Grammy-winning R&B icon Usher promised a celebration of "past and present" for his Super Bowl halftime performance, and he did not disappoint.
The hitmaker took to the stage as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers battled it out at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium to win the coveted 2024 Super Bowl LVIII title.
The 45-year-old sang, stepped, skated and shimmered his way through a 13-minute medley of classic hits, from Confessions' ballads 'Burn' and 'My Boo' - accompanied by Alicia Keys herself - all the way back to the 8701 era with 'U Got It Bad' and 'U Don't Have to Call'. Concluding the set was the chart-topping club staple 'Yeah!', which saw fellow Atlanta hitmakers Ludacris and Lil Jon brought out to raucous applause.
The high-octane performance was punctuated with several spangled outfits, as well as a few minutes of Usher sans shirt - the profusely sweating singer tossing off his vest to showcase his chiselled abdomen to the world.
The outfits in question were documented in a video for Vogue, which was uploaded to the publication's YouTube channel before Usher had even vacated the stage.
The behind-the-scenes glimpse revealed footage from the final fitting for Usher's glamorous Dolce & Gabbana ensemble; an outfit that consisted of several carefully selected layers that were gradually 'unwrapped' throughout the show.
The opening look featured a dramatic overcoat covered in glittering crystals with a dramatic train, which was quickly thrown off to reveal white trousers, a white bomber jacket with a similar crystal embellishment on the chest, and matching bejewelled gloves.
"The idea was, there's an evolution - there's a story that's being told through the wardrobe," costume designer Tanja Caldwell told Vogue. "We wanted to speak to what [Las] Vegas culture is and what is has been."
Later in the show, Usher slipped off the jacket - and one glove - to reveal a boxy, bedazzled sleeveless vest featuring intricate crystal appliqué and delicate beading, a concept Caldwell likened to "unravelling" him throughout the performance.
"We've been doing these really beautiful clashes of masculine and feminine," stylist Brookelyn Styles explained to the outlet.
"I think everything speaks to who he already is - it's never about covering up or creating a new entity for him, but more like, how do we further develop or go into the next chapter."
Usher told Vogue: "It is having fabrics that work and flow, it is having built-in things that release quickly and accommodate my movement. I have to be able to get in and out of it, and in a way that makes it feel like something magical happened on the stage.
"Just a cover of feathers, then the feathers [pulling back], and, 'oh my God, it's a whole 'nother outfit!' How the hell did that happen? That's the fantasy, baby."
The last outfit change of the evening saw Usher don his roller skates and a black-and-blue shimmering creation, which included a matching jacket and long-sleeved shirt that cartoonishly replicated his famous pecs and six-pack. The jacket was quickly thrown off, the skates were swapped for sneakers, and a snapback cap graced his head for the final number.
The performance followed "100 sold-out shows" during Usher's months-long highly acclaimed residency in Las Vegas.
Last year's headliner Rihanna rocked head-to-toe red for her triumphant return to the stage after a five-year hiatus, with the halftime performance also serving as a pregnancy announcement for the star as she cradled her baby bump beneath a Loewe jumpsuit.
