Super Bowl 2023 halftime show, explained: How Rihanna was chosen after turning down NFL in 2019
There aren’t many artists who could generate excitement for a Super Bowl halftime show comparable to the production of Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent the year before.
But Rihanna isn’t every artist.
The international entertainer, entrepreneur and pop culture icon, who only recently released new music after a multi-year hiatus, has somehow elevated Super Bowl 57 – already a must-see show as the biggest sporting event of the year – into a cultural phenomenon, that goes beyond sport. All in all, a pretty solid pick from the NFL.
As football and music fans wait between the Chiefs and the Eagles for Super Bowl 57, The Sporting News has everything you need to know about Rihanna’s involvement, from her history with the NFL, her recent discography and who’s with her in Glendale , Ariz, could stand on stage.:
MORE: History of Super Bowl halftime show cast
Why did the NFL pick Rihanna for the halftime show?
It took a single, wordless post from Rihanna’s Instagram page in late September to make the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show one of the most anticipated in recent memory:
Shortly after breaking the news of her involvement in the show, the NFL released a statement confirming that it had worked with entertainment agency Roc Nation and Apple Music – the show’s sponsor – to get Rihanna to to Host the Super Bowl 57 Halftime Show:
“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman from humble beginnings who has exceeded expectations at every turn,” Roc Nation founder Jay-Z said in a statement. “A person who was born on the small island of Barbados and became one of the most prominent artists of all time. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
Seth Dudowsky, NFL’s Head of Music, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the stage of the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show to partner with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another historic performance in the Super Bowl to offer a half-time show.”
MORE: Watch Super Bowl 57 Live With fuboTV (Free Trial)
When was the last time Rihanna released music?
Adding to the excitement of her Super Bowl 57 performance is the fact that Rihanna hasn’t released any music in a while. She last went on tour in 2016, the same year she released her last studio album Anti.
The pop icon hasn’t released many new singles in that span: just six since the release of her last album. Including three as lead artist and three as featured artist.
Her two most recent songs, “Lift Me Up” and “Born Again,” were released in October 2022 as part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. The former was her first solo single release since 2016’s “Love on the Brain.”
Prior to these songs was her final release as lead artist, Believe It, in 2020 as part of PartyNextDoor’s ‘Partymobile’ album.
Considering the lack of new music from Rihanna in recent years, the NFL made a wise decision to get her to perform at Super Bowl 57. People otherwise uninterested in the game or even the social aspect of the competition will tune in for a rare opportunity to see a live performance from her.
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Rihanna turned down the NFL’s offer to perform at the 2019 Super Bowl
This isn’t the first time the NFL has approached Rihanna to perform at the Super Bowl. She was rumored to have turned down an offer from the league to appear at the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta between the Patriots and Rams.
She confirmed those rumors in an October 2019 interview with Vogue, claiming the decision was made in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. The former 49ers quarterback had not played in the league since the 2016 season, when he knelt during the playing of the national anthem to protest police brutality and systemic injustice to black people.
“Absolutely,” she told Vogue at the time. “I wouldn’t dare. For what? Who benefits? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I could not be an enabler.
“There are things within this organization[the NFL]that I completely disagree with and I had no intention of serving them in any way.”
MORE: Apple Music releases Rihanna teaser, halftime hits and NFL playlist ahead of Super Bowl 57
Why Did Rihanna Agree to Perform the 2023 Super Bowl Show?
Rihanna shed light on her decision in a November 2022 ET article. She said only a stage as big as the Super Bowl could push her to perform, especially considering she became a mother in May 2022.
“I can’t believe I even said yes. It was one of those things that even as I announced it, I was like, ‘Okay, I can’t take it back. Now it’s like final,'” she told ET. “The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, it’s an entertainer’s dream to be on a stage like that.
“But it’s nerve-wracking. you wanna do it right You know, everyone is watching. And they cheer you on. And I want to do it right.”
Rihanna told ET this was a “now or never” moment, adding, “Nothing would have gotten me out of the house if it wasn’t such a challenge.”
“You could be very comfortable as a mother being at home and challenging myself to do something I’ve never done before in my career. I have to live up to this challenge,” she said.
At a news conference Thursday to discuss the Super Bowl’s performance, she expanded her argument.
“It feels like it could only have been now,” she said. “I mean, when I got the first call this year to do it again, I was like, ‘Are you sure? Like, I’m three months postpartum, like, should I be making important decisions like this now? How could I regret this.’
“But when you become a mom, something just happens that makes you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, so as scary as that was — because I haven’t been on stage in seven years — there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. And it’s important for me to do that this year. It is important for representation. It’s important that my son sees this.
She hasn’t specified why she accepted the NFL’s request to perform at the Super Bowl, four years after she turned it down in solidarity with Kaepernick.
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Rihanna’s involvement in Jay-Z’s Roc Nation
Rihanna addressed the challenge of performing at the Super Bowl, but that should be at least partially mitigated by the involvement of Jay-Z and Roc Nation, who have partnered with the NFL to host the league’s Super Bowl halftime shows since 2019.
These include Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in 2020, The Weeknd in 2021 and the critically acclaimed Los Angeles show in 2022 with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J Blige and 50 Cent.
Rihanna joined Roc Nation in 2010, then left Def Jam Records in 2014 to sign with Jay-Z’s agency full-time. Her familiarity with Jay-Z and Roc Nation — and the agency’s experience with halftime shows — should theoretically make the task easier.
MORE: How much do Super Bowl halftime show cast members get paid?
What Songs Will Rihanna Perform at Super Bowl 57?
Rihanna hasn’t said which of her songs will be played at halftime in Super Bowl 57. She said that was one of the biggest difficulties in preparing for the show.
“The setlist was the biggest challenge. That was the hardest, hardest part: deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate,” she said. “That will be this show. It will be a celebration of my catalog in the best way we could have put together.”
As such, some of the songs she wanted in the performance would have “we’ve got to lose because of that, and that’s going to be okay”. She added that she feels comfortable with the selection.
“There are probably about 39 versions of the setlist right now…every little change counts,” she said Thursday. “Whether I want to cut out a guitar, mute something, add something, or just put in a whole new song or take out a song. Every time I make a change, something needs to be updated. This is a new version.
“You’ll see on Sunday that from the start it just never ends until it’s about the very last second. I know I’m saying too much, but it’s a packed show.”
MORE: Odds on which songs will be featured in the 2023 halftime show
Who Are Rihanna’s Halftime Show Staffers?
It’s uncertain which artists, if any, will be onstage with Rihanna at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show, aside from deaf performer Justina Miles, who will be signing the show in American Sign Language.
Rihanna has collaborated with several artists in her music career. Including Jay-Z himself (“Umbrella”), Britney Spears (“S&M”), Calvin Harris (“We Found Love”), Kanye West and Paul McCartney (“FourFiveSeconds”)” or Eminem (“Love the Way You Lie” ). and “The Monster”), among others.
There’s also a possibility that Rihanna could become the first solo Super Bowl actress since Lady Gaga in 2017. She told ET in November she wanted to “infuse a lot of culture into the show.”
“I want to include different aspects of entertainment and things that I just enjoy and bring them to the stage,” she said. “I want to celebrate the music I’ve made.”
Other than that, she hasn’t given many hints as to what exactly the show will entail. In an interview with E! She told News, “I don’t know what to do yet. It’s going to be awesome either way.”