Ne-Yo: “Chris Brown Deserves the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2026” & I Should Headline After Him

Mary J. Blige isn’t the only superstar on the ‘For My Fans Tour‘ looking to headline a future Super Bowl Halftime Show; just ask Ne-Yo!

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While hot on the promo trail for the ‘Fans Tour’ as well as his own musical efforts, Ne-Yo (born Shaffer Smith) dropped by a recent episode of ‘Big Boy TV’ to dish on everything from his professional happenings to the ongoing social media chatter around his polyamorous relationship.

As Big Boy praised Smith’s massive catalog of hits (referring to the singer-songwriter as “Super Bowl worthy”), the ‘Closer‘ singer responded to the compliment by suggesting Chris Brown should be closer to headlining a halftime show than he is.

“With zero ego I say this, I feel like Chris [Brown] should get the next one definitely. Then, I’ll go after Chris,” Ne-Yo said before relaying, “Chris deserves that now!”

Smith’s sentiment echoes one delivered earlier this month by hitmaking rapper Tyga who argued Brown should co-headline the spectacle with Ciara.

While it’s already been announced that Super Bowl LX is slated for Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026, the headliner of its halftime show likely won’t be revealed until Fall 2025.

At writing, Chris has not publicly responded to calls for him to rock the big game with his brigade of hits; instead, he’s launching his own global jaunt – ‘Breezy Bowl‘ – which is set to kick off later this year.

[photo source: Jillian Sollazzo for WWD]