People have been anticipating Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show and even predicting on social media how she was going to open the show since it was announced that she would be the performer in September. Super Bowl Halftime shows are a huge deal, averaging over 100 million viewers so, naturally, there have been many different strong opinions about Rihanna’s Halftime Show; but, I am here to give you my personal opinion.
To start off, I love Rihanna’s music as it has such a hold on 21st-century pop culture. I love that I know every single song that she sang for the halftime show. Her voice sounded great, especially considering it was the first time in seven years she has performed, the last time being her tour in 2016.
However, Rihanna had a dilemma because she has more hits than the time permitted. She only had 13 minutes to perform all of her songs, unfortunately leading her to cram 12 songs into around 13 minutes. The show did seem a little rushed because she kept going from song to song and I wanted to listen to each song for a little longer. However, due to the circumstances, I understand why she did this.
I was also a little disappointed not to hear “Disturbia” or “Love on the Brain” in the mix of songs, but, again, I understand the difficulty with the time she was given. Ultimately, I have come to the conclusion that the halftime show should be at least 20 minutes if not more. Since the show is arguably just as popular as the actual Super Bowl game, it’s only fair that these singers get a longer time frame to ‘wow’ the audience.
To address the main gossip about the Super Bowl, Rihanna surprised fans everywhere by using the Super Bowl halftime show to announce that she is pregnant with her second child. She even told the media that she was thinking of bringing a special guest to perform with her and that special guest ended up being her unborn baby. I think this was powerful as she was floating 20 feet in the air, singing her heart out while pregnant.
Rihanna’s dancing was upbeat and lively, making the audience want to sing along to her hits. There have been many opinions saying that Rihanna and her backup dancers were dancing too sexually but I disagree because open expressions of dance are part of our culture in 2023. However, I can see how certain dance moves could have made people feel uncomfortable especially with the wide range of age groups watching the halftime show.
Rihanna’s backup dancers were wearing white sweatsuits that made them look almost like marshmallows in contrast to her bright red outfit. I like the contrast between the white outfits of the backup dancers and her red outfit because it made her stand out. I also think that the pit viper sunglasses that the backup dancers wore added a mysterious aspect to the dancers. However, I would have liked to see more of an outfit change for Rihanna in the middle of her show, because I did feel like something was missing at times.
I love the part of the show where Rihanna applied her makeup mid-performance, which was a clever way for her to promote her makeup brand, Fenty Beauty. Another specific moment I enjoyed was when Rihanna started singing “Run This Town” and she fist-bumped one of the guitar guys behind her and then he started mouthing, “It’s a dangerous love affair,” as he was hyping Rihanna up. This made me happy in the moment to see how one of her guitar players was hyping her up. It also boosted the mood immediately in the stadium making the performance seem more exciting.
The show built up to what seemed like the climax at the song “Umbrella” in which a heavy cape was placed on Rihanna’s shoulders, fireworks went off, and she started floating up to the ceiling on one of the platforms. I love that “Umbrella” was the song chosen for this part of the performance because it is such a popular song, so many people got excited.
My favorite part of the show was her last song “Diamonds” during which she floated even higher on the platform and the audience waved around flashlights getting the stadium in the mood. This was the perfect way to end her Super Bowl halftime show, making the crowd go wild.
Ultimately, Rihanna put on a great show with the time she was given. Although there could have been more of an outfit change, I personally think that her music was enough to keep me entertained.
