Super Bowl LVII offered a great matchup as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs took the field to determine who the champion of the 2022-2023 football season would be. For those not invested in the game's outcome, however, the biggest draw had to be the halftime show, which touted the return to the stage for celebrated pop star Rihanna. The self-proclaimed “bad gal” has largely been absent from the music scene since her 2016 album ANTI and she hasn’t done a live televised performance since performing her DJ Khaled collab “Wild Thoughts” at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards.
The singer started her halftime show at a literal high point as she stood atop a platform elevated high above the field before launching into a censored version of her jam “B***h Better Have My Money” while clad in a red jumpsuit and flanked by dancers rocking on platforms beside her and on the stage below her. Once she got back down to earth, the hit parade kept going, with the white-clad dancers giving us high-energy choreography as she launched into a medley that included “Where Have You Been,” “Only Girl (In The World),” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy” and “Work” while also weaving in audio and music cues from other hits.
She wasn’t done, though. The second half of her 13-minute set focused on her collaborations, with “Wild Thoughts,” “All Of The Lights” and “Run This Town” all making the cut along with her solo tracks “Pour It Up” and “Umbrella.” Once all that was sung and done, only one Rihanna track could take us home. She ended the night with “Diamonds” as she took to the sky once again and fireworks went off above her. It was an epic ending to an epic set packed with hits and without the aid of any featured performers.
We’d be remiss, though, if we didn't mention the presence of a very unexpected guest. Many thought that the singer would be either performing or announcing new music during halftime. Instead, she made a different kind of major statement. At the beginning of the performance, Rih rubbed her noticeably round belly. This, of course, prompted an outpour of pregnancy suspicion from social media before a representative of the star confirmed that she is indeed expecting. This marks a second child for her and beau A$AP Rocky after welcoming a baby boy into the world just nine months ago.
We’re more than satisfied with the cavalcade of hits that Rihanna pulled out of her bag for her epic return and very excited that she’ll soon be a mother two times over. Catch the star shining bright like a diamond in the clips posted above and check out the performance in full over on YouTube.
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