“He’s gonna play the Super Bowl. I’ll go ahead and give you that — in the future,” said Usher of Bieber not appearing during his performance on Sunday

Justin Bieber; Usher. Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation

Usher is opening up about Justin Bieber not joining him on stage for the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show.

After many fans hoped Bieber would pop up during the R&B icon’s performance at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, Usher gave an interview to The Breakfast Club about why the “Love Yourself” musician, 29, wasn’t able to join him for the big moment.

“I honor and recognize that my brother, you know, he — I think that it might’ve been the fact that he’s just wanting to tell a different story right now, and I understand that,” Usher, 45, told the radio show. “But we did have a brief conversation, and we’re gonna do something else in the future. No love lost or anything like that.”

The Grammy-winning superstar explained that a “lot of pressure” comes along with performing on a stage as big as the Super Bowl, noting that he “reached out to everybody” to join him.

“Justin wasn’t the only person that I actually spoke to about doing the Super Bowl, but the moment was maybe for later,” said Usher. “He’s gonna play the Super Bowl. I’ll go ahead and give you that — in the future. I profess that over his life. It’s time, because he has a career that deserves it. But it just didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to.”

Earlier this week, Lil Jon — who joined Usher for “Turn Down for What” and “Yeah!” during the halftime show — explained that Bieber “wasn’t really ready” to hop on stage in an interview with TMZ Live.

Lil Jon, Usher, Justin Bieber. FilmMagic for Sports Illustrated, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

“We wanted to put Justin in the show, so we had the idea of doing a version of the show with Justin in it,” said Lil Jon. “But I think Justin just wasn’t really ready. That’s a lot of rehearsal, a lot of responsibility, a lot of time and a lot of eyeballs. I don’t know if he was ready to do all of that, you know?”

“I mean, he definitely was there supporting Ush,” Lil Jon added of Bieber, 29, who watched the game with wife Hailey in a suite at Allegiant Stadium. “They’re really good friends, and he definitely was supporting him regardless.”

The Grammy winner said Bieber “was thinking about” performing in the show, which also featured Ludacris, Alicia Keys, will.i.am, Jermaine Dupri and H.E.R., but ultimately did not attend rehearsals. “I don’t know if he was ready to have that undertaking,” he added.

Usher in Las Vegas on Feb. 8, 2024. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Following Usher’s halftime show, Bieber posted to Instagram on Monday and congratulated the R&B superstar, 45, with whom he’s collaborated on 2009’s “First Dance” and 2010’s “Somebody to Love (Remix).”

“LOVE YOU MY BROTHER,” Bieber began the sweet message.

He went on to praise the Grammy winner’s 13-minute performance, which featured impressive choreography and a setlist full of hits like “Caught Up,” “Love in This Club,” “OMG” and “Yeah!,” among other songs.

“NOONE CAN SING AND DANCE THE WAY YOU DO,” Bieber wrote. “LOVE YOU FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY HEART.”

Usher performs during the Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024.Ethan Miller/Getty

“BROUGHT THE ‘A’ TO THE WORLD,” the Justice artist added, referring to Usher’s Atlanta hometown and how he repeated, “I took the world to the A,” at the end of his performance.

Bieber concluded, “ONLY YOU BABYYYYYY 😘.”

Usher wowed the stadium and viewers at home with his halftime show performance. The set began with early hits and went on to encapsulate the energy of his recent, acclaimed My Way Las Vegas residency, as he was joined by a legion of Sin City-themed showgirls and even performed choreography on roller skates.