(WSNN) – A University of South Florida Alum returns to his home turf to perform at one of the biggest stages in the world; the Super Bowl half-time show.
Millions of eyes were on the Super Bowl half-time show with the star performer, The Weekend. And USF Alum, Henry Burrows, is still revealing in this dream come true.
“I loved it! The last time I was on that field was the homecoming game when I was the Homecoming King for USF; so it was 2018,” Burrows said. “So, stepping back felt kind of like coming home.”
He’s been a performer his whole life, so when the opportunity came to be in the half-time show, he took it.
“A USF alum heard about it from a current USF employee and she sent me the application and she was like, ‘This sounds like something you’d be interested in,’ and I was interested, and so then I just applied and the next day I got the email saying I was cast.”
Burrows applied on January 29th and then took off with rehearsals; quick turnaround.
“The next week, we practiced Tuesday, Wednesday for seven hours each, and then that was it,” Burrows said. “Sunday, we met at 2 pm and rehearsed and stuff and got ready. And then they bussed us in, we performed, and then they bussed us out.”
Many safety measures were put in place, from masks in rehearsals to getting a COVID test every 48-hours. Plus, top-notch security.
“They have a specific tape that goes over the front and back of your camera,” Burrows said. “So they put that on at the beginning of all rehearsals so that no media leakage got out. The videos they sent for choreography had no sound, so the set list couldn’t get out.”
During the “Blinding Lights” performance, he was around the 40-yard line. All the 250-plus dancers wore masks and bandages wrapped around their heads meant to send a message.
“It’s a very cohesive story I’ve been telling throughout this era and throughout this year,” The Weekend said in a press conference before his Sunday performance.
“I think the message is that being you is okay, and you shouldn’t have to change yourself to fit society standards,” Burrows said.
Burrows says seeing celebrities was an extra bonus to this fantasy fulfilled.
“I was close to him multiple times, like just a couple yards away. And he’s just really chill,” Burrows said. “And so like a couple of times, he was like thank you all for being here, thank you for volunteering your time and energy and everything. So, he’s really nice.”