At this point, we all know Kendrick Lamar killed the game during his Super Bowl halftime performance in 2025. The stats say it all! Kendrick’s halftime show is the most viewed in all of American history.
Yep. Kendrick Lamar’s show got more attention than Justin Timberlake’s and Janet Jackson’s! His performance was so successful because it was filled with profound messages about political corruption in the United States.
It’s clear Kendrick created a lineup of songs that perfectly fit the narrative of the story he wanted to tell. Still, there are a handful of iconic songs from Kendrick’s discography that some of his diehard fans wished they could’ve heard during his performance.
“Swimming Pools”
“Swimming Pools” was Kendrick’s first-ever big hit. He completely skipped it, even though it put him on the map as a rapper. The song was released in 2012, forcing the hip-hop community to instantly put respect on Kendrick’s name.
Since its upload 11 years ago, the music video has accrued 229 million views. The song touches on the heavy topics of peer pressure and alcoholism, but it doesn’t necessarily align with Kendrick’s political stance during the Super Bowl.
“Bad Blood”
Plenty of Swifties hoped Kendrick would surprise everyone by bringing Taylor Swift out on stage with him to perform their collaboration “Bad Blood.” The remixed version of Taylor’s banger came out in 2015. The music video has 1.6 billion views since it was uploaded nine years ago.
Everyone knew Taylor would be in attendance at the Super Bowl to support Travis Kelce, and because of that, some fans were hopeful Taylor would join Kendrick on stage as a surprise. However, that did not happen. “Bad Blood” is an undeniably great track, but it didn’t exactly fit his message for the show.
“Love”
Plenty of music lovers adore a well-written and romantic love song. That’s especially true when we think of the most lovey-dovey song Kendrick has ever released! “Love” is a beautiful ballad-like anthem with over 1.5 billion Spotify streams. So, why was that left out?
Well, the song’s theme didn’t necessarily align with the story Kendrick aimed to tell during his Super Bowl halftime show. As a reminder, Zacari is the singer featured on the track. It will forever be one of the sweetest songs a couple can listen to together during a cuddle session.
“Loyalty”
Another surprise musical guest fans expected to see was Rihanna. That’s because Kendrick and RihRih collaborated on a song called “Loyalty” together in 2017. The song currently has 243 million views on YouTube.
Rihanna confidently dominated the stage during her own halftime show just a couple of years ago, which is why plenty of people thought she might be incorporated into Kendrick’s show this time, too. It would’ve been interesting seeing Rihanna on stage with Kendrick, knowing she’s one of Drake’s rumored ex-girlfriends — and Kendrick is currently beefing with Drake hard!
“Alright”
One of the most shocking songs Kendrick left out of his Super Bowl halftime show is “Alright.” This song profoundly honors the Black Lives Matter movement, which is in keeping with his show’s overall message and theme.
Several diehard fans of Kendrick can agree that since the deeper meaning of “Alright” is so powerfully relevant, it should NOT have been skipped! But we all have to remember something. Kendrick’s time performing on stage was limited to less than 15 minutes. He had to pick and choose certain tracks to ensure his set list fit inside the allotted timeslot.
“m.A.A.d City”
True fans of Kendrick understand the attention-grabbing impact of “m.A.A.d city.” It’s arguably one of Kendrick’s biggest hits, with the catchiest intro almost everyone automatically knows as soon as the song starts playing.
Kendrick dropped the song in 2012, and it was a defining moment in the hip-hop world. Many fans were disappointed it wasn’t included during his Super Bowl halftime show. The song came from Kendrick’s sophomore album, Good Kid, m.A.A.d City. Even though it wasn’t included during his performance, the respect fans have for it will never dwindle.
“B, Don’t Kill My Vibe”
The energy of a song like “B, Don’t Kill My Vibe” will forever remain unmatched. It came out in 2012 with lyrics genuine hip-hop fans love rapping along to. It was expected to be the perfect closer for his performance, but it was skipped altogether.
Since the vibe of this song is super nonchalant, chill, and relaxed, it makes sense that Kendrick wouldn’t include it during his Super Bowl halftime show. Still, some of his fans are slightly bummed that not even one chorus from “B, Don’t Kill My Vibe” was added to the mix.
Overall, it’s obvious Kendrick knew exactly what he was doing with his Super Bowl show. As an artist and storyteller, he made final decisions about what he wanted the world to see, hear, and absorb from him. Despite missing some of these legendary tracks, most fans agree that Kendrick did not miss the mark.
