post_page_cover

Will.i.am on Performing With Usher at the Super Bowl – The Hollywood Reporter

Feb 14, 2024

Usher made a guest appearance at the Black Eyed Peas’ Super Bowl halftime show in 2011, and bandleader will.i.am says he was happy to return the favor Sunday.

Will.i.am performed “OMG” — which he wrote and produced — alongside Usher at both events. 

“How can I explain it? There’s no words to really explain that,” he told The Hollywood Reporter after the performance. “Now 13 years later, it means something totally different. It’s beautiful. It was wonderful. It’s fantastic.”

As they performed “OMG,” roller skaters danced and flipped onstage. “The reason I say our section was the most ‘What the F?’ is because we’ve never seen roller skating at any type of big world stage like that. It felt like the urban Olympics. He brought the urban Olympics to the Super Bowl.”

“There were a lot of OMG moments in the show. There were so many OMG moments. That 60 seconds of ‘OMG’ was all you needed because the show was ‘oh my gosh,’” he adds.

Another favorite moment? “That one time when he chest naked onstage,” he said, laughing. “That was crazy.”

Usher and will.i.am at the 2011 Super Bowl.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Usher’s performance also featured Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Lil Jon, H.E.R. and Jermaine Dupri, and the Grammy-winning star ran through hits like “U Got It Bad,” “Love in this Club,” “U Don’t Have to Call” and “Yeah!”

Usher did so well that will.i.am didn’t realize the singer was 45 years old: “Damn, I didn’t know Usher was 45. I thought he was at least 33.”

The dance-flavored “OMG” was released in 2010, topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks and reached 8x-platinum status, which is equivalent to selling 8 million singles.

Will.i.am says when he composed the song he knew it “was going to be a smash.” He said he created the song after the success of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling,” which features the lyrics: “Go out and smash it, like, ‘Oh my god.’”

“‘OMG’ is because of ‘I Gotta Feeling,’” he explained. “‘I Gotta Feeling’ was the ingredient. It was the DNA.

“Working with Usher has been awesome,” he added. “I want to work more with him in the future. I’m really proud of his [new] album Coming Home. It’s amazing. I’m proud of his performance now.”

Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by filmibee.
Publisher: Source link

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Beloved ‘Stranger Things’ Duo Officially Reuniting for New Netflix Spy Thriller Series
Beloved ‘Stranger Things’ Duo Officially Reuniting for New Netflix Spy Thriller Series

Over the course of five seasons and ten years, Stranger Things delivered audiences a lot to love. Whether you connected with the nostalgia of the '80s, the complex sci-fi, or the thrilling horror, the show had something for everyone, making…

Jun 28, 2026

...
Starz Finds Its ‘Outlander’ Replacement Series in New Fantasy Adaptation

For ten years, Outlander gave Starz something most networks would kill for: a romance-fantasy tentpole with a devoted following, reliable streaming numbers, and a built-in book pipeline that kept the story coming. Its seven seasons racked up roughly 1.2 billion…

Jun 27, 2026

Taylor Sheridan’s Hit Action Thriller Officially Sets New Summer Release
Taylor Sheridan’s Hit Action Thriller Officially Sets New Summer Release

When Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone first premiered, it was hard to tell how impactful the series would end up being on the Paramount network and its inevitable streaming service, Paramount+. The show eventually expanded into several spin-offs that took place across…

Jun 26, 2026

...
The Fate of Taylor Sheridan ‘Yellowstone’ Sequel ‘Dutton Ranch’ Confirmed

The fate of Taylor Sheridan's latest Yellowstone spin-off has been confirmed after just one season. Starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser as Beth and Rip, respectively, the new Paramount+ series debuted back in May to positive reviews from critics and…

Jun 25, 2026