According to reports, pop star Taylor Swift is the front-runner to take the NFL halftime show for next year’s Super Bowl 57.
The NFL announced Friday that the league was teaming up with Apple Music for the coming Super Bowl.
“We are proud to welcome Apple Music to the NFL family as our new partner for the iconic Super Bowl Halftime Show,” said Nana-Yaw Asamoah, SVP of Partner Strategy for the NFL. “We couldn’t think of a more appropriate partner for the world’s most-watched musical performance than Apple Music, a service that entertains, inspires, and motivates millions of people around the world through the intersection of music and technology.”
According to Variety, insiders say that a Taylor Swift NFL Halftime Show is pretty much a done deal. And with the halftime entertainment skewing heavily toward rap performers for the last several years, it might be time for a slight change in direction.
Dr. Dre performs with Snoop Dogg in the Pepsi Halftime Show during the NFL Super Bowl LVI football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022, in Inglewood, California. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Swift has been a major proponent of Apple Music and has debuted many of her recent songs there. And while she did have a dust-up with the service over royalties, she also praised Apple for resolving the issue.
Then there is the Pepsi connection or lack thereof. With the end of the Pepsi partnership for the NFL’s big halftime show, that could easily open the door for Swift, who had joined Coca-Cola instead of Pepsi, a contract that made her a bad fit for a show sponsored by Pepsi.
Swift is also set for a major concert tour, and the halftime show has often been a precursor to an artist’s next tour.
Taylor Swift attends ‘In Conversation With… Taylor Swift’ during the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 09, 2022, in Toronto, Ontario. (Amy Sussman/Getty…