Dear Gossips,

As I wrote last week, for some of us, and we are not a small number, we watched last night’s tv show for a concert and the Queen’s announcement – both of which, by the way, were critical to the actual event, labelled as part of the event and thus not to be written off as side distractions. The National Football League depends on every element of the Super Bowl ecosystem to ensure that is it the spectacle that it is.

And spectacle is what Usher produced on the field last night, a spectacle that could not have been more suited to the host city. This is Vegas baby, so get the show girls out, don’t pull back on the feathers or the sequins and certainly not the skin. My only note is that I wish we got to see more of it on the wide shot – because by all accounts, according to the people who were there, that stage-field felt like a entire town, the host city, with all the dancers, the Cirque du Soleil performers, and also the Southern University Marching Band. More is more is the Vegas spirit, and Usher made that clear… and sexy.

But it was like sex, non? Slow, maybe even hesitant off the top, but then moving into fun and funny – his signature glitchy bug dance was hilarious…

…and just kept building and building with the hits, as Usher expertly cranked up the energy along with H.E.R., Lil Jon and Ludacris, until the point of climax – this man was WORKING for our pleasure!

He took his clothes off, he put new clothes back on, and his skates too, only to take them off just as quickly. That’s what I would love to know, like how many times did he practice the getting into and then removing of the skates? And it’s not like he didn’t use them either! Usher was FLYING and SLIDING on those wheels, Usher was doing the most.

And I don’t know about you but from where I was watching on my couch, you could feel the adrenaline he was sending out into that stadium, charging everyone there with joy and probably a little horniness.

Kathleen was in the building and she texted me afterwards: “That was the greatest 15 minutes of my life. I literally was screaming and crying and may have shoved a stranger”. I mean, Kathleen is extra on the best day – but she’s not exaggerating, because Usher made it a party, whether you were by yourself or with your crew, everyone was welcome.

Final verdict? Expectations exceeded. And now he’s on to the next, which is the new album Coming Home which I had on replay all weekend until, ironically, about half an hour or so after his halftime. There are no skips, the album is SO good. My favourites so far: “Good Good”, “A-Town Girl”, “Kissing Strangers”, and “Stone Kold Freak”. I guess I’m looking at tour dates now.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey

Usher Gossip

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