LOS ANGELES (WCMH) — Blacklick’s Audrey Wily said her phone has been going nonstop with messages of support after she was front and center Sunday at the biggest show on TV, Super Bowl LVI’s halftime performance.
Wily was the featured dancer for 50 Cent’s surprise performance of his first-ever song and number one hit “In da Club.”
“It sunk in as I was walking onto the field,” Wily said. “And I’m like, ‘Woah, this is happening!’ I blacked out completely. I honestly couldn’t tell you what I was thinking while dancing. It sunk in more afterward … and then I cried for 20 minutes because it was so overwhelming.”
Legendary choreographer Fatima Robinson shaped 50 Cent’s segment of the show to showcase Wily.
US rapper Curtis “50 cent” Jackson performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on February 13, 2022. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images) 
US rapper Curtis “50 cent” Jackson performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on February 13, 2022. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images) 
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: 50 Cent performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) 
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: 50 Cent performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) 
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: 50 Cent performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) 
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: 50 Cent performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) 
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: 50 Cent performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) 
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: 50 Cent performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
“Because it was my first time working with her, I was thinking, ‘We’re going to get into rehearsals, I’ll probably be in the back somewhere, have the least amount of rehearsal time, I’ll be good. As long as I just get to be in the Super Bowl, I’m not trippin’,'” Wily said.
But that’s not what happened.
“[Fatima said,] ‘Audrey will you freestyle for me?'”
“All of my dance training just goes out of my brain, and I just start twerking. And she’s like, ‘Yes, we’re going to keep that,'” Wily said. “I was not expecting at all for me to have that featured part. … I’m just so grateful.”
About the rest of the halftime show performers, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and Snoop Dogg, Wily said, “They’re all so cool.”
Before moving to Los Angeles to pursue professional dance after graduating from Licking Heights High School, Wily trained at Pinnell Dance Centre in Gahanna.
She is thrilled by all of the messages from people in central Ohio after the show.
Just show up. Continue to do the hard work. Continue to make sure that your heart is in the right place always. And take your time. I was out here for a whole five years before I booked anything like this. Be yourself, just be yourself.
Audrey Wily’s message to young dancers who want to be professionals
You can watch the full interview with Audrey Wily in the video player below.
