It was announced on September 25 by the NFL and Rihanna herself, that the 34-year-old singer will be the headlining act for the 57th Super Bowl. Super Bowl LVII will take place on Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz., at the State Farm Stadium. Other guest performers and the national anthem performer have yet to be announced, but fans are nonetheless prepared for what is sure to be a show-stopping performance by the Barbadian singer.
Rihanna’s Origins
Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, is an eight time-Grammy Award-winning singer that also holds 14 Billboard music awards among other honors. The Barbados-born singer kicked off her career in 2005 with the release of her first album, Music of the Sun, and while the hit single “Pon De Replay” had major success, her status as an icon shot off with the release of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The leading track on the album, “Umbrella,” topped Billboard charts for 52 weeks in a row. The hit single earned the artist her first Grammy Award in 2008 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
The momentum of this success carried into Rihanna’s subsequent album and single releases, a prime example being Rated R’s “Russian Roulette,” which made its marks as her 12th Billboard Hot 100 hit. The singer has kept busy with various acting roles in films like Home (2015) and Ocean’s 8 (2018).
Rihanna, who recently gave birth to her first child, was also focused on developing and launching a cosmetics and lingerie brand; all of her combined business ventures have earned RiRi billionaire status according to Forbes. With more than 250 million records sold worldwide, Rihanna has secured the prestige of being the world’s richest female musician. Shortly after the Super Bowl announcement, Rihanna released her first single, “Lift Me Up”, in six years. It will be featured in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
History of the Halftime Show
As the headliner for Super Bowl LVII, Rihanna’s halftime show will be joining a legendary company of artists such as Michael Jackson, whose 1993 performance set a new standard for Super Bowl halftime shows, and Rihanna’s own idol Madonna, whose Roman-inspired performance in 2012 featured guests like Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., LMFAO, and others.
Since the ‘90s, the Super Bowl halftime show has gained a reputation for being an anticipated grand show of pop culture mixed with sports. It initially featured mostly university marching bands and other showy ensembles to entertain the crowds in the stadium but has evolved to feature one or more popular music acts to help increase viewership on national TV.
The 2020 Super Bowl LIV halftime show with dual headliners Jennifer Lopez and Shakira broke records as the most-viewed halftime show on YouTube. Before that, Katy Perry’s performance at Super Bowl XLIX set a record viewership of more than 118 million people watching the performance live on TV.
The most recent Super Bowl halftime performance featured a star lineup of hip-hop music’s generational icons with Snoop Dog, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, and Eminem taking the stage alongside a coterie of dancers and low-riders. Rihanna’s halftime show will mark her first live performance since the 2018 Grammy Awards. With this marked absence from the live music realm, the bad gal from Barbados is sure to put on an explosive performance for the books.
See Super Bowl Halftime Show
Get your tickets to the Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., to see Rihanna perform live for the first time in nearly four years.
