Getty VIDEO: Rihanna Super Bowl performance
Rihanna provided the entertainment for tonight’s 2023 Super Bowl halftime show. Tonight’s show marked Rihanna’s first live performance in seven years. The 34-year-old released her first studio album “Music of the Sun” in 2005 and has since cemented her status as a pop icon. According to Billboard, the songstress has 14 number-one hits and 32 top-ten hits on the Billboard chart.
WATCH: Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show
Rihanna opened her 2023 halftime set with her 2015 hit “B**** Better Have My Money.” She wore a red jumpsuit with a latex red top underneath. She paired the look with a red lipstick.
After the singer sang a few verses of “B**** Better Have My Money,” she transitioned to “Where Have You Been.” The songstress popped in her all-red ensemble while surrounded by dancers dressed in all-white outfits. Next, she sang “Only Girl (In the World),” which was quickly interrupted when the music switched to her 2011 song with Calvin Harris “We Found Love.”
Rihanna included a dance break in the middle of “We Found Love.” Strobe lights flickered onstage while Rihanna and her dancers busted out moves to the 2011 song. She then transitioned to one of her most well known songs-“Rude Boy.”
The height of the “Umbrella” singer’s performance came when she sang “Pour it Up,” which included another dance break that had the crowd roaring. Rihanna’s dancers filled every inch of the stage as she sang the 2012 hit.
Everything. @Rihanna #AppleMusicHalftime
When Rihanna began her song “Umbrella,” fireworks went off behind the pop singer. Her dancers lifted their hands into the air as she sang. Some fans were expecting a Jay-Z cameo during the song but he did not make an appearance.
After “Umbrella,” The Barbados native belted out “Diamonds.” She was lifted up on a platform. She belted out the romantic tune as her dancers kept the energy up below her.
“So shine bright, tonight, you and I. We’re beautiful like diamonds in the sky,” she sang.
At the end, a massive firework display went off and the crowd erupted in applause for the singer.
Fans on Twitter loved Rihanna’s performance.
“I am stunned,” one Twitter user wrote.
“I cannot believe Rihanna just gave us that performance for absolutely free,” another user Tweeted.
“Rihanna is in a league of her own..nobody can touch her at this point in her career,” a third user added.
Rihanna Said There Were 39 Versions of Her Halftime Performance
Rihanna attended an Apple Music press conference moderated by Nadeska Alexis ahead of her Super Bowl performance to discuss the preparation that went into the show. The “Umbrella” singer said she was excited to perform at the Super Bowl and revealed the hardest part of preparing the show.
“The setlist was the biggest challenge. That was the hardest, hardest part, deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate,” she told Nadeska Alexis. “You’re trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes, so it’s difficult. Some songs we had to lose because of that, and that’s going to be okay, but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down. There are probably about 39 versions of the setlist right now.”
During the press conference, Rihanna also touched on the importance of representation.
“That’s a big part of why this is important for me to do this show-representation,” she said. “Representing for immigrants. Representing for Black women everywhere.”