Rihanna prepares for ‘busy’ Super Bowl halftime show and rehearsals
Rihanna was in downtown Phoenix on Thursday to speak at an Apple Music Super Bowl 57 Halftime Show press conference three days before the big game.
The Barbadian singer reflected on the cultural significance of being invited to rock the world’s biggest stage on Sunday, February 12, when she headlined the Super Bowl halftime show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
“I mean, it’s a long way from home, isn’t it? It’s a beautiful trip I’m on and I never would have guessed I could have gotten here,” she says. “So it’s a celebration of that. I’m thrilled to do it. I’m really thrilled to have Barbados on the Super Bowl stage.”
“I haven’t slept yet,” she said. “We worked on the site all last night and I kind of stuck with it. And somehow I’m here at a press conference right now.”
After the game:‘Next-level chef’s post-Super Bowl showdown: Gordon Ramsay talks pan blazes, reducing curses
Rihanna explains why ‘it feels like it could only have been now’
Rihanna’s halftime show will mark the superstar’s return to live performance for the first time since 2018, when she rocked the Grammy Awards, singing “Wild Thoughts” with DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller.
She hasn’t toured since the “Anti” tour ended in late 2016. She gave birth to her first child in May, and she’s been busy with her Fenty Beauty cosmetics line and Savage X Fenty lingerie.
But for Rihanna, it’s the perfect time to take on such a challenge.
“I feel like it could only have been now,” she says.
“When I got the call to do it again this year, I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ Like, ‘I’m three months postpartum. Do I have to make big decisions like this right now? I might regret it.’ But when you become a mom, something happens that makes you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything.”
2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show: What to know about Rihanna’s performance at Super Bowl 57
Rihanna on “Representing Black Women Everywhere”
Even resuming his place in the spotlight on the biggest stage in the world?
“As scary as it was because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge it is,” she says.
“And it’s important for me to do that this year. It’s important for representation. It’s important for my son to see that.”
The idea of representation played a big role in his decision.
“That’s a big part of why doing this show is important to me,” she says. “Representing immigrants, representing my country Barbados, representing black women everywhere. It’s essential for people to see the possibilities and I’m honored to be here.
She has been focused on preparing for the Super Bowl ever since she agreed to do so.
“There’s a lot of preparation, a lot of moving parts, and this is the week where he’s really tested,” she says.
“We’re just tightening everything up. Everybody’s connecting. Everybody’s tuning. It’s literally 300 to 400 people tearing down the stage, rebuilding it, and getting it out in eight minutes. It’s unbelievable. It’s is nearly impossible.”
Rihanna on what to expect from her Super Bowl halftime show
Rihanna says creating her Super Bowl halftime setlist was “the biggest challenge.”
The Barbadian singer shot to fame at 17 thanks to 2005’s triple-platinum ‘Pon de Replay’. She topped the Billboard Hot 100 14 times, from ‘SOS’ to ‘Work’, at which point she became the youngest artist in the history of the chart to land so many songs at No. 1.
“That was the toughest, hardest part, deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate,” she says.
“That’s what this show is going to be – a celebration of my catalog in the best way we could have put it together.”
The challenge is “to try to put 17 years of work into 13 minutes,” says Rihanna.
“So it’s tough. Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s fine, but I think we’ve done a good job of narrowing it down.”
Rihanna shares her first baby look with A$AP Rocky on TikTok: Watch the video
Rihanna’s Halftime Show: ‘If it falls apart or flies away, my name has to stick to it’
Rihanna was very hands-on throughout the process, demanding frequent on-set changes in search of the ultimate halftime show experience.
“There are a lot of people that are part of this show and a big part of why this show is going to be as amazing as it is,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without them, but you know what? Ultimately, if it fails or it flies, my name has to stick to it.”
There is also a physical challenge in returning to the stage with such an impactful show.
“The physical challenge has certainly been immense, for many reasons, of course,” she says.
“I didn’t do this in a minute, first of all. And you’re just running for 13 minutes, trying to put a two-hour set in 13 minutes. And you’re going to see Sunday, from when it starts, it never ends until it’s the very last second. It’s a jam-packed show.
Rihanna on what her ‘Anti’ follow-up could be
It’s been seven years since Rihanna’s last album, “Anti,” hit No. 1 on the charts en route to triple platinum. But she followed the announcement that she would headline the Super Bowl halftime show by releasing a single from the soundtrack to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” a soaring ballad titled “Lift Me Up”.
The single peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100, her highest entry on that chart since 2016, when she and Drake hit No. 1 with “Work.”
As for where her music might go once she gets that halftime show behind her, that might surprise some listeners.
“Musically, I feel open,” she says.
“I feel open to exploring, to discovering, to creating new things, different things, quirky, weird things that may never make sense to my fans, to people who know the music I put on I just want to play I want to have fun I want to have fun with the music.
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Produces 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show
This is the fourth year that the Super Bowl halftime show has been produced by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
It follows Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s acclaimed performances at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida in 2020, The Weeknd at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida in 2021 and the Emmy-winning celebration of hip-hop. Awards last year with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and surprise guest 50 Cent at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
USA Today
