SZA was the only guest officially announced for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show, and she performed with him on February 9, 2025. A retrospective ranking of ten possible guests would imply a reported contender list that the available contemporaneous evidence does not establish. The clearest answer is therefore SZA, with other artists best treated as hypothetical possibilities—not confirmed rumors.
Who performed with Kendrick Lamar at the 2025 Super Bowl?
SZA joined Lamar for the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. The NFL announced her as his guest on January 23. The announcement noted their collaborations, including “All the Stars” and “Doves in the Wind,” as well as her appearances on Lamar’s GNX tracks “Gloria” and “Luther.” NFL.com, reporting by the Associated Press.
Lamar had been named the halftime headliner on September 8, 2024. The NFL’s announcement also noted his earlier appearance at Super Bowl LVI in 2022, alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige. That past performance is relevant context, but it does not show that any of those artists was considered for the 2025 show.
Why SZA was the strongest pre-show possibility
Even before the official announcement, SZA had the strongest documented case among the names associated with Lamar: they had multiple released collaborations, she appeared on his then-recent GNX album, and they shared co-headlining tour billing. Those links made her a natural hypothetical pick. The January 23 announcement turned that possibility into confirmation.
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Could other artists have joined him?
Some artists had a plausible musical or historical connection, but connection alone is not evidence that they were rumored or under consideration. Future and Metro Boomin, for example, collaborated with Lamar on “Like That.” Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige had shared the Super Bowl LVI stage with him. The cited contemporaneous reporting does not establish any of them as serious 2025 guest candidates.
A credible ranking of ten would need contemporaneous reporting, official hints, or other evidence for each name, applied consistently. Useful criteria would include documented collaborations, recent shared projects or tour appearances, a history of performing together, and evidence that the artist was actually being discussed. Without that support, ordering ten names would turn artistic fit into an unsupported claim about pre-show speculation.
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What was known about the show’s reach?
Apple Music reported on February 3, 2025, that GNX had reached No. 1 in 129 countries on its platform and that “Not Like Us” was its top-streamed song worldwide. These are Apple Music platform claims, not rankings across all streaming services. Apple Newsroom.
In its retrospective, the NFL reported that Lamar’s show with SZA drew 133.5 million viewers, describing it as a Super Bowl halftime show record. NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show.
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Rank #3
- Your favorite artist, Kendrick Lamar, on CD.
- Immerse yourself in the genre of Hip Hop.
- Enjoy the music style of Conscious on CD.
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