Jay-Z is slated to take the stage at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. on Friday (Oct. 23) for the first of two gigs at the same venue hosting next February’s Super Bowl LXI. Coincidentally, Puck reported this week that Hov’s Roc Nation, which has curated the game’s halftime show since 2019, may have used a mirror to select the talent for next year’s show.
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While Billboard had not heard back from to Roc Nation and NFL reps for comment at press time, if the report is true it would be Jay’s first time on the Super Bowl stage in his four-decade career. While no official booking has been announced yet, the news of a possible Hov halftime has unleashed a torrent of hot takes, memes and, on Tuesday night (Oct. 20) jokes from Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.
During the show’s opening monologue, Fallon took some light shots at the news, saying, “I read that Jay-Z has reportedly picked himself to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show” to loud laughter from the studio audience. “Jay-Z didn’t want to pick himself, but then Jay-Z suggested it and Jay-Z was like, ‘I guess Jay-Z does have a point,” he added about the alleged booking.
The so-far unconfirmed Puck report also mentioned that Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus were also reportedly in the mix to headline the show.
After a relatively quiet few years, Jay has stormed back into the public eye this year, with gigs at the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia in May, a trifecta of star-studded Yankees Stadium shows in July, as well as equally high-profile, guest-packed gigs in Paris and London and the eight-part JAŸ-Z in 8 docuseries with Rick Rubin on HBO Max.
If the news turns out to be true, Jay would be the first rapper to headline the halftime show since Kendrick Lamar in 2025.
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