After announcing in September that she’d been performing at one of the most-watched musical events of the year, inevitable gossip abounded as to who RiRi might be bringing out to join her onstage. However, it transpires the guest she did share the stage with was her second child (of sorts), as she opened her performance with ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ whilst rubbing her stomach.
With millions watching on – 28.5 million households, to be precise – more inevitable rumours started to circulate about the bump beneath her bold red jumpsuit and jacket. Is she pregnant? The answer, as representatives confirmed not long after the show, is yes.
Remarkably, the pop queen barely broke a sweat as she reminded us of her impressive catalogue with hit after hit, including 2010’s Grammy-winning track ‘Only Girl (In the World)’, her seemingly ubiquitous 2007 hit ‘Umbrella’, her Drake-featuring track ‘Work’ and concluded with ‘Diamonds’.
There were other notable highlights packed into her 13-minute set too, which her partner and soon-to-be-father-of-two A$AP Rocky was cheering on from the sidelines.
Not only was the whole show carried out on two platforms, with hanging stages floating overhead (even if many instantly memed the setup by comparing it to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros), but the singer was flanked by a seemingly endless stream of backup dancers. Dressed in white, they kept coming and coming, with another troupe noticeably added at the crossover between ‘Pour It Up’ and ‘All Of The Lights’, the Kanye West tune she features on.
SHE’S BAAAACK 👑 @Rihanna #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/rH2G9r2RSc
— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
Rihanna occasionally seemed one step behind her dancers, or at least bopping to the tune of her own rhythm; but with confirmation of news she performed the whole thing whilst pregnant with her second child, we can cut her more than just some slack. Bravo, RiRi.
That said, not everyone enjoyed the show. Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that it was an “epic fail” and “the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history”. Although, the fact is, for Trump to say something like that shows you have to be doing something right.
