Well, Rihanna gave the half-time show of the Super Bowl a lifetime performance, and it will take me a while to recover. The singer truly pulled out all the stops for her spectacular show, her first in seven years, including fireworks, floating dancers, and a pregnancy announcement.
Opening of Night
Although Rihanna, 34, opened the night with “Better Have My Money,” she won’t receive payment for the electrifying performance. Rihanna was ranked by Forbes as one of the world’s youngest self-made female billionaires last year, so it’s not like she needs the money. Rihanna is the CEO of the enormously lucrative cosmetics and skincare brand Fenty Beauty as well as the lingerie line Savage X Fenty, in addition to the money she continues to make from her never-ending stream of hit recordings. It’s also a good thing because Super Bowl stars typically aren’t paid for their performances.
Whether it’s Beyoncé, J.Lo, or Justin Timberlake, no matter which pop artist is on the field midway through an NFL game, nobody ever leaves with more money in their pocket. It is probably due to the Super Bowl halftime show performance being possibly the biggest stage in the world, which means the exposure is truly unmatched.
Record Sales
According to Luminate, record sales for Mary J. Blige reached a height of 999% after last year’s performance, which featured West Coast hip hop giants including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem. Dr. Dre experienced a rise in album sales of 183%. Following her performance, Lady Gaga’s album and single sales increased by 1,000% in 2017. Additionally, Jennifer Lopez added 2.3 million new social media followers in 2020 when she performed on stage with Shakira. The nine-time Grammy Award winner revealed during the halftime show performance that she is expecting her second child, shocking fans by revealing a baby bump during her eagerly anticipated return at Super Bowl 57.
Nine months after giving birth to her first child, Rihanna approached the stage in front of a massive worldwide audience and massaged her belly, sending social media into a frenzy.
Soon after the concert, a star spokesperson confirmed the pregnancy news. Since singing Wild Thoughts with DJ Khaled at the Grammy Awards in 2018, this will be her first live television performance. Rihanna opened the performance while hanging from a platform above the stage and singing her hit B**** Better Have My Money.
Rihanna’s Dressing at the Halftime show
She was wearing a loose-fitting crimson jumpsuit that covered most of her body and was strapped around her. The singer wore a red pair of clunky trainers with the suit. She joined a throng of white dancers on stage as the platform she was hung from plummeted towards the field. She let the backup dancers fill in the gaps while keeping her dancing to a minimum.
For the first time in years, Rihanna performed live last night (12 February), thus it only seemed fitting that she would make a dramatic entrance on the most significant platform in the world in front of an estimated 192 million spectators. In the past, Rihanna declined the opportunity to perform at the 2019 Super Bowl in solidarity with former quarterback Colin Kaepernick. I just couldn’t be a sellout, she said at the time, according to Vogue. I couldn’t help but be an enabler.
Change of Mind
She said in a statement before the performance: “I felt like it was now or never for me. “The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world; to perform on a stage like that is an entertainer’s dream.”
Almost all of Rihanna’s hits, including classics like “Only Girl (In The World)” and “Umbrella” as well as more well-known tracks like “Work” and “Wild Thoughts,” were included in the 13-minute set of the half-time show.
Fans were certain that one of Rihanna’s past collaborators, such as Jay-Z, Eminem, or Kanye, had made an appearance after the singer suggested that someone would be performing with her. She chose not to use some of the pyrotechnics that was used in the recent Super Bowl halftime show, perhaps betting that her audience would be content to see her without the extra showmanship.
Wrapping Up
Since January 2016, superstar Robyn Rihanna Fenty has not put out a solo album. In October, she released Lift Me, her first original song in seven years, as a homage to the late actor Chadwick Boseman for the Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The song received the singer an Academy Award nomination. However, it turned out that the special guest was none other than Rihanna’s second child, who was responsible for yet another internet breach.