Posted in: Fox, NFL, Sports, Super Bowl, TV | Tagged: kendrick lamar, super bowl lix

Super Bowl LIX Final Ratings Even Bigger Boost for FOX, Kendrick Lamar

We've got some final Nielsen numbers to pass along regarding how many people watched FOX's Super Bowl LIX and Kendrick Lamar's halftime show.

On Monday, FOX released early projections on how well the NFL's Super Bowl LIX (where the Philadelphia Eagles slapped the taste of the mouths of the Kansas City Chiefs) did – projections that saw the broadcast setting some new records. Well, it turns out FOX was wrong – in a good way. With finalized data having come in from Nielsen, the total number of average viewers was 127.7 million across all platforms – more than 1.5 million more viewers than was originally projected (an increase of 3% over 2024's 123.7 million viewers). And for all of the Kendrick Lamar haters out there, we are more than happy to pass along some stats that will ruin your day. The 2025 Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show scored 133.5 million viewers, which is not only a 3% improvement on the 129.3 million viewers who checked out Usher's halftime show in 2024 but also an all-time high. As for that 8-8:15 pm ET peak during the second quarter, the final number is 137.7 million viewers (an increase of 2 million viewers from initial projections).

Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show: Kendrick Lamar Delivers

Joined by SZA and kicking things off with Samuel L. Jackson as an "Uncle Sam" who continually lectured Lamar on confirming and playing the fame, that was the last thing we got from the artist. Over the course of the approximately 13-minute lyrical onslaught, viewers were treated to a storytelling approach to hits like "squabble up," "HUMBLE.," "GNX," and "tv off," and more – and was joined by SZA "luther" and "All the Stars." But the big question of the night was if we would hear "Not Like Us" in light of Drake threatening legal action. "I want to play their favorite song, but you know they love to sue," Lamar says at one point – only to be joined by DJ Mustard for a searing rendition of the diss track that had the stadium intoxicated.

Here's a look at Jackson's "Uncle Sam" introducing Lamar at the start of the halftime show, followed by some highlights (we'll add the full video if/when it goes live):

Yes, that was an appearance by the amazing Serena Williams (IYKYK), followed by a message from Williams:

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