Ever since it was announced on September 22, 2022, that Rihanna would be the half time performer at Super Bowl LVII, fans have been predicting which songs from her 20-year career she would play. Well, the wait is over – read on to discover the amazing song list and details about the unique performance Rihanna put on during the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 12, 2023!
In her first concert since the 2018 Grammys, Rihanna didn’t disappoint as she donned a bright red bodysuit under a bright red half-zipped jumpsuit as she entered the stadium with her dance crew on floating platforms. She stood out amongst her futuristic backup dancers who were dressed in white from head to toe. Her set list consisted of 12 songs including “Only Girl (In The World)” to “We Found Love” and included a discography of songs such as “Where Have You Been?,” “Rude Boy,” “Work,” “Wild Thoughts,” “Pour It Up,” “All of the Lights,” “Run This Town,” “Umbrella,” and “Diamonds.” She began her 13-minute set belting out “B— Better Have My Money” as the platforms were lowered. She proceeded to prance up and down the long stage, but her dance moves didn’t seem as dramatic and edgy as usual during her powerhouse performances. The reason, you ask? Rihanna is the first singer to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show while pregnant – a fact confirmed by her representative just minutes after she finished performing. Rihanna is expecting her 2nd child with rapper A$AP Rocky later this year and actually hinted at this during an interview with CBS Sports on Friday, February 10, stating she was “thinking about bringing someone” out during her halftime performance, but wasn’t sure. No one guessed she was talking about her unborn child, especially since this fact was completely under wraps prior to her performance.
In an Apple Music press conference a few days prior to the Super Bowl (February 10), Rihanna noted that her set would be “a celebration of my catalogue in the best way we could have put it together.” She certainly didn’t let her audience down, especially once it was revealed she put together 39 versions of her setlist before finally settling on what attendees and viewers saw during halftime.
Plenty of celebrities were present at the 9-time Grammy winner’s performance to cheer her on, including her longtime boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky, JAY-Z, Adele, Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Paul McCartney, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Cara Delevingne, Joel McHale, Niecy Nash-Betts, and plenty of others. In fact, Delevingne sported a shirt stating, “Rihanna Concert Interrupted By A Football Game, Weird But Whatever.”
Kansas City crowds were in an uproar, cheering and screaming as the Chiefs won the Super Bowl 38-35 against the Philadelphia Eagles (whose fans were extremely disappointed). Being an Eagles fan myself, I scrolled through online articles at the conclusion of the game as other Philadelphians and Eagles fans took to the web to post about their sadness in the close 4th quarter loss. While I was doing my own web surfing, I found some fascinating and amusing tweets: numerous people tweeted that Rihanna won the Super Bowl – a fact I happen to agree with! If you didn’t catch Rihanna’s halftime performance, make sure to check it out on YouTube – you’re sure to enjoy the performance!
