Rihanna is set to take centre stage on Sunday (12 February) at the Super Bowl 2023 halftime show. The highly anticipated concert will be the singer’s first performance in seven years.
The singer has admitted that she forgot about her own birthday because of how focused she has been preparing for the forthcoming show.
The “Work” singer will celebrate her 35th birthday on 20 February. She has been so busy with her preparations for the concert, however, that the milestone slipped her mind.
The halftime show – which will take place at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona – will be headlined by Rihanna in what is anticipated to be an iconic performance following Rihanna’s nearly decade-long break from live shows.
“Sunday, now that’s the one. I’ve been so focused on the Super Bowl I totally forgot that my birthday’s coming up,” she told Apple Music in an interview released on Friday (10 February).
“I totally forgot about Valentine’s Day,” she added.
The “Umbrella” singer has been dating rapper A$AP Rocky since 2020. The couple share a son, who was born in May 2022. This Tuesday (14 February) will be the first Valentine’s Day that the pair celebrate as parents.
Elsewhere in the interview, Rihanna revealed that she struggled to condense her entire discography, made over her 17 year career, into just 13 minutes.
“That was the hardest, hardest part,” she said of the setlist.
She explained: “It’s gonna be a celebration of my catalogue in the best way that we could’ve put it together.”
Discussing her return to live performing, the “Pon de Replay” singer said that the experience of pregnancy and childbirth have affected her stamina as a live performer.
“The physical challenge has definitely been immense for many reasons, of course. I haven’t done this in a minute. You’re just running around for 13 minutes,” she said.
After revealing that she has already been through “at least 39 versions” of the setlist, the final plans have been put into place for the show this weekend.
The musician will be following in the footsteps of solo women artists to take to perform at the iconic halftime show, including Madonna, Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.
Read everything Rihanna has said about motherhood ahead of her halftime performance here.
