Super Bowl Halftime Show Producer Claims Jay-Z Chooses The Artists Amid Kendrick Lamar & Lil Wayne Debacle

The Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans next year on February 9 quickly became one of the hottest hip-hop debates of the year. Moreover, we’re sure you already have your take on Kendrick Lamar getting the headlining slot, and on Lil Wayne missing out on it despite NOLA being his home city. What none of us really know is what the actual process for this looked like. Some fans believe that Jay-Z, who works with the NFL for entertainment endeavors, made the final decision, whereas other reports indicate that it’s not so simple. But as if we needed more contradicting narratives and claims, we now have a new one to unpack.

Jesse Collins, an executive producer for the Super Bowl halftime show since 2021, recently dropped a bombshell claim in his recent Variety interview. “It’s a decision that Jay makes,” he said of the selection process. “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!” While this is a pretty literal statement, it’s impossible to know for sure whether Collins is really talking about a one-sided decision. After all, it could just be a general answer.

Elsewhere during the interview, Jesse Collins said more about next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, specifically the Lil Wayne controversy. “We love Wayne,” he remarked. “There’s always Vegas odds on who’s going to get to perform it. But I think we’re going to do an amazing show with Kendrick, and I think everybody’s going to love the halftime show. I know Kendrick is going to work exceptionally hard to deliver an amazing show.” Collins also had high praise for K.Dot and Beyoncé’s performance of “Freedom” at the 2016 BET Awards, a spectacle he also helped produce.

Meanwhile, another Jay-Z debate concerning the Super Bowl halftime show is whether or not he offered it to Drake in the past. Some folks think so, others don’t believe it. Nevertheless, this opened up another avenue for criticism and scrutiny when it comes to this halftime show decision. As you’ve probably already experienced, all these moving parts just look like a whole bunch of contradictions and vague obfuscations. We will probably never know for sure…