The Marching Cardinals of Jonesboro High School made history for their school as they were featured in the Super Bowl 2024 Halftime show commercial (Matthew Pearson/WABE).
The Atlanta Falcons will not see Super Bowl LVIII this year, but the city will have a presence as the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs face off.
This year’s Super Bowl halftime show headliner, Usher, was tasked with choosing various talents to represent Atlanta’s marching band culture in an Apple promotional video for his performance.
A church choir, viral online videos and the Jonesboro Marching Cardinals are featured in the promotional ad as they accompany Usher’s 2004 hit song “Yeah.”
Kimora Davis, a Jonesboro High student and band member, believes the band is a true representation of Atlanta.
“That Atlanta hype we bring is the energy, the funk, the style, the swag,” Davis said. “The MMC [Majestic Marching Cardinals] is always known for the energy that we bring. That’s why most people come to us for the energy, we’re known to raise the roof, we’re known to set the bar.”
The band received a call about their selection in the commercial just after the recent Christmas holiday. According to the band’s director, Lynel Goodwin, the students had limited preparation for filming.
“We’re not your average high school band organization. So I’m not going to say we’re used to it because I don’t think anybody’s used to two days, but we’re built for it. I’ll say that,” Goodwin said.
Jonesboro High band director Lynel Goodwin (center) surrounded by his students (Matthew Pearson/WABE).
When it came time for Goodwin and his team to come up with a strategy for creating a show routine, it came down to skill and discipline. Students like Serenity Hudson say they felt the pressure.
“Most colleges don’t even get this opportunity. Nobody understands how much we work … we always here like on breaks and everything like that,” Hudson said.
The Jonesboro High Marching Cardinals were also landed a spot in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The band was given $10,000 to fund the endeavor (Matthew Pearson/WABE).
The commercial first aired nationally earlier this month and was shared across several platforms, including Usher’s social media.
The Jonesboro High Marching Cardinals also landed a spot in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade just prior to their commercial cameo.
