Rihanna has joined a prestigious list of music’s biggest names as she took the stage for the Apple Music Halftime Show at Super Bowl LVII.
The singer put on a showstopping performance State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, , as the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles, in a game that saw the Chiefs crowned champions.
The halftime show marked the first time Rihanna has performed since the 2018 Grammy Awards. Understandably, the performance was highly anticipated, with stars including Adele and rapper Cardi B joining the crowd in the packed-out stadium to watch.
Rihanna played a setlist that was packed with hits from her seventeen-year career, including We Found Love, Umbrella, and a big Diamonds finale.
The halftime performance also revealed that the singer is expecting her second child with her boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky.
Here are the biggest moments of the Rihanna’s halftime show:
Adele proves she’s just like us in viral image
adele is just like us. here for rihanna nothing more pic.twitter.com/Pz3y9vJljg
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 12, 2023
British singer Adele was pictured at the State Farm Stadium, doing as we all were – waiting for the Rihanna concert that was being interrupted by two parts of an NFL football game.
The star did her best to look interested in a pair of oversized tinted sunglasses during the first half of the game, but nobody was fooled – like us, she was patiently waiting for Rihanna to come on stage.
Rihanna’s special guest
rihanna opening the show with ‘bitch better have my money’ 🔥 #superbowl pic.twitter.com/xsvtNVxIRq
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 13, 2023
In an interview with CBS Sports, Rihanna had previously mentioned bringing out a surprise guest for her performance – fuelling speculation that the likes of Jay-Z and Eminem could be joining her highly anticipated show.
She said: “I’m thinking about bringing someone, I’m not sure. We’ll see.”
However, as the singer appeared on a floating platform at the start of her set, adorned in a bold red jumpsuit that exposed her stomach, it quickly became clear exactly who the surprise guest was.
With a rub of the belly, Rihanna seemingly confirmed her pregnancy in iconic style, while belting out her hit Bitch Better Have My Money, sending the internet into a frenzy (a representative has since confirmed that she’s expecting).
Referencing every hit that wouldn’t fit
Rihanna’s seventeen-year career means she’s accumulated hits in the bucketload – thirteen minutes would never be enough time to showcase all the tracks the public would like to hear. The We Found Love hitmaker was all too aware of this, calling the setlist the biggest challenge of the halftime preparations.
“That was the hardest, hardest part. Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes, but also celebrate. And that’s what this show’s going to be; a celebration,” she said while speaking to Apple Music Radio’s Nadeska Alexis.
Rihanna managed to find a way around the issues eventually – managing to give a nod to tracks she couldn’t perform entirely, in the form of short instrumental breaks, including – S&M, Cockiness (I Love It), What’s My Name and Kiss It Better.
Rude Boy choreography
MEU DEUS A RIHANNA METEU UM FUNK EM RUDE BOY. #SuperBowl #Rihanna pic.twitter.com/XAtVPqQ6HL
— UpdateCharts (@updatecharts) February 13, 2023
With a catalogue of hits as extensive as Rihanna’s, it’s difficult to imagine a setlist that could please everyone. However, one of the most anticipated songs fans expected to hear the singer play was her track Rude Boy.
Fans would get their wish, but with an additional twist. Rihanna played a reworked Latin funk version of the track, with her and her dancers breaking into finely tuned choreography, that at one point saw the star grabbing her own buttocks.
Fenty Beauty touch up mid-performance
Everyone : Rihanna rihanna…
— 乃 (@iamkingb__) February 13, 2023
Meanwhile riri : showing Fenty halfway through her halftime she’s funny that’s why we love her & she never forget her business,, #Rihanna #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/ToxVhHJTin
While Rihanna is one of the biggest music artists of all time, she’s also a successful businesswoman – her net worth is reported at $1.4 billion, with cosmetics empire Fenty Beauty being just one of her incredibly successful ventures. One of the factors that allows Rihanna to do so well in business, is that she manages to maintain her cool factor, even when marketing.
So, trust Ms Fenty, mid-performance, during her fan-favourite track All of The Lights, to touch up her makeup with her own brand, in front of millions of viewers, in a nod to Twitter jokes about her making the show into a Fenty ad.
The effortlessly cool move was funny, smart and financially savvy – the NFL has been known to charge as much as seven figure sums for a thirty second ad-break during the broadcast. Naturally, the clip has gone viral on social media.
Pour It Up medley
rihanna - pour it up (live at SuperBowl) pic.twitter.com/it3okmiSEY
— rihanna videos (@videosrih) February 13, 2023
For those who aren’t hardcore Rihanna fans, her track Pour It Up from her Unapologetic album is not an instantly recognisable one. However, the bass-heavy strip club anthem has long been a favourite of her loyal base.
She performed the track to screeching cheers from fans, who were delighted to hear it as part of the setlist. The star then broke into heavy choreography, which was mixed with the instrumental of her track Pose, from 2016 album ANTI.
Diamonds — in the sky
rihanna’s performance of ‘diamonds’ was amazing pic.twitter.com/Rddfp6scrd
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 13, 2023
Rihanna ended her visually stunning halftime performance with a powerful performance of her number one hit Diamonds, while being lifted on the vertiginous floating platform on which she started her performance.
With the backdrop of a stadium lit up with camera flashes, the singer dazzled as she belted out her ballad, while rubbing her stomach, in a move that made the later confirmation by her representatives more or less redundant.
The song was a fitting end to a high-octane setlist that was packed with Rihanna’s radio friendly hits and upbeat records.
Here’s a list of all the tracks Rihanna performed:
1. Better Have My Money
2. Where Have You Been?
3. Only Girl (In The World)
4. We Found Love
5. Rude Boy
6. Work
7. Wild Thoughts
8. Birthday Cake (instrumental) / Pour It Up
9. All of the Lights
10. Run This Town
11. Umbrella
12. Diamonds
