Yes, Jay-Z’s Pick of Jay-Z for the Super Bowl Halftime Is As Bad As It Seems
It’s game over, and we’re not even most of the way through the regular season. The winner of the 2027 Super Bowl Halftime Show will be Jay-Z. And the loser is country music, and the rest of American culture. And yes, in this tilt, the zebras were completely paid off. Because it’s Jay-Z and his Roc Nation record label/production company who chooses the performers. In other words, it was Jay-Z who selected Jay-Z. Dick Cheney, eat you heart out.
For long suffering country fans, they know the score when it comes to the Super Bowl and the Halftime show.
You have to go all the way back to 1994 when Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, and The Judds performed to find the last and really only time country music was featured during the Super Bowl halftime. There hasn’t even been a country artist featured as a guest in over 20 years. Shania Twain appeared briefly with No Doubt in 2003, and Doug Kershaw also made a quick appearance in 1990 when the Super Bowl was in his native state of Louisiana.
Since the Super Bowl halftime show became a big deal in 1991 with New Kids on the Block taking the field, country music has really only been featured predominantly once. When you consider that it’s one of America’s most popular genres—and arguably the most popular genre currently—this feels like a travesty. With the announcement of Jay-Z for 2027, this makes the 33rd year in a row that country music will be riding the pine come halftime.
The barrier standing between a country artist and the Super Bowl halftime is a 2019 deal where the NFL partnered with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation as their official “Live Music Entertainment Strategists.” This has put country music on the sidelines permanently like a 3rd string quarterback, and relegated it to pregame performances.
Meanwhile, you have Zach Bryan selling out football stadiums like Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on consecutive nights. Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is now the longest-running #1 in Billboard Hot 100 history, and just set another record-breaking 25th week at #1 this week.
No offense to Jay-Z whatsoever, but the guy hasn’t released an album in a decade. He’s released all of two albums in the last 17 years. That’s not to say that Jay-Z isn’t popular. But it’s very hard to say he’s anything but a nostalgia act at this point. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with nostalgia acts. But the whole reason we were told Bad Bunny was selected last year was to appeal to younger demographics, and audiences outside of the United States. Does Jay-Z really fulfill those requisites?
Meanwhile, the big narrative coming out of the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime show was the split screen nature of it, with TPUSA producing an “alternative” halftime show. And despite people fighting over how many people saw what, it took away from the idea that the Super Bowl is the one event that can be universal in American culture, and bring people together. Booking Bad Bunny, and TPUSA creating alternative programming made it a battle ground.
Jay-Z booking Jay-Z won’t help in repairing that fracture. It will only exacerbate it, especially with the clear advantage-taking involved behind the decision.
Perhaps Jay-Z is tapping himself for the Super Bowl because new music is on the way. But there might be another reason behind this decision. Maybe Jay-Z sees the writing on the wall, and wants to get his opportunity to play the Super Bowl while it’s still available to him. The deal his company Roc Nation signed with the NFL in 2019 included a five year contract. They then renewed the contract in 2024 for another five years, taking it to the 2029 Super Bowl.
There’s at least a chance that in 2029, the Roc Nation partnership with the NFL dissolves. Also don’t forget that in 2030, the Super Bowl will be held in Nashville, which some have been predicting will finally be the opportunity for country music to be highlighted on the 50 yard line. For Jay-Z, maybe he sees 2027 as now or never. He’s never played the Super Bowl personally in the past.
But there’s absolutely no guarantee that 2030 will be the country music Super Bowl, and there’s perhaps even less likelihood that country music will be as popular as it is now in 3 1/2 years. By punting on country, the NFL continues to put itself behind the chains with one of the sports most key demographics, and enticing those consumers to alternatives, especially when it comes to halftime entertainment.
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October 28, 2026 @ 6:56 pm
Genuflecting for degenerate hip hip culture out of fear of being called a racist is at the heart of this cultural rot. Alternative programming is the logical result of this and I am glad it’s happened.
October 28, 2026 @ 7:15 pm
Maybe Jay-Z could have Charley Crockett as an opener.
October 28, 2026 @ 7:18 pm
I think the exclusion of country music from the Super Bowl halftime show sucks, but there are a few things here.
First, Goodell wanted Jay-Z to do it and he said so himself.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nfl-announces-jay-z-as-the-super-bowl-lxi-halftime-act. In fact, when the NFL and Roc Nation first partnered in 2019, Goodell specifically asked that Jay-Z perform someday. I understand the optics of Roc Nation selecting its own founder, but it’s not as simple as Jay-Z awarding himself the show.
Yeah, he hasn’t released an album lately, but he sold out three consecutive nights at Yankee Stadium back in July. I don’t think it’s wrong to call him a “legacy act,” but there’s clearly still an audience for him. And plenty of legacy acts have performed at the Super Bowl without promoting new albums. Paul McCartney, The Who and Dr. Dre come to mind. I don’t think the halftime show requires new music.
In regard to Shania, she didn’t just make a brief appearance in 2003. She https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2osVHFjR-C4 and performed two complete songs.
And by one important metric, U.S. on-demand audio streams, country ranked fourth in popularity in 2025, behind R&B/hip-hop, rock and pop. https://apnews.com/article/music-listening-habits-2025-christian-rock-latin-a5e06a001705cd7e5d3854d8fab901b8. That doesn’t mean country isn’t popular I think it’s worth mentioning when arguing that it’s America’s most popular genre.
Where I really disagree is with the idea that “the loser is country music, and the rest of American culture.” Country music doesn’t lose anything because of this. Zach Bryan is still huge, Ella Langley still has her massive hit and country artists are selling out stadiums. I know how a lot of people in the comments feel about rap, but like it or not, it is American culture. So is country music. The idea that one has to represent America at the expense of the other is silly.
I’ve got a hard time reconciling 15 minutes of music at a football game with a referendum on the survival of American culture. And while I agree that country is underrepresented at halftime, I also think country music is doing just fine. It doesn’t need the NFL’s blessing to be culturally relevant.
At this point, I genuinely don’t know what would make you happy. Say the Nashville Super Bowl in 2030 featured Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean and Thomas Rhett. You’d finally have to acknowledge that country music was center stage, but you’d also have enough material to write a few editorials about the tragedy of the NFL choosing the wrong kind of country music.
And at that point, wouldn’t Jay-Z look pretty good in comparison?
October 28, 2026 @ 7:53 pm
1) I don’t give a shit what Roger Goddell wants. He can go kick rocks as far as I’m concerned.
2) As I laid out in the article, I definitely wouldn’t call Jay-Z irrelevant, unpopular, aged out, or anything of the sort. But I’ve been told countless times when arguing over this matter over the years that nobody wants to see George Strait, or Garth Brooks, or some old country artist play the Super Bowl because they’re not “current” enough, and the “kids” don’t know who they are. I think it’s fair to wonder if that applies to Jay-Z, at least to some extent.
3) There were three performers on the 2003 Super Bowl: Sting, No Doubt, and Shania Twain, all of whom got about 5 minutes each. I acknowledged Shania’s participation in the article. But it would be extremely hard to characterize it as a “country music” halftime, or even to characterize Shania Twain at that point in her career as country. But even if you take that halftime as being 100% country (it wasn’t), that was still 23 years ago. It’s been 23 years since a country artist appeared on the Super Bowl halftime. It’s almost as if you’d have one in that time almost by accident.
4) What you’re not taking into account is catalog streams. Right now, catalog streams make up the majority of music consumption. Again, going under the premise that we’re looking for “current” artists to perform at the Super Bowl, country is currently the most popular genre in all of music, indisputably, and by a wide margin.
5) I never said that American culture was going to implode over this. It very well might implode, though probably not due to this exclusively (though it certainly might contribute.) But what it will do is institutionalize the culture war rift running through America’s biggest singular cultural event every year. Jay-Z and the NFL aren’t solely responsible for this. So is TPUSA and other rage baiters who benefit from this rift. But it is a decision that will exacerbate it, while the NFL could have worked to close that rift with this decision. They chose poorly, and it will cost all of us.
6) Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean and Thomas Rhett would never be a Super Bowl lineup. They would never even consider Morgan Wallen and Jason Aldean, and Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan were washed out years ago. It will be Chris Stapleton, or Ella Langley, or Luke Combs, or Zach Bryan. But let’s say it was Morgan Wallen. I wouldn’t like it, but I would still stick behind the decision. Personal taste aside, this is a point of principle. If the NFL had excluded hip-hop of the the last 23 or 33 years, what would the accusations be? Bigotry. Again, almost by a sheer roll of the dice, a country start should have appeared in the last 23 or 33 years.
Jay-Z is a billionaire, and so is his wife autonomously. How about we give someone else an opportunity to fulfill the American dream?
October 28, 2026 @ 8:24 pm
Can you expound on point 4? What’s the difference between audio streams and catalog streams? I thought it seemed odd that the article said the majority of audio streams are from older content, but it didn’t clarify why that would be the case.
October 28, 2026 @ 8:41 pm
Yes, good question.
Right now a big issue the music industry is having is that the majority of music consumption is happening via older songs, albums, and artists, sometimes called “catalog” titles, meaning stuff that was released years ago, instead of current, newer releases by stars of the here and now. The music industry is making more money than ever before. But unfortunately, it’s failing to launch many new stars, or even a lot of new hits. All the people saying that they’ve ‘never heard” Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” this is a symptom of this. People just aren’t listening to new music at the same level they did generations before. That’s the reason one of the hottest acts in all of music right now is Fleetwood Mac. And even though there is a ton of money being made in music, it’s not going to new and up-and-coming artists. They can’t get any attention. This is also what makes Ella Langley’s breakout so rare.
For these reasons, I honestly think an older artist would be fine for the Super Bowl Halftime, if not better than a “current” one. That’s what they had in the oughts with Prince, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, etc. But all you hear when you suggest someone like George Strait is, “he’s not current enough.”
Jay-Z is a catalog artist at this point. Two albums in 17 years, and no Top 10 hit in 13 years means he’s not current. But that doesn’t mean he’s not popular.
October 28, 2026 @ 8:34 pm
I don’t listen to much hip hop but I agree with literally everything in this comment as far as my understanding of the music landscape goes.
October 28, 2026 @ 7:20 pm
But surely he’s going to bring out his wife, celebrated and duly accredited country star, Beyonce!…… no?
October 28, 2026 @ 7:39 pm
Word is Cowboy Carter will present a remix called Choosin’ Texas Hold ’em.
October 28, 2026 @ 8:05 pm
oh…OH !
this is so IMPORTANT
you’ve got me in a tizzy !!
October 28, 2026 @ 8:30 pm
I suspect this is going to be something like the history of hip hop one from a few years ago and he will bring on a bunch of famous guests.
October 28, 2026 @ 8:39 pm
Ah, the annual super bowl rant. Yes, I agree in full. Think there’ll be an ‘alternative show’ this year?
October 28, 2026 @ 8:43 pm
Jay-Z booking Jay-Z guarantees it. And this year, they will probably prepare better. You book Ella Langley or Chris Stapleton, and you undercut any effort by political actors to use the Super Bowl to divide us.