Super Bowl Halftime Show Props & History: All First & Last Songs Performed

The halftime show at the Super Bowl was not always the spectacle that we know it to be today. The first 20 halftime shows were mostly filled with marching bands, high school bands, and some non-profit organizations putting on performances. Most of these shows all carried themes, generally saluting or providing tribute to a city or anniversary.

It wasn’t until 1993 that the halftime show really took off. This is all thanks to Fox network airing a special episode of In Living Color at the same time as Gloria Estefan’s 1992 Super Bowl halftime show, resulting in many lost viewers for CBS. After seeing all the lost viewership in 1992, we were treated to Michael Jackson in the 1993 halftime show.

Since then, the halftime show has taken on a life of its own, and even comes with its own set of props at sportsbooks. The two most popular halftime show props are the first and last songs performed during the show.

Fans will be treated to Usher during the halftime show of Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. Whether he brings anyone else with him is anyone’s guess at this point—which you can also bet on! If you’re trying to find some trends from past performances, you’ll see the performers as well as first and last songs played for every halftime show since Super Bowl 25.

2024 Halftime Show Odds | Historical Halftime Show First/Last Songs

Super Bowl 2024 Halftime Show Props

Not all sportsbooks have opened Super Bowl halftime show props this year, but we have rounded up what is available below:

Odds to Be First Song Usher Performs

FanDuel Sportsbook has released odds for the first song Usher will perform during the Super Bowl 58 halftime show, as well as a few other halftime related props. If you’re not already betting at FanDuel, don’t miss out on our FanDuel promo code for a great bonus when registering. BetMGM has also gotten in on the action, releasing some halftime props as well.

At the moment, “My Way” has emerged as a strong favorite to be the first song played at +100. The song was given +340 odds when this prop opened. “Yeah!”, which was the favorite to be the first song played when this prop opened, has now faded to +430. “OMG” has moved from +380 to the second-best odds at +145.

Odds to Be Last Song Usher Performs

Odds on the last song Usher will perform just opened on Monday and “Yeah!” has opened as the favorite with +200 odds. This means a $20 bet on “Yeah!” to be the last song Usher performs would win $40 and return $60.

But the halftime show props don’t stop there. You can also bet on the number of songs performed, who will appear with Usher, and a couple other specials too.

Odds to Perform with Usher & Other Specials

FanDuel also has a prop for which artists will make guest appearances. Alicia Keys is seen as a heavy favorite to make an appearance during Usher’s halftime show, given -550 odds. This means a $20 bet would only win $3.64 and return $23.64.

After being an afterthought in the opening odds, Post Malone has seen his odds to be a guest performer improve dramatically. He now has the second-best odds at -340. Ludacris and Lil Jon are also given short odds to join Usher at -280 and -172, respectively.

Super Bowl Halftime Show: First and Last Songs Every Year

Though Usher has not put out a new album since 2016, he did release five singles where he was the lead artist in 2023, as well as one more where he was a featured artist. One of those singles was “Good Good,” which is a part of his Coming Home album that is scheduled to release February 9, which is two days prior to the Super Bowl.

But based on past halftime show trends, it is unlikely he is going to open with anything brand new. “Yeah!” will be a very strong contender to be his first song performed, as it is arguably his most successful song and will get the crowd pumped up. I suspect “Love In This Club,” “OMG,” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love” to get some bets for first song performed too.

Usher has also collaborated with a ton of other big names, including but not limited to: Lil Jon, DJ Khaled, Alicia Keys, David Guetta, Ludacris, P. Diddy, and Gucci Mane.

The Super Bowl halftime show expects to get underway around 8pm ET.

Halftime Show First and Last Song Trends

• Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl 52 halftime show is the only one in the last 19 years to begin with a song that is less than a year old – the single “Filthy” was released less than a month earlier. “The Way You Move” at Super Bowl 38 was the previous first song that was less than a year old.
• Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl 51 halftime show is the only one in the last 17 years where the first song played was not a single from the performing artist – Gaga went political with a “God Bless America / This Land Is Your Land” mashup. Prince opening with “We Will Rock You” was the previous instance.
• Only 4 of the last 13 first songs played at Super Bowl halftime shows featuring modern artists were less than three years old, with 7 of them being less than seven years old – Gaga’s political choice joins Coldplay (Yellow), Maroon 5 (Harder to Breathe), and Rihanna (Better Have My Money) as the only first songs played that were released more than seven years before the halftime show; the Super Bowl 2022 Halftime Show was not counted towards this trend, since most were not modern.
• Each last song performed in the last 26 Super Bowl halftime shows has been a single released by one of the performing artists in the show. The last one that wasn’t was “Dancing in the Street” at Super Bowl 32.

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Did you find this Super Bowl Halftime Show data useful? You’ll want to check out our other Super Bowl resources below:

• Super Bowl Odds History
• Gatorade Color Dump at Super Bowl
• Super Bowl National Anthem Length History
• Super Bowl Coin Toss Results
• Super Bowl First TD Scorer Odds