Rihanna is a record-breaking artist with legions of fans, but it has been years since she performed live. That’s set to change Sunday during the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show.
Experts joined Audacy’s KCBS Radio in San Francisco and 1010 WINS in New York this week to weigh in on what to expect from the international star’s return to the stage.
“I actually think I was at what I believe was her last performance, even though it was like what I think 90 seconds long or something like that,” Jem Aswad, deputy music editor at Variety, told KCBS Radio.
Since then, the 34-year old musician and entrepreneur welcomed her first child with partner A$AP Rocky. Though she has recently taken a break from recording (her last album, Anti, was released in 2016) and performing, Rihanna has also built a fashion and beauty empire.
“Frankly, she doesn’t have to,” said Aswad of Rihanna’s decision not to perform. “She’s a billionaire thanks to her Fenty lingerie and clothing and cosmetics line.”
Previously, Rihanna declined performing at the Super Bowl in 2019 in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, a Black former San Francisco 49ers player who started to kneel for the pre-game national anthem in protest at racial injustice. Aswad said she likely changed her mind since the NFL struck a deal with Jay Z’s Roc Nation to oversee entertainment for the Super Bowl.
Reports about Rihanna’s preparation for this halftime show indicate she has changed her set list around 37 times already.
“The Super Bowl is the single biggest stage for a musician by far,” Aswad explained. “You know, you're looking at what are the 2 billion people or something insane like that?”
It is a big stage, but performers have just over a dozen minutes to make an impact.
“Over the years, it’s become this one big headlining show that’s meant to showcase that an artist is at a point in their career where they can be on one of the most televised events in the world and handle it for, you know, 13 to 15 minutes and be the star of this and have enough hits to fill that,” explained Rolling Stone senior writer Brittany Spanos, who joined 1010 WINS this week.
Entertainers he thinks have risen to the challenge include Prince – Aswad described his 2007 performance in the rain as “otherworldly” – and Lady Gaga, who performed in 2017.
“I mean, she flew down from the roof of this stadium and like she was singing while she was being carried around by dancers,” he said. “And she went out to the crowd. And at the very end, I remember she was she criticized, she dropped the mic, they threw her a football and she dove into the pit. It's just like, okay, that's how you grab it with both hands.”
This year, Aswad said halftime show viewers should expect to see some guest cameos during Rihanna’s performance.
“I would say almost unquestionably,” he said. “And it’s been so long since... performed, it’s kind of hard to say. I mean, Jay-Z would not be a shock. Beyoncé is a possibility,” as well as Pharrell.
Spanos had a different outlook.
“I think this could end up being just Rihanna for the entire Super Bowl,” she said. “No guests.”
As to what Rihanna might sing, Spanos said it is hard to guess.
“I mean, she has a huge catalog of massive, memorable hits,” she said. “I mean, she can really go anywhere and there's going to be things left off.”
Ultimately, Spanos thinks the show “is going to be I mean, just, I hope, a celebration for people who love the impact that she’s left on music, the immeasurable impact she’s left.”
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