Ayra Starr's NFL Halftime Show Is Still Getting Fans Talking

Ayra Starr's halftime show at the NFL London game was weeks ago, and her fans haven't moved on. Clips are still going around online.

HipTV reported that she took Afrobeats to the NFL and made history in London, and the facts back that up. On Sunday 11 October she performed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the Eagles vs Jaguars game, on a stage put up at midfield. Her set ran a few minutes, which is all halftime gives anyone. According to BusinessDay, she started with "Heaven Baby" and went on to "Santa", "Hot Body", "Rush" and "Dangerous". Yen puts the crowd at 61,322. Her third album, Starrgirl, only came out in August, so the timing was good for her.

The first for an African act

No African artist had headlined an NFL International Games halftime show before her, Channels TV says. Last year the London slot went to RAYE and Giggs, per Complex, so an Afrobeats act is a change. The game was shown live on Channel 5 and Sky Sports, so anyone who only tuned in for the football got her set too.

For African pop, the interesting part is where this happened. It was a sports broadcast, not a festival or a concert, and the audience was there for something else.

What fans said online

Legit.ng collected fan comments on the performance video. Most were short messages of pride. @hisnameayo wrote, "Super Bowl we need her on that stage next." @gracecharisbassey said, "She is who she says she is," and a couple of others called her a celestial being. One said the clip still gives them goosebumps.

Before the show, she told Complex she was nervous but excited, mostly because it was London. She posted about the milestone on her official X account too, per Galaxy TV. Afterwards she said it felt like "another person on stage", TheGrio reports.