By Sofia Palomino and Kevin Perez
The world stopped for fifteen minutes when Rihanna took the stage in Arizona on Sunday. The nine time Grammy award winner and the world’s wealthiest female musician performed at the Super Bowl 57 halftime show for her first live performance in five years, and she left everybody with moments to remember.
The Barbados born artist opened up with a strong classic “B*tch Better Have My Money” while dangling 67 feet up in the air from a platform. She brought the energy from the start with flashing lights and her diverse music style.
She then transitioned to “Where Have You Been”, a question many fans have posed to her, but her return sparked even more talk.
The full setlist was packed with some of her biggest songs from throughout her eight studio albums including: “B*tch Better Have My Money”, “Where Have You Been”, “Only Girl (In the World)”, “We Found Love”, “Rude Boy”, “Work”, “Wild Thoughts”, “Pour it Up”, “All Of The Lights”, “Run This Town”, “Umbrella”, and “Diamonds.”
In Apple Music’s Super Bowl Halftime Show press release prior to the big game, Rihanna had teased a surprise guest for the performance. She revealed the guest star on the world’s biggest stage. As the camera panned out from her in the air, the performance opened and she rubbed her belly. Then in the closing performance, she did it again while singing “Diamonds.” After the performance, one of Rihanna’s representatives confirmed to Hollywood Reporter that she is pregnant with her second child with A$AP Rocky. The pair recently had their first child last May.
While her pregnancy limited her mobility, Rihanna delivered one of the most tightly choreographed performances in history. There were over 200 dancers wearing white puffy coats and pants that complemented the superstar’s bold monochromatic outfit, matching the red lighting of the stage.
From the aerial platform to the elongated strip across the field, the “Work” artist smoothly maneuvered her way through the stage while showing her talent through her vast vocals. Although her choreography was not as extravagant as before, she was still able to show her flow through simplistic yet stunning and groovy moves that perfectly paired with her RnB and pop music.
One of the electrifying parts of the performance was during the song “Rude Boy”, which was actually a baile remix by a young Brazilian, DJ Klean. He created the EMD and baile funk fusion remix back in 2020, releasing it through SoundCloud and YouTube. Three years later Rihanna added it to her perfectly curracted set list and acknowledged an upcoming artist in one of the most watched events.
She brought Klean’s remix to add a unique touch to her performance and gave the opportunity to a SoundCloud user to be heard on a mainstream platform.
The iconic pop star even took time to promote her brand Savage X Fenty in the middle of her performance. As “All of the Lights” began to play, Rihanna reapplied her makeup before grabbing her mic and capitalizing on one of her biggest collaborations.
The other highlight of the gig was the closing with “Diamonds.” In the finale, the lights turned down after “Umbrella” and the spotlight was on the star as she was strung all the way up in the air and began to sing her powerful ballad. The visual of Rihanna 67 feet in the air made her shine bright, literally, among the thousands of flashlights surrounding her in the crowd. The chorus of this song was arguably her best vocal performance of the night.
Even with a new pregnancy, Rihanna hasn’t ruled out a return for new music. After being revealed as British Vogue’s March Cover star, joined by her boyfriend A$AP Rocky and their nine month old son, she had an exclusive interview and revealed a long awaited update on her return to music.
“I want it to be this year… Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.” said the multi-platinum icon.
Whenever Rihanna decides to bless her fans with new music, everyone will be ready. For now, it’s important to enjoy how far she has come as an artist, and now a mother.
