Rihanna's Long-Awaited Super Bowl 2023 Halftime Show Did Not Shine Bright Like A Diamond
Rihanna's Super Bowl 2023 halftime show, unfortunately, did not live up to the hype.
Once a year, football fans and music lovers unite, grabbing their remotes to tune into the highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime show. Sometimes, the performances remind us why we love our favorite artists. Other times, they are a major letdown. When it came to the Black Eyed Peas' 2011 performance, for example, fans were left wondering: where is the love? Let's just say that the show didn't exactly win people over. Sure, they pulled out all the stops — neon robots dancing in impeccable formation, as well as Usher and Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash joining the popular group — but even those additions weren't enough to make up for Fergie's messy vocals.
There's been no shortage of cringe-inducing performances over the years, and oftentimes it's been from the performers we least expected to crumble. As Rihanna hasn't toured since 2016, we gave her the benefit of the doubt ahead of her Super Bowl LVII halftime show. Even with the added excitement of her onstage second pregnancy reveal, we were understandably disappointed by the star's unusual lack of prowess.
Rihanna's Super Bowl performance was more of a visual than a musical spectacle
With the Super Bowl being Rihanna's first major performance in nearly a decade, everyone and their mother was understandably on the edge of their seats, anticipating what was supposed to be a performance of a lifetime. And it could have been what we've all been dreaming of and more, but the "Lift Me Up" singer, unfortunately, failed to meet expectations. Instead of delivering a show that was both sonically and visually enchanting, the halftime performance was more of a spectacle than anything else.
Ahead of the show, Rihanna teased that her team had put together various versions of the setlist to perfectly encapsulate her illustrious career, which spans eight albums, with the Fenty founder teasing that "we did a pretty good job at narrowing it down" (via Variety). Ironically, she ended up singing many of her chart-topping collaborations, like "Work," "Run This Town," and "All of the Lights" rather than hits that played a big part in defining her body of work, including "Disturbia," "Pon de Replay," and "Don't Stop the Music." Is she stopping the music, perhaps?
It also didn't help that Rihanna did a lackluster job of singing along to the backing tracks, making it look like she was lip-syncing throughout the performance. And while she showcased some dance moves here and there, her background dancers did most of the heavy lifting — and there were even moments when they successfully stole the show. The only redeeming element of the performance was the stunning production value that included floating stages. At least that made America momentarily forget about the other objects floating around in the sky (see also: spy balloons).
Rihanna didn't give us the special guest we hoped for
Part of the excitement of Super Bowl performances is guessing the surprise guests the headliner might ask to join them. Everyone collectively lost their minds when Beyoncé asked Destiny's Child to perform with her in 2013, while many were delighted when Bruno Mars rocked it out with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2014.Rihanna, for her part, teased bringing a surprise guest to her big comeback. "I'm thinking about bringing someone, I'm not sure," she told CBS News' Nate Burleson prior to the performance.
Sadly, the Grammy-winner ended up doing the entire 13-minute show completely solo, despite belting out an array of collab songs. Jay-Z didn't appear onstage during "Umbrella" and "Run This Town," and while Kanye "Ye" West would have been an unlikely guest given his recent controversies, the fact that Rihanna chose to perform "All of the Lights" out of her deep trove of hits was an eyebrow-raising decision. Even Calvin Harris DJing live along to "We Found Love" would've been a nice touch, but he, too, was nowhere to be found. Without the help of surprise guests staggering the energy throughout the performance, Rihanna's solo effort simply lost steam.
After the halftime show, a representative for the star confirmed that she's pregnant with her second child, per Deadline, so Rihanna may have been referring to the new baby in her belly as her special guest. The news officially made Rih the first-ever woman to headline the Super Bowl halftime show with a baby bump in tow. Unfortunately, that was about the only memorable aspect of her otherwise forgettable performance.