Every Rihanna fan worldwide held their breath before her long-awaited performance during Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show at the State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where the Philadelphia Eagles were playing against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rihanna’s last live performance was four years ago, and it’s been seven years since she released her last studio album. The singer/ business mogul wasted no time making a statement during her return to the stage.
Her set did not have an entrance montage or any musical buildup. The performance opened up with a close-up of her face, and the fans were thrust right into the music. Her performance after her absence was an exclamation point on its own.
Dressed in a tight red bodysuit, Rihanna stood on a floating stage high above the field and kicked off her show with the hit song, “Bitch better have my money.” One sweep of her hand prompted confused faces and an uproar after the crowds realized that she was pregnant just nine months after giving birth to her first child.
The singer might have broken a Super Bowl record as she squeezed 13 of her hit songs in her 13-minute set.
Thousands of fans got to see her perform “Umbrella,” “Only Girl in the World,” and the reggae song “Rude Boy,” and even though she only presented less than a minute of each song, the performance was full of energy, considering she was still rusty from not performing for four years and being heavily pregnant.
She also threw inside parts of other hits, including “Wild Thoughts,” “Work,” and “Birthday Girl,” in less than three minutes.
Her performance served as a reminder that Rihanna’s songs from 2007 through 2016 were still popular and very much recognizable in 2023.
Rihanna’s comeback was received with mixed reactions, with her diehard fans loving every moment, while some critics thought her performance after a four-year hiatus was very underwhelming.
Some even accused her of lip-syncing most of her songs. Notably, famous Sirius radio talk-show host Howard Stern said she shouldn’t have bothered to show up for her performance.
Rihanna’s 13-minute performance ended with her singing Diamonds, with a dramatic red cape, surrounded by a sea of mobile phone lights and overhead fireworks.
