After Justin Bieber delivered his first performance in a year for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game earlier this month, speculation that the Canadian superstar would be making a surprise appearance at Usher‘s Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show was high. Despite the excitement, that moment never came, and Usher has finally revealed why.
Speaking with “The Breakfast Club,” Usher confirmed he reached out to Bieber — and pretty much “everybody” — but the singer declined. “I honor and recognize the fact that my brother… I think it might have just been that he’s just wanting to tell a different story right now, and I did understand that,” Usher said in the teaser clip. “We did have a brief conversation, and we’re gonna do something else in the future.”
Usher continued, “No love lost or anything like that. It’s a lot of pressure for the Super Bowl, obviously, for me to put together a show. I reached out to everybody. Justin wasn’t the only person I spoke to about doing the Super Bowl, but the moment was maybe for later.”
In 2022, Bieber was scheduled to embark on his “Justice” world tour but the trek was ultimately canceled with the purpose of Bieber returning to focus on his health.
Usher and Bieber have a years-long friendship and professional relationship that sprouted at the beginning of Bieber’s career. They also share the song “Somebody to Love,” which appeared on Bieber’s debut album.
Before moving on to questions about Chris Brown, Usher predicted that “[Bieber is] going to play the Super Bowl… I’ll go ahead and give you that for the future. I profess that over his life because he has a career that deserves it. It just didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to.”
Watch the clip below.