Pregnant Rihanna Skips Guest Performer for Soaring Super Bowl Halftime Show (VIDEO)
At long last, Rihanna has headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show. And it doubled as a pregnancy announcement!
The nine-time Grammy winner brought the house down at the 2023 Super Bowl with her 15-minute performance, marking her first public performance since 2018. The show began with “Bitch Better Have My Money”, then she flowed into “Where Have You Been,” “Only Girl In the World,” “We Found Love,” and more of her greatest hits in what’s sure to be a memorable show that was high energy start-to-finish.
She began the show literally soaring above the field on a floating platform, decked out in a red monochrome outfit. After the first tune, she floated back down to the field and performed more of the hits. The stage was a runway of platforms lined up along the field, allowing the singer and her dancers to strut all over the place.
Check out the video of Rihanna’s Halftime Show below (click through to watch on YouTube):
Rihanna’s Halftime Show was choreographed by Parris Goebel, RiRi’s frequent collaborator on the Savage x Fenty shows. Goebel joined the pop star on stage along with the fabulous crew of dancers decked out in all white puffer coats and pants and sunglasses. Other songs included “Work,” “Pour It Up,” “Wild Thoughts,” “All of the Lights,” “Run This Town,” “Umbrella,” and “Diamonds.”
Jay-Z and Blue Ivy Carter were in attendance for the game, making some fans on Twitter think the rapper would take part in the performance. Ultimately he remained a fan in the stands, but some of his hits with Rihanna, “Run This Town” and “Umbrella,” were performed. The star kept it a solo act, opting for no guest stars.
Where some Super Bowl performers have different sections to their performance that slow or pick up the pace, Rihanna opted to have fast-paced hit after hit in her set, making for an adrenaline rush for her fans. People loved to see it.
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
“Diamonds” was the closing number. She flew above the crowd once more to close out the show, and with the help of lights in the crowd, she looked like she was literally among diamonds in the sky.
See some of the fan reactions below, plus a shot of her partner, A$AP Rocky, filming proudly on his phone from the crowd, and of course some memes.
Rihanna surrounded by dozens of gyrating dancers as she is lifted on a platform like a goddess in front of an audience of 100 million people is actually something that can be so personal
— Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) February 13, 2023
Well… y’all can say what you want but baby… that was hit after hit…. Face, face, face! Also shout out to the camera team… because the way they choreographed the camera angles was amazing! #Rhianna #SuperBowlLVII
— Karamo (@Karamo) February 13, 2023
A$AP Rocky watching Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance ❤️#SuperBowl #Rihanna pic.twitter.com/N0O2JTQNWX
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) February 13, 2023
White blood cells showing up to help the body fight infection and other disease pic.twitter.com/04QMBUFmBA
— B.W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) February 13, 2023
RIHANNA LOOK OUT pic.twitter.com/WU6gwLCa6y
— Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) February 13, 2023
https://twitter.com/ShisuiTheDonn__/status/1624944095058702336
me ignoring the rest of the game after rihanna’s performance pic.twitter.com/UwMR8pvJ0k
— sal’ (@lvrsals) February 13, 2023
Rihanna used the Halftime Show to simultaneously announce she’s expecting baby No. 2. Her representation confirmed she was pregnant after the show concluded, per Hollywood Reporter.
She and A$AP Rocky welcomed their first child in May 2022, and she said yes to the Super Bowl when three months postpartum.
“I was like, ‘You sure? I’m three months postpartum. Should I be making major decisions like this right now? I might regret this,’” Rihanna said.
“When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you could take on the world — you can do anything,” she continued. “And the Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, so as scary as that was … there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all,” she said. “It’s important for my son to see that.”
What did you think of Rihanna’s long-awaited Halftime Show performance? Sound off down below!
