Rihanna's Super Bowl half-time show: Everything we know

Rihanna’s Super Bowl half-time show: Everything we know

Feb 12, 2023 News

The Umbrella star will headline the NFL finale at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium

(Yahoo News) Rihanna is preparing to make her long-awaited live comeback at the Super Bowl 2023 half-time show.

The pop star is expected to perform her biggest hits as she headlines the NFL finale in Arizona this weekend.

Here’s everything we know about the performance so far.

When is Rihanna’s Super Bowl half-time show?

The 2023 Super Bowl will kick off 19:30hrs Guyana time today Sunday, 12 February.

The Philadelphia Eagles are set to face the Kansas City Chiefs at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

But the main event for music fans will be Rihanna’s half-time show, which is likely to begin around 1am on Monday.

The 13-minute set will be her first solo performance since 2017.

What can fans expect from the setlist?

Rihanna’s Super Bowl setlist is being kept firmly under wraps, but it’s expected to feature some of her greatest hits.

The 34-year-old has scored nine UK number ones, including Umbrella, Diamonds and We Found Love, so she has no shortage of crowd-pleasers to pick from.

She told Apple Music: “The setlist was the biggest challenge. That was the hardest, hardest part, deciding how to maximise 13 minutes.

“That’s what this show is going to be, it’s going to be a celebration of my catalogue in the best way that we could have put it together.”

Billboard reports that it’s “very likely” she will perform Lift Me Up, her song from the soundtrack to Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The ballad is nominated for best original song at next month’s Oscars, so the performance could help her chances of winning the prestigious award.

Jay-Z‘s company Roc Nation is executive-producing the show, which has led to rumours that the rap icon could make an appearance as a special guest.

Other rumoured special guests include past collaborators Calvin Harris, Drake, Eminem, SZA and DJ Khaled, and her partner A$AP Rocky.

Fans will be watching the performance closely for any hints that a new album is on the way.

The singer took an extended break from music after her most recent album, 2016’s Anti, to focus on her businesses and acting career.

When asked about any potential new releases, the singer said: “Musically, I’m feeling open. I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating.

“Things that are new, things that are different, things that are off, weird, might not ever make sense to my fans, the people that know the music that I’ve put out.”

Rihanna has credited the birth of her son last May as her main motivation for agreeing to the Super Bowl gig.

She said: “The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world.

“As scary as it was, because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all.

“It’s important for me to do this year. It’s important for my son to see that.”

She previously turned down an offer to headline the 2019 Super Bowl in solidarity with NFL star and anti-racism activist Colin Kaepernick.

She told Vogue at the time: “I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler.”

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