It was going to be a Super Bowl Halftime show to remember, but no one knew what to expect when Rihanna took the field for her first public performance in five years. All eyes were on Rih, 34, as she performed during Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday (Feb. 12), specifically on what many people thought was a baby bump. After Rihanna’s rep confirmed the pregnancy, stars flocked online to congratulate her. Sophia Bush was one of the first to offer her well-wishes, and more followed.
Soooooo good. The choreography. The lighting and stage tech. And that baby reveal!? What a moment. ♥️♥️♥️ https://t.co/oPDKgvDIVt
— Sophia Bush Hughes (@SophiaBush) February 13, 2023
It was the belly rub during Diamonds for meee 🤭🥰🤰🏽❤️ congratulations RIRI 🎉🎉
— Lola Bunni💕 (@_AyyeeMarie_) February 13, 2023
Rihanna is pregnant again as she shows her belly off during the #Superbowl halftime performance. Congratulations Riri pic.twitter.com/qHeyAqTwMx
— VideoMixtape.com (@VideoMixtape_) February 13, 2023
Talk about making a comeback. Before the Super Bowl Halftime show, Rihanna’s last public performance was in 2018 when she joined DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller to sing “Wild Thoughts” at that year’s Grammy Awards. Since then, she has been focused on her acting (Ocean’s 8), fashion (Savage x Fenty), and beauty (Fenty Skin) careers, further developing herself as a multifaceted icon. Rihanna also made time to become a mother. She and A$AP Rocky welcomed their son, the first child for both.
However, much to the delight of Rihanna’s notoriously demanding fans, 2023 would be the year she’d return to music. “It was kind of unexpected,” Rihanna said of her decision to accept the Halftime show gig when appearing on The Process with Nate Burleson, an NFL/iHeartRadio podcast. “My son was only three months old [at the time]. I haven’t performed in like seven years, 2016 was my last tour – that, to me, was the last time I remember being out there on the stage. I miss it. To come back from zero to the Super Bowl is kind of nuts! A challenge gets me excited, and that was the real push for me… I just want to put on a great show, and I want to enjoy it. I don’t want the pressure to succumb me.”
Whether there was an issue or if everything went off without a hitch, the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show was destined to be one for the history books. “We’ve been working on it for a while, and every day it just gets closer and closer to the finished product,” Rihanna said during the customary Super Bowl press conference on Thursday (Feb. 9), per Page Six. “Today’s a really big rehearsal, a really important one, that’s going to be crucial for Sunday. ”
“It’s a lot of preparation. This is the week that – it really is [about] being tested. ” We’re just tightening up everything, everybody’s dialing in, everybody’s tuning up, and [it’s] a lot of moving parts,” she said. “I mean, It’s like 300 to 400 people breaking the stage down and building it back up and getting it out in eight minutes. It’s incredible. It’s almost impossible.”
Rihanna also said picking this comeback set list was “the hardest, hardest part. Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate. And that’s what this show’s going to be; a celebration. You’re going to see on Sunday, just from the time it starts, it just never ends, until it’s like the very last second.”
“There are a lot of people who are a part of this show, and a huge part of the reason why this show is going to be as incredible as it is,” she added. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”