Fresh off his sixth #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “Liar,” Jelly Roll appeared on today’s episode of Will Compton and Taylor Lewan’s highly popular Bussin’ With The Boys podcast alongside ERNEST. Discussing everything from his weight loss journey and current health to his transition from rap to country and his song selection process, the “I Am Not Okay” singer covered a lot of ground with the former NFL players.
On the topic of Super Bowl performances, Jelly Roll had an interesting suggestion: instead of having a singular artist perform, he wants an ensemble cast like the halftime show used to do whenever the championship is held at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
Throwing out names such as Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson and himself, the Tennessee Native said, “My dream would be that when it comes to Nashville, they do a country music Super Bowl, and it’s not even about an artist. Like it cuts to Garth on one stage, and he’s doing ‘Friends [In Low Places].’ Then it goes to Reba and then Lainey and then me and then Morgan [Wallen].”
It’s an interesting concept for sure, but the question is: Would it ever happen? I’d say not likely.
It’s fairly well-known by now that country music has been noticeably absent from the Super Bowl halftime show since 2003 when Shania Twain sang “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “Up!” in a joint performance with Sting and No Doubt. Hell, the last full country halftime show was back in 1994 when Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt and The Judds famously delivered a collection of their biggest hits.
Given that Jay Z extended his current five-year contract with the NFL back in October to continue his involvement with the production of the halftime show, it seems unlikely that a country act will be featured anytime soon. Focusing on hip-hop acts such as Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Rhianna, The Weeknd and Dr. Dre & Friends over the past five years (with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez as the exception), it’s clear that Jay Z has little to no desire to deviate from his established formula.
With that being said, crazier things have happened. Though I wouldn’t put any money on it happening, it would feel like a disservice to the genre not to have at least a single country artist perform whenever the Super Bowl is held in Nashville.
With Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California and Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, being slated to host in 2026-2028, the earliest potential Nashville-based Super Bowl wouldn’t be until 2029.
For now, we’ll just have to see if Jelly Roll’s dream of another all-country halftime show will ever come to true.
Watch the clip and full episode here: