Rihanna says she watched Beyoncé‘s Super Bowl halftime show as she prepared for her own performance! “Oh my god – yes! I watched Beyonce’s halftime performances a couple of times,” the 34-year-old superstar said on the new iHeart and NFL podcast The Process with Nate Burleson, hosted by Emmy winner and retired NFL star Nate Burleson, released ahead of the game. “She is a beast and a whole other level. Just to be inspired, really,” the Barbados native added before her first performance in five years.
Beyoncé headlined the halftime show back in 2013, performing a medley of hits from her first few albums, including Dangerously In Love, B’Day, and 4. The highlight that got everyone talking, however, as the long awaited (yet unexpected) Destiny’s Child reunion with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams who joined to perform their throwback hits “Bootylicious” and “Independent Women” before joining Beyonce for “Single Ladies.” The Houston native once again appeared at the the major NFL event when she made a surprise cameo to perform “Formation” during Coldplay‘s year in 2016 — the lead single from Lemonade.
In the rare, candid chat, new mom Rihanna also confessed she was “scared” to do the high pressure halftime show — which has seen women like Madonna and Janet Jackson also headline. “It was so scary! It was kind of unexpected, my son was only 3 months old [when I said yes],” she said, referencing her first child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky. “I haven’t performed in like 7 years, 2016 was my last tour — that to me was the last time I remember being out there on the stage. I miss it,” she reflected, making a nod to her album Anti, which included “Work” with Drake.
“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,” Rihanna added.
The Super Bowl is set to air on FOX on Sunday, Feb. 12.