Eminem will accompany Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar at next February’s Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl halftime show.
Slim Shady is heading to the Super Bowl.
Eminem is set to perform at halftime of next year’s Super Bowl, the NFL and halftime sponsor Pepsi announced on Thursday, in an all-star extravaganza alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige.
The Super Bowl halftime show is typically the most-watched television event of the year. This year’s show, featuring the Weeknd, was seen by 96.4 million total viewers, according to Nielsen data.
Super Bowl LVI will be held Feb. 13, 2022, at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, which puts the show on the home turf of Dre, Snoop and Kendrick.
It’s set to be the most hip-hop heavy halftime ever. Rappers have performed at the event before — Travis Scott and Big Boi performed alongside Maroon 5 in 2019, Missy Elliott joined Katy Perry in 2015, and Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. appeared with Madonna in 2012 — but no rapper has ever headlined the halftime show before. Pop-rap group Black Eyed Peas, in 2011, came closest.
It will be the first Super Bowl performance for all except Blige, who performed during the 2001 Super Bowl halftime show, alongside *NSYNC, Aerosmith, Britney Spears and Nelly. Blige also performed “America the Beautiful” with Marc Anthony and the Boston Pops Orchestra at Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002.
The halftime show will be the third underneath the NFL’s partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation as producers. The multi-year deal was signed in Aug. 2019, with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s halftime performance in 2020 kicking off the new deal.
“This is history in the making,” Jay-Z said in a statement. Added Dre, “The opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime show, and to do it in my own backyard, will be one of the biggest thrills of my career.”
The announcement comes amid a relative flurry of activity in Eminem’s typically quiet world. On Wednesday, he opened his downtown Detroit pasta spot, Mom’s Spaghetti, inside the newly opened Union Assembly on Woodward Avenue, and surprised fans by serving up his signature dish in person.
On Thursday, he was featured on a new single from the “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” soundtrack, titled “Last One Standing,” credited to Skylar Grey and also featuring Polo G and Mozzy.
agraham@detroitnews.com
@grahamorama