SZA is set to join Kendrick Lamar as his special guest when the superstar rapper headlines the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans next month.
The big news was announced on Thursday (January 23) with a new ad spot from Apple Music.
K. Dot can be seen making a phone call on a football field in the clip, and as he begins to say he’s been thinking about a guest performance, SZA appears from behind and dumps Gatorade on him.
The Big Show goes down at the Caesars Superdome in NOLA on February 9.
Since SZA joined Top Dawg Entertainment as a largely unknown artist in 2013, she and former labelmate Kendrick Lamar have developed an undeniable creative chemistry across more than half a dozen collaborations, notching a string of Billboard Hot 100 hits, platinum plaques and Grammy nominations.
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The pair will hit the road together later this year in support of the Compton native’s latest album GNX, which features a double dose of duets between him and Solána. The Grand National Tour will see them play arenas across North America (including in Toronto, the hometown of Kendrick’s fierce rival Drake) between April 19 and June 18.
A joint project between the pair has also been floated, with SZA recently fueling excitement by saying in an interview with Sherri Shepherd: “I would love that. I think that would be amazing. He’s such a genius.”
While no other acts are currently tapped to join Kendrick during his Halftime set, there is still room for surprises.
Last month, a member of SWV made a bid for the legendary group to share the stage with him – as K.Dot’s GNX cut “The Heart Pt. 6” features a sample of SWV’s 1996 hit “Use Your Heart.”
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“Soooo @kendricklamar sampled our song “use your heart”. Wouldn’t it be a treat if we performed together at the Super Bowl? [Fingers] crossed,” she wrote on Threads on November 25.
While Kendrick has yet to respond, Lyons received a lot of support in the comments, including from model and former video vixen Esther Baxter.
Fans have also clamored for Lil Wayne to join, following the drama surrounding the New Orleans native not being chosen as the performer for his hometown.
Weezy made his disappointment at the snub public, which K. Dot addressed on GNX — prompting the Young Money legend to seemingly hit out at his “Mona Lisa” collaborator on social media.
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But during an interview with Skip Bayless last month, Wayne confirmed that he and Kendrick have spoken and there’s no bad blood between them.
When asked about the possibility of him performing at the Super Bowl as a special guest, however, he quickly shut the idea down, saying that he’s “not even gonna be in the country” when the game takes place.
