How Usher, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift Build Their Own Legacies

At this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, Usher Raymond sang through decades of hits while twirling on roller skates, making a case for himself as one of the great R. & B. artists of our time. The performance illuminates a key aspect of modern pop stardom: the fashioning of one’s legacy in real time. In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss how musicians’ images take shape independent of their music. They consider “Bob Marley: One Love,” a new bio-pic made with the support of the Marley estate that deliberately smooths the rough edges of the singer’s life. Today’s performers take a more active role in their own reputation management, using high-profile appearances to stake a claim or reinforce their persona. At this year’s Grammy Awards, the question of legacy came to the fore when Jay-Z took issue with the fact that his wife, Beyoncé, has never won the coveted Album of the Year award. But the most indelible moments from the ceremony involved songs from decades prior—a reminder that the music itself is often more enduring than any formal accolade. “Rather than legacy in corporate terms or in institutional terms,” says Fry, there’s also “the legacy of the heart.”

Read, watch, and listen with the critics:

“Bob Marley: One Love” (2024)

“Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell, as performed at the 2024 Grammys 

“If I Ain't Got You” by Alicia Keys

Luke Combs’s cover of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman

Twins react to “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins

“Walk the Line” (2005)

“You Make Me Wanna . . .” by Usher

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