ATLANTA — Seven-time Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum artist Kendrick Lamar will be the musical performer for the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship halftime performance from Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park on Jan. 8.
Live from @centennial_park during halftime of #nationalchampionship @kendricklamar! https://t.co/jfHOZ45SWp
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 19, 2017
The special performance is a free, non-ticketed event in the park just outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the game will be played. Lamar’s performance will be integrated into halftime of ESPN’s telecast of the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T.
According to ESPN, the Top Dawg Entertainment artist will perform a collection of his greatest hits, including songs from his latest album "DAMN." The album recently received seven Grammy Award nominations, bringing his total number of career nominations to 29.
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His fourth studio album, Lamar's "DAMN" won Favorite Hip-Hop Album at the 2017 American Music Awards and was recently named the Best Album of 2017 by Rolling Stone. The album sold 603,300 copies in its first week, the largest first week of Lamar's career and any other release this year. The album shot directly to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for four consecutive weeks. NPR named the release its Album of the Year, and Rolling Stone declared Lamar to be “the greatest rapper alive.”
Lamar was also honored as 2017 Hitmaker of the Year at Variety’s inaugural Hitmakers event.
Lamar said he was truly grateful for the opportunity to perform.
“Having the opportunity to perform at halftime of what will surely be the best game of the year between two deserving universities is truly an honor,” Lamar said. “Thank you, ESPN, for having me be the first halftime performer ever at the College Football Playoff National Championship.”
Lamar’s special halftime performance is the latest in the ongoing collaboration between ESPN and Interscope Records, which is in its third consecutive year.
“In each year of the College Football Playoff, we’ve been able to build upon the experience of the last,” said Ed Erhardt, president, ESPN global sales & marketing. “This year is a true first for college football and it makes sense that the hottest performer of the moment, Kendrick Lamar, would usher in this new era for the national championship game.”
The CFP National Championship kicks off Jan. 8 at 8 p.m.
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