Usher Offers Some Advice to Fellow Super Bowl Halftime Performer Kendrick Lamar

To no surprise, Usher brought his A-game to The Jennifer Hudson Show on Tuesday (Feb. 4). Skating his way onstage to raucous applause and shout-outs, the eight-time Grammy Award winner had plenty to talk about — including a key piece of advice he had for Super Bowl Halftime headliner Kendrick Lamar.

Having experienced his own historic moment as the star of last year’s Super Bowl halftime show, Usher reminisced with Hudson on what it felt like to be on that stage. “It’s the top of the top; the cream of the crop,” he said of his performance. “No matter how many stages you’re on, you’re never going to play for a bigger audience.”

The “Yeah!” singer continued, adding that he hoped Lamar would take a moment for himself during his much-anticipated performance. “The one thing that I would say is, savor the moment. You get obsessed in trying to build the best performance, but you don’t realize that it’s really about enjoying it, right?” he said. “My encouragement to him is to really be present. I hope that he uses the moment well. There’s a lot to be said for where hip-hop has come from. There’s a lot to be said for that young man and how he’s been an incredible benchmark for what it is to be an artist. I’m hoping that he really maximizes that moment.”

Later in the show, two fans were given the chance to compete in “Usher’s Cherry Challenge,” in which whoever scored the most correct answers in a trivia contest won the chance of being fed a cherry by the R&B/pop legend himself. And of course, the audience went wild.

Rounding out the episode was a high-energy performance by the Southern University and A&M College marching band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana — who will also play at the Super Bowl pregame show.

Watch a clip of Usher’s appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show below: