Dolly Parton is rooting for Rihanna and can’t wait to see her Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show.
During a recent interview with CBS Mornings, the country music icon said she’s looking forward to watching the “Love on the Brain” singer perform at this year’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.
“I think [Rihanna is] beautiful. I think she sings great. Her songs are wonderful. So, yeah, of course, I’ll be watching it,” Parton said.
“My husband’s also a football freak, in addition to being a rock and roller, so I’m always watching the game. I usually do all the snacks and the cooking. This year, I’ll be doing Duncan Hines snacks for the Super Bowl. But yeah, I’ll be watching it, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her,” she added.
.@DollyParton says she and her husband, who she calls a “football freak,” are “really looking forward” to watching Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Watch our full interview with Parton, tomorrow on #CBSMornings. pic.twitter.com/mtR03syb88
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 19, 2023
Rihanna was announced as this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner back in late September, according to the Associated Press. In addition, the 34-year-old singer and new mom shared more about scoring the coveted performance with Entertainment Tonight‘s Rachel Smith on the red-carpet premiere of her fashion collection, Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 in October.
“I can’t believe I even said yes. It was one of those things that even when I announced it, I was like, ‘OK, I can’t take it back. Now, it’s like final,’” Rihanna told Smith at the time.
“The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, it’s an entertainer’s dream to be on a stage like that. But it’s nerve-racking. You want to get it right,” she explained. “You know, everybody’s watching. And they’re rooting for you. And I want to get it right.”
Although the singer was admittedly a bit nervous about the performance, she said being a new mom made her go for it. She also said she wanted to challenge herself to do something she’d “never done before” in her career.
“You could get real comfortable being at home as a mom, [so this is me] challenging myself to do something that I’ve never done before in my career. I have to live up to that challenge,” she shared.
In the months leading up to her big performance, Rihanna has remained fairly tight-lipped about what she plans to do on stage. However, she did reveal one thing during her conversation with Smith.
“I want to incorporate different aspects of entertainment and things that I just enjoy and bring it to the stage,” she said. “I want to celebrate the music that I’ve made.” She also hinted at bringing some famous faces on stage during the show but didn’t say who, TMZ indicated.
The singer was previously approached about headlining the 2018 Super Bowl Half Time Show in Atlanta but ultimately turned down the gig due to then-controversy around NFL player Colin Kaepernick, Page Six reported. In 2019, Rihanna told Vogue she disagreed with the NFL as an organization and didn’t want to be “of service to them in any way” but now appears to have had a change of heart.
NFL Head of Music Seth Dudowsky said the league was “thrilled to welcome” the global superstar to the Halftime Show Stage in a Sept. 25 press release.
Fans of Rihanna, including Parton, can watch the singer perform at State Farm Stadium for the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show at Super Bowl LVII, on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.
The singer’s performance will mark her return to music following the release of her 2016 album, Anti.
