Rihanna will be returning to the stage in style later this year, as she is set to headline next year's Super Bowl.
The mum-of-one took to her Twitter account this evening [September 25] to tease fans about her long-awaited musical comeback - posted a picture of her tatttooed hand holding an NFL football and seemingly confirming the rumours are true.
NFL shared the same image to their own Twitter page, captioning their tweet: "Let’s GO - @rihanna @rocnation #SBLVII @AppleMusic @NFLonFOX."
Fans have already gone wild with excitement about Rihanna's upcoming return to the world of music, after waiting for the singer's latest album for several years now.
Confirmation that the Umbrella singer will be headlining the iconic half-time show later this year comes after it was reported that Taylor Swift turned down the chance to follow in the footsteps of Beyonce, Coldplay and Katy Perry and perform during the sports event too.
In 2020, Rihanna also turned down the chance to perform at the Super Bowl, due to her opposition to the way Colin Kaepernick was treated by the NFL.
The former San Francisco 49er refused to stand for the American national anthem at the beginning of games to protest police brutality and racial inequality across the country.
Discussing her decision to pass up the opportunity at the time, the Rude Boy singer told Vogue: "I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people.'
"I just couldn’t be a sellout," she added, "I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way."
Rihanna - who welcomed her first child into the world with A$AP Rocky in May - is now set to headline the extravaganza for the 57th matchup at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in February 2023.
In a statement shared shortly after the tweets, the NFL confirmed the popstar and businesswoman will finally become a Super Bowl performer next year.
Seth Dudowsky, NFL head of music, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show stage.
"Rihanna is a once in a generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career. We look forward to collaborating with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another historic Halftime Show performance."
Jay-Z, founder of Roc Nation, added: "Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn. A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment."
As the news broke on Twitter, fans went wild at the thought of Rihanna returning to her musical roots, after years of the billionaire businesswoman focusing on her beauty and fashion ventures.
Fellow singer Lizzo responded: “Screaming” while rapper Nadia Rose wrote: “LET’S GOOOOOO RIRI!!!!!!” followed by an American football and a goat emoji.
Some fans have taken the news of the star's upcoming performance as a sign her long-awaited ninth studio album - after not releasing any new solo music since her last album, ANTI, dominated the charts way back in 2016.
In her May 2022 Vogue cover interview, the Barbados-born star revealed she's looking at her new album "completely differently from the way I had wanted to put it out before."
"I think this way suits me better, a lot better. It’s authentic, it’ll be fun for me, and it takes a lot of the pressure off," she told the publication.
In May this year, Rihanna and her long-term partner A$AP Rocky welcomed their first child into the world together, a baby boy.
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