Desiree Perez Nominated for Second Emmy Award for Producing 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show

Desiree Perez
3 min readSep 2, 2021

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Desiree Perez, chief executive officer and a founder of Roc Nation, has been nominated for a second Emmy Award in 2021.

Perez served as executive producer for the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd. The nomination is in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category.

The Super Bowl halftime show is always a must-watch event designed to entertain football fans and those tuned in for the big game. The program was nominated for two other Emmys, Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Special and Outstanding Lighting Design or Lighting Direction for a Variety Special.

The halftime show, produced by Perez’s Roc Nation, featured Canadian superstar The Weeknd at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. His set featured some of the recording star’s most popular songs, including Can’t Feel My Face, Blinding Lights, Earned It, and Starboy. Unlike with previous halftime shows, the 2021 edition highlighted The Weeknd exclusively, with no guest performers.

The extravaganza features a stage in the stands, massive light displays, a Las Vegas cityscape, a full orchestra, backup dancers, and a fireworks display at the conclusion. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only 25,000 attendees in the stadium that can typically hold 70,000.

The Primetime Emmys air on Sunday, September 19, on CBS. Other nominees in the category include the telecasts for the Oscars and the Grammy Awards, Stephen Colbert’s election night special on Showtime, and an inauguration night special broadcast on multiple platforms.

A Second Emmy Nomination for Perez

For Desiree Perez, the 2021 nomination is her second for the Emmys. She was previously nominated in 2015 in the Outstanding Special Class Program for Beyoncé and Jay-Z On the Run on HBO.

That special documented two shows performed during the On the Run tour at Stade de France in Paris on September 13 and 14, 2014. It was broadcast on HBO just six days later, on September 20.

Desiree Perez organized and was executive producer for the tour, which featured the two married music icons. The co-headlining tour was conceived and launched quickly. While many stadium tours take a year to plan, On the Run was developed in about a month.

Originally, the tour consisted of 16 dates in North America. Due to high ticket sales, with concerts selling out in minutes after being announced, three additional North American dates were added, along with the two European dates.

For the Paris concerts, rapper Nicki Minaj joined Beyoncé on stage both nights.

Desiree Perez as Producer

Desiree Perez has been an exceptional producer throughout her career. She began as a New York nightclub manager, which is where she met Jay-Z. As the chief operating officer for Roc Nation for 12 years before being named CEO, Perez has helped develop the company’s vast array of entertainment offerings.

Perez has regularly taken a lead role in producing some of the industry’s most popular and lucrative shows, concerts, and events. She has led the development and growth of the Made in America music festival, which returns Labor Day weekend in 2021 after having to be canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The 2021 Made in America festival features Justin Bieber and Lil Baby as headliners and features an eclectic mix of stars in hip hop, pop, rock, and electronic music. The event is held at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.

For her groundbreaking work and leadership, Perez was named Executive of the Year in 2019 by Billboard magazine at its Women in Music awards ceremony.

Originally published at https://www.enstarz.com on September 2, 2021.

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Desiree Perez
Desiree Perez

Written by Desiree Perez

Desiree Perez is a music industry executive with decades of experience in the business, and currently serves as CEO of Roc Nation.

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