Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show Stuns The World

Between all her classic hits, pregnancy rumors, and her triumphant return to music, RiRi gave a quite literally elevated performance.

BYGabriel Bras Nevares
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After all the wait, hype, and about seven years of waiting for Rihanna to return to the music stage, her Super Bowl halftime show was quite the sight. From her insane stage design, engaging choreography, and abundant catalog of hits, the performance offered a lot to both stadium audiences and fans watching from their couch. While no special guests appeared, the singer gave a wonderful performance and oozed confidence as she sang her best hits. Also, she even took the chance to plug some Fenty products during her performance, as she used a mirror and blush.

Rihanna performs at the Apple Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show held at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

To start things off, she played a short video with her track "What's My Name?" When we finally saw RiRi above the football field- wait, above the field? Furthermore, she stood on a suspended platform far above the field, with other stages reserved for some of her backup dancers. Her actual performance, though, began with her banger, "B***h Better Have My Money." Also, she showed off a beautiful red ensemble as she sang and floated up and down. Eventually, the star singer returned to Earth, but went back and forth between her main stage and the floating platforms.

Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show Setlist

In fact, the 34-year-old's setlist transitioned and mashed up with itself perfectly. For example, she transitioned her next track, "Where Have You Been," into "Only Girl In The World" as her white-dressed backup dancers seemed like a hive mind of great dance. Then, she played more classics like "We Found Love" with fireworks, "S&M," "Rude Boy," and "Work." In addition, she went seamlessly into "Wild Thoughts" before walking off stage and transitioning into "Pour It Up." Most surprisingly, she played a short snippet of the Kanye West track "All Of The Lights," where she gives an iconic vocal line.

Rounding out her performance, she rose again after playing "Run This Town" with a live band. Finally, she graced fans with two of her most iconic songs to end it off: "Umbrella" and "Diamonds," during which she might've made a crazy announcement. Moreover, many people believe that Rihanna is pregnant with her second child, though that just might be the Internet reading too deeply into a belly. Regardless, let us know what you thought of Rihanna's show down below and come back to HNHH for the latest updates.

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About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.