Earlier this week, Rihanna turned in a scorcher of a performance at Apple Music Super Bowl LVII halftime at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It was a return to music after seven years of largely being away from the stage. These seven years were mostly dedicated to her business venture and nobody’s sure when she will be seen live again, given that she is pregnant with her second child.
“It feels like it could have only been now. I mean, when I first got the call to do it again this year, I was like: ‘Psst, you sure?’ I’m three months postpartum, like, should I be making major decisions like this now? I might regret this. But when you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you could take on the world, you could do anything. And the Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world. So as scary as that was because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. And it’s important for me to do this, this year. It’s important for representation, it’s important for my son to see that,” the 34-year-old has told Apple Music Radio host Nadeska Alexis.
As far as pregnancy reveals go, it was a simple announcement from her representative and had none of the theatrics Beyonce showed in the form of a belly rub at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.
For Rihanna, it was an important moment. She hasn’t released an album since Anti in 2016, and many thought that her return to stage would come with new music or maybe even an album announcement. There was none of that. She used one of the biggest stages in music to emphasise that she is one of the best performers ever.
The set list was a challenge because she had 13 minutes to celebrate music and she had to cram 17 years of work into those few minutes.
‘It takes a toll on your body’
The significance of the Apple Music Halftime Show moment is not lost on her. “It’s a long way from home. It’s a beautiful journey that I’m on, and I could’ve never guessed that I would have made it here. So it’s a celebration of that. I’m excited to do that. I’m really excited to have Barbados on the Super Bowl stage,” she told the Apple Music Radio host. “The physical challenge has definitely been immense, for many reasons, of course. First things first, so you’re just running around for 13 minutes, trying to put a two-hour set in 13 minutes. It’s a jam-packed show, and it takes a toll on your body, it does.”
This year’s Super Bowl halftime-show was special for another reason. The high-profile sporting event has as sponsor Apple Music, taking over from Pepsi, which first sponsored the 2012 halftime as part of a decade-long deal. When the Pepsi deal was signed, The Wall Street Journal reported it to be $2.3b. Before Pepsi, it was Bridgestone. For the tech company, this is the perfect stage to celebrate one of its biggest offerings — Apple Music, to celebrate its digital surround-sound feature spatial audio or a three-dimensional listening experience on the right equipment.
Rihanna with Apple Music Radio host Nadeska Alexis during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII halftime press conference
“Musically, I’m feeling open. I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating, things that are new, things that are different, things that are off, weird, might not ever make sense to my fans… the people that know the music that I put out. I just want to play. I want to have fun. I want to have fun with music,” she said during Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show press conference.
For Rihanna, music has been a lifelong friend. She has charted more than 60 times on the Billboard Hot 100 and her catalogue has leaned into the up-tempo side — Where Have You Been, Only Girl (in the World), Work, Rude Boy, Umbrella and Diamonds, to name a few songs. Besides music, she is a billionaire businesswoman with footprints in fashion and cosmetics.
The return to stage on Sunday night was unapologetic, like Rihanna has always been. She agrees: “I’m definitely not one that’s worried about coming off too bossy. I’ve been bossy all my life. Ever since I was a little girl, but [this performance] is riding on me…. At the end of the day, if it flops or it flies, my name has to stand by that. And so I really get involved with every aspect of anything that I do, whether it’s the Super Bowl, whether it’s a makeup product, whether it’s Savage lingerie, like, whatever I do, I’m that annoying girl who’s going to talk about everything. I want to see the copy on the website. I want to name every lipstick that I make. I care about it. I love it. I love it, I really do.”
Frankly, everyone loved the show and it will go down as a personal milestone for Rihanna.
