NFL Confirms Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi for Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show

After months of speculation, the NFL confirmed on Sunday that Maroon 5 will be the Pepsi Super [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

After months of speculation, the NFL confirmed on Sunday that Maroon 5 will be the Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show headlining act, alongside rapper Travis Scott and Atlanta native Big Boi, who are set to join them on the stage.

The group will perform between the second and third quarters of the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday, Feb. 3.

The "Girls Like You" band was first linked to the Super Bowl halftime show in September, but it was not until halftime during Sunday's Patriots-Chargers divisional playoff game that the league made it official. Cardi B, who was featured on the "Girls Like You" single, was expected to join them but she was not mentioned in the announcement.

After it became clear that Scott would perform during the show, reports that Jay-Z tried to talk him out of began to surface. Jay-Z has been a vocal supporter of Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who kneeled during the National Anthem during the 2016 season to protest racial injustice and police violence. Rapper Meek Mill also criticized Scott, tweeting, "He don't need that he on fire already." Even Al Sharpton urged Scott to back out.

While acts typically use the Super Bowl Halftime Show to kick off tours, as Justin Timberlake did last year, Maroon 5's appearance will come in the middle of a break of their Red Pill Blues Tour. They wrapped up the North American leg in December and are scheduled to resume in Australia in February. The group released their latest album, Red Pill Blues, back in November 2017.

As for Scott, this will be the biggest stage of the 26-year-old rapper's career. He recently finished the first leg of his Astroworld tour in December and heads back on the road on Jan. 25 in Vancouver. His single "Sicko Mode" dominated the Billboard charts after its release in August, topping the Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.

Big Boi was enlisted to represent Atlanta during the show. He is best known as one-half of Outkast and released his third solo album, Boomiverse, in 2017. The album includes the single "Mic Jack," featuring Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine.

This is also the first Super Bowl halftime show since 2016 to feature multiple artists. The past two have featured solo shows from Lady Gaga and Timberlake.

Super Bowl LIII airs on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 3 from Atlanta. It is the third time the city has hosted the Super Bowl, and first time since 2000.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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