bowl halftime headliners include Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, the Weeknd, Michael Jackson, the Who, Madonna, Coldplay and the Blues Brothers.

What does this change for Super Bowl fans?

It confirms Jay-Z as the featured performer. For anyone planning around the show, several practical details remain open. No guest list, staging plan, production credits or explanation of Apple Music’s role accompanied the announcement.

The musical choice is less settled. With no solo album since 2017, the set may have to draw on 4:44, the 2018 Carters album or the older catalogue. The announcement commits to none of those routes, or to any shared stage time.

On 14 February 2027, the setlist, collaborators and staging left open on Monday will show whether the NFL’s long-requested booking is more than a headline.