Photo Credit: Miley Cyrus / Instagram
Following a leak from Apple Music implying that Miley Cyrus would be the next Super Bowl halftime headliner—Miley has fun on social media with the rumors.
This week, Apple Music appeared to leak a hint about the upcoming Super Bowl LXI halftime headliner with a since-deleted Instagram post featuring a silhouette of a female singer. Many speculated that this was Miley Cyrus—and now, Cyrus appears to have confirmed the rumors. The “Party in the USA” singer teased an upcoming performance with her own Instagram post, writing, “Bowl rehearsals. See you soon.” But those references could be about her upcoming Hollywood Bowl performances on October 16 and 18.
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has been in charge of booking the NFL’s performers for years now, with recent headliners including Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, Usher, and Rihanna. The upcoming Super Bowl, set to kick off in February 2027, will potentially feature the 33-year-old Cyrus, a Disney Channel legend with a history of chart-topping hits, including “Flowers” and “Wrecking Ball.”
Bad Bunny’s headlining spot in 2026 smashed social media and viewership records alike, drawing over 128 million viewers and making it the fourth-most watched halftime program in Super Bowl history. Miley Cyrus is certainly a household name and a big enough star to draw a major television audience—though she’s still unconfirmed for the honor, despite her post seemingly confirming the rumors.
Miley would be a smart pick. Aside from her obvious fame, the singer-songwriter is the goddaughter of beloved artist and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who passed away in August after a battle with cancer. Using a Miley Cyrus headlining spot to launch a major Dolly tribute at the upcoming Super Bowl could be an interesting move for the NFL. Dolly Parton never headlined a Super Bowl performance, but she did headline a halftime show in 2023 on Thanksgiving Day.
Rumors of Cyrus’ halftime performance swirl at an interesting time for the singer, whose latest album, Bass Persuades, plunged from the top spot to #157 on the Billboard 200 in only its second week. That marks the biggest drop from #1 by a female artist in chart history.
The album originally surprised audiences by debuting at #1 on September 28 and sold around 61,000 total album units across physical sales and streaming. The massive chart slip broke an unfortunate record previously set by Celine Dion’s Courage, which sharply dropped from #1 to #111 in 2019. That number surpassed Madonna’s Madame X, which sharply fell from #1 to #77 just a few weeks prior.