Super Bowl LVII is upon us, and music fans are eagerly awaiting RIHANNA‘s return to the stage during the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, which is expected to begin at around 8 p.m. EST.
The 34-year-old singer will take to the State Farm Stadium turf for a 13-minute performance that will likely feature all of her radio hits and fan-favorite tunes.
During a recent press conference, RIHANNA revealed that she has “about 39 versions of the set list.”
“That was the hardest, hardest part — deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate,” she told the media. “That’s what this show is going to be — it’s going to be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could’ve put it together.”
“You’re trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes, so it’s difficult,” the hitmaker added. “Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s going to be OK, but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down.”
In addition to having a stacked set list, RIHANNA vows to represent Black women, immigrants and her home country of Barbados within her performance.
“It’s a long way from home. It’s a beautiful journey that I’m on, and I could’ve never guessed that I would have made it here. So it’s a celebration of that. I’m excited to do that. I’m really excited to have Barbados on the Super Bowl stage,” she continued.
RIHANNA’s Apple Music Halftime Show is produced by DPS with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serving as executive producers, and Hamish Hamilton serving as director.
“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” Jay-Z, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” collaborator and the founder of Roc Nation, previously said in a statement. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
In a recent interview with Billboard, Collins, who is the President of Jesse Collins Entertainment, shared that RIHANNA is “working hard” on her performance. He went on to promise viewers that the “Stay” singer will perform “all” of her major hits and that the Apple Music Halftime Show will be “like none other.”
The performance will mark RIHANNA’s first performance in five years.
The 34-year-old pop star has mostly remained out of the spotlight in music over the last several years to focus on her Savage X Fenty lingerie and beauty line. In May of 2022, RIHANNA welcomed her first child with her boyfriend A$AP ROCKY.
“Oh, man. I’m just as excited as you guys, if not more. Yeah, I’m super excited. This is as huge. This is incredible. I’m so glad that my lady’s back making music again and whatnot, and getting back out there. It’s just incredible,” A$AP ROCKY recently told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. ”Especially for both of us, it is a good year for both of us to be more active and be out there. But the Super Bowl is huge, and her being the creative she is she going to bring it, man. I’m excited. I’m more excited than everybody else, honestly.”
The worldwide phenomenon later released two new songs, “Lift Me Up” and “Born Again,” which marked her first new music since 2016’s Anti. Both tunes appear as part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
RIHANNA recently scored her first-ever Oscar nomination at the 95th Academy Awards for Best Original Song for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever single, “Lift Me Up,” which is also her first solo single in six years.
RIHANNA follows previous Super Bowl halftime performers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, The Weeknd, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, and many more.
Additionally, several other superstars will perform during Super Bowl LVII pregame entertainment, including Chris Stapleton, Babyface, and more.
Stapleton, who recently turned heads with his GRAMMYs performance alongside Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder, will perform the National Anthem. The U.S. Navy will conduct a flyover of State Farm Stadium as Stapleton sings “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The flyover is in support of 50 years of women flying in the Navy.
According to a press release, The formation will be composed of an F-35C Lightning II from the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, two F/A-18F Super Hornets from the “Flying Eagles” of VFA-122, and an EA-18G Growler from the “Vikings” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129.
Babyface, a 12-time GRAMMY winner, will sing “America The Beautiful,” while Emmy-award winning actress, Sheryl Lee Ralph, will appear to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The performers will be joined by Academy Award-winner Troy Kotsur, who will sign the National Anthem, “America The Beautiful,” “Life Every Voice and Sing,” and the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in American Sign Language. Kotsur, who is only the second deaf person to win an Oscar, is an Arizona native known for his work in the film CODA.
Super Bowl LVII, which will find the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles, will take place on Sunday (Feb. 12) at 5:30 p.m. CT on FOX.
