How the Super Bowl Halftime Show Performers Are Chosen

When it comes to picking the musical headliner at the Super Bowl halftime show, it turns out the choice comes down to just one man.

"In the end, it's only one person who makes that decision: Jay-Z," Apple Music's Zane Lowe said on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna Thursday.

Jay-Z has been choosing the Super Bowl halftime headliner every year since his entertainment company, Roc Nation, partnered with the NFL in 2019.

Jesse Collins, an executive producer behind the Super Bowl halftime show, also recently shared that it's Jay-Z who selects the halftime headliner.

"It's a decision that Jay makes," Collins told Variety on Sept. 16. "Since we've been on board with that show, he's made it every year, and it's been amazing. He's always picked right!"

Kendrick Lamar was announced earlier this month as the headliner for the 2025 Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, which takes place Feb. 9. at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

The choice sparked controversy among some fans who believed rapper Lil Wayne, a native of New Orleans, would have been a natural choice.

Lowe said on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna that he believes both artists would be amazing at the Super Bowl.

"Kendrick Lamar is one of the most creative and influential artists of our generation, of our lifetime. There's nothing that Kendrick Lamar doesn't do at the highest possible level," he said.

"Lil Wayne would have been an incredible halftime headline performer," he added. "But Jay-Z gets to make that choice."

Lowe also said that "regardless of how anybody feels about that decision," he has no doubt Lamar is "going to show up and put on an incredible performance."

Jay-Z explained his choice of Lamar in a statement earlier this month, calling the rapper a "once-in-a-generation artist and performer."

"His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision," Jay-Z said. "He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick's work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come."

Lil Wayne shared his disappointment over not being chosen in a recent Instagram video , saying it "hurt a whole lot."

"I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown and for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position," he said.

I thought there was nothing better than that spot, and that stage, and that platform," he said.