Summary

JAY-Z will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on February 14, 2027

The booking fulfills a request NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made when the league first partnered with Roc Nation on the show

The performance caps "JAY-Z 30," a 2026 celebration of his debut album that included record-breaking sold-out nights at Yankee Stadium

JAY-Z will officially headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 14, 2027, as jointly confirmed by Apple Music, the NFL and Roc Nation on October 26. The announcement moves the man who has spent recent years helping shape the halftime lineup from behind the scenes into the spotlight himself, and it lands at the end of a 2026 built around the 30th anniversary of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt.

The road to this moment traces back to the NFL’s partnership with Roc Nation, which began in 2019 and put JAY-Z’s entertainment company in charge of halftime programming. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that a JAY-Z headline set had been on his wish list from day one. “For several years, we’ve had the privilege of working closely with JAY-Z and Roc Nation, and I’ve seen the extraordinary impact he has had on the Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Goodell said. “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. 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.”

That ask carried extra weight given JAY-Z’s past with the gig, since he rapped about turning down a Super Bowl invitation on The Carters’ 2018 track “APESHIT,” a stance widely linked to his support for Colin Kaepernick. Eight years later, he is stepping onto the stage his own company helped rebuild.

In the years since the partnership began, the halftime show has grown into one of the most decorated broadcasts on television, with Hypebeast tracking each headliner along the way. The 2022 Super Bowl LVI hip-hop showcase featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar won three Emmys, including the show’s first-ever Outstanding Variety Special (Live). Apple Music came aboard as title partner for Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII set in 2023, taking over from Pepsi, and that performance earned two Emmys, among them the first Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special win in halftime history. Usher followed with three Emmy nominations for Super Bowl LVIII, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX headline set became the most-watched halftime show ever and won Outstanding Music Direction, and Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX performance set a new record with seven Emmy wins.

Apple Music sees the booking as a full-circle moment for that run. “JAY-Z’s impact on global music culture is as profound as it is undeniable,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s Vice President of Music and International Content. “We’ve had the privilege of working closely with him these last few years to bring some of the world’s most exciting and prolific artists to the Super Bowl Halftime Show stage and we are so thrilled that he will be taking that stage himself this year. We know it’s going to be an incredible show.”

Few headliners have arrived at the halftime stage carrying credentials like these. JAY is a 25-time GRAMMY winner, a four-time Emmy winner, a 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and the first hip-hop artist ever inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His 2026 doubled as “JAY-Z 30,’ a year-long tribute to Reasonable Doubt, originally released in 1996 via Roc-A-Fella Records, that paired immersive experiences with limited-edition exclusive products. The celebration also saw him break attendance records across three sold-out Yankee Stadium concerts, alongside sold-out shows in London, Paris and Los Angeles.

Hov framed the halftime booking as the payoff to that three-decade arc. “From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” he said in a statement. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.”

JAY-Z takes the stage at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, February 14, 2027, with the show airing on ESPN, ABC and Disney+ and streaming on mobile via NFL+.

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