Usher brought the house down during his Super Bowl halftime show. And while the performer brought the “A to the world” and a slew of guest collaborators, one fan-favorite was noticeably missing according to fans: Justin Bieber.
Lil Jon, however, revealed that Bieber was initially asked to perform during the halftime show but ultimately “wasn’t really ready.”
“We wanted to put Justin in the show, so we had the idea of doing a version of the show with Justin in it,” Lil Jon told TMZ Live. “But I think Justin just wasn’t really ready. That’s a lot of rehearsal, a lot of responsibility, a lot of time and a lot of eyeballs. I don’t know if he was ready to do all of that, you know?”
Bieber was in attendance and sat in the stands with wife Hailey Bieber while the Kansas City Chiefs took on the San Francisco 49ers and Usher took the stage. Among the guest performers during Usher's set were Ludacris, Alicia Keys, will.i.am, Jermaine Dupri and H.E.R.
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“I mean, he definitely was there supporting Ush,” Lil Jon said about Bieber. “They’re really good friends, and he definitely was supporting him regardless.
The rapper noted that Bieber did not attend rehearsals but “was thinking about” performing.
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“I don’t know if he was ready to have that undertaking,” he said, adding, “It’s a lot of time you have to dedicate to being in a show like this.”
A rep for Bieber did not immediately respond to TODAY.com's request for comment.
Bieber was discovered by Scooter Braun and signed to his and Usher’s record label, Raymond Braun Media Group, in 2008. The Canadian singer and Usher would go on to collaborate on songs like “Somebody to Love Remix” and “First Dance.” The two also performed a duet of "The Christmas Song" on the TODAY plaza in 2011.
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Despite not taking the stage that night, Bieber did congratulate Usher on his performance.
“LOVE YOU MY BROTHER. NOONE CAN SING AND DANCE THE WAY YOU DO. LOVE YOU FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY HEART. BROUGHT THE ‘A’ TO THE WORLD,” Bieber captioned a photo of Usher on the Super Bowl stage. “ONLY YOU BABYYYYYY.”
The "Sorry" singer hasn't regularly performed in years. In June 2022, he revealed that he was suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which left half of his face paralyzed, and took a break from touring. In late 2022, he announced that he would be pausing his "Justice" world tour to focus on his health.
“After resting and consulting with my doctors, family and team, I went to Europe in an effort to continue with the tour. I performed six live shows, but it took a real toll on me,” he said in September of 2022, later adding, “After getting off stage, the exhaustion overtook me and I realized that I need to make my health the priority right now. So I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being.”
In Feb. 2023, he had canceled the remainder of his tour. It was just earlier this month that the singer made his official return to the stage when he did a surprise show in Toronto on Feb. 1, ahead of the NHL All-Star Weekend.
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