PARIS, FRANCE – MARCH 01: Rihanna is seen outside the Dior show, during Paris Fashion Week – Womenswear F/W 2022-2023, on March 01, 2022 in Paris, France (Photo by Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images)
Rihanna gave birth to a baby boy in May, and now she is back in the spotlight once again. The fashion and music mogul has just been announced as the headliner for the Super Bowl LVII halftime show.
Speculation about who would be the halftime performer first came after Apple Music took over as the sponsor of the halftime show. Rumors began to circulate about Taylor Swift being the headliner after Taylor announced a new album with an October release date and potential tour. Taylor also has a partnership with Coca-Cola, which with Pepsi previously being the sponsor of the show, prevented her from performing.
However, after TMZ reported that Taylor wants to rerecord her six albums before she does the Super Bowl, Rihanna was announced as the headliner. Confirmation from the NFL and Roc Nation came shortly after Rihanna posted an image of her tattooed hand holding a football.
Jay Z also confirmed the news and spoke about it during an interview with Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1. He said: “Oh, my God. Let me tell you something, man. I actually just got the news that Rihanna’s going to do [the Halftime Show] and I’m a super fan of Rihanna. I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do.”
Unlike Jay Z, Rihanna has never performed the Super Bowl Halftime show. The star was previously asked to do it in 2019 but declined to perform. She previously declined the offer in support of Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protests during the national anthem.
Rihanna told Vogue in 2019.: “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. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way,” she said of the league.”
While Rihanna has not released any new music in six years, the announcement was received well by fans.
Super Bowl LVII will take place on Feb. 12, 2023. Will you be watching? Sound off in the comments!
