Rihanna

Parris Goebel has shared a picture of herself and pop sensation Rihanna ahead of her NFL Super Bowl LVII half-time performance.

If you survive the setbacks, the turbulence, the doubt and never give up… prepared you for this moment." "To endure the sleepless nights, the pressure, the sacrifices and endless resilience. Every day, every hour, every minute of work and dedication gets you closer to that dream. She said: “When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything. Then as every day passes, you chip away at that dream.

Award-winning New Zealand choreographer Parris Goebel has shared a behind the scenes peek at working with Rihanna ahead of the Super Bowl LVII halftime show ...

Rihanna returned to the stage for the first time in seven years for a Super Bowl halftime performance that wowed fans with a baby bump.

The rapper/business mogul, who has aligned himself with the NFL to [expand the cultural influence](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/mike-freeman/2022/02/09/nfl-jay-z-social-justice-efforts-failure-super-bowl-2022/6664093001/) of the league, helped sign Rihanna to Def Jam Records when she was 16 and scored a massive hit with her on 2008’s Grammy-winning “Umbrella.” Rihanna remains a top name at Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and entertainment firm. [according to the Recording Industry Association of America](https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=rihanna#search_section)), and her Super Bowl debut squeezed as many [her 14 No. Quick segues into "Where Have You Been" and "Only Girl (In the World)" led to a fireworks display during "We Found Love," her fizzy banger with Calvin Harris. Since "Anti," the nine-time Grammy Award winner has mostly dedicated her time to boosting the profile of Fenty Beauty, which she started in 2017. [Maybe the rawest unplugged show ever](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/12/foo-fighters-dave-grohl-unplugs-pre-super-bowl-concert/11242290002/) [The 20 best Rihanna songs ever (from 'We Found Love' to 'Umbrella')](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/10/rihanna-best-songs-ever-ranked/11223998002/) "Is Rihanna pregnant again" became a breakout term on Google Trends during the performance, as Rihanna gently patted her stomach at one point, prompting excited speculation among fans. [See Eagles coach Nick Sirianni moved to tears](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/12/super-bowl-57-national-anthem-chris-stapleton-sheryl-lee-ralph/11214856002/) [according to Forbes.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/08/04/rihanna-billionaire-forbes-richest-female-musician-fenty-beauty/5480614001/) And, of course, her distinctive fashion style. [Super Bowl halftime headliner.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/10/18/rihanna-super-bowl-halftime-show-2023-new-music/10477741002/) [more than $1 billion](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/08/04/rihanna-billionaire-forbes-richest-female-musician-fenty-beauty/5480614001/) and, as of last year, [a mom](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/05/19/rihanna-baby-singer-asap-rocky-welcome-first-child/6646816001/).

When she was expecting her first child, a son, Rihanna spoke with Vogue about her pregnancy. “When I found out I was pregnant, I thought ...

During her hits-filled set, the singer cradled her midsection several times, leading to widespread speculation on social media that she was pregnant with her second child with her partner, the rapper A$AP Rocky. I’m not going to let that part disappear because my body is changing.” With an army of dancers, wild outfits and a spectacular fireworks finish, it was a triumphant return to performing after Rihanna’s five-year performance hiatus.

Rihanna did not bring any other artists to the stage, preferring to frame the set as a celebration of her dominant pop career. The performance also served ...

[The Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/rihanna-entertainment-sports-motherhood-music-14ea73006505a33793e3af992b083a2c) in an interview shortly after she was announced as the halftime headliner, “Super Bowl is one thing. The staging was dramatic and visually striking, as Rihanna hovered over the crowd on an elevated platform that descended from above, and some of her dancers remained poised above the field throughout the set. Despite performing parts of several songs that feature high-profile rappers — “Work,” her hit single with Drake; “Umbrella,” which features Jay-Z; and Kanye West’s “All of the Lights,” on which Rihanna guests — she did not bring any other artists to the stage, preferring to frame the set as a celebration of her dominant pop career. Ever the savvy businesswoman, her halftime performance featured a bit of product placement, when she paused for a moment to reapply some Fenty Beauty powder. 1 smashes like “We Found Love,” “Diamonds” and “Only Girl (in the World),” leaning into the up-tempo and dancier sides of her catalog. The performance also served as a pregnancy reveal.

From her pregnancy reveal to her set list, here's what you need to know about Rihanna's halftime show performance for the 2023 Super Bowl.

Neither of those happened, but the Super Bowl Halftime Show marked her long-awaited return to music, and now the world waits to see what happens next. [historic game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs](https://time.com/6254557/super-bowl-2023-black-quarterbacks-mahomes-hurts/) was settled, the true winner of Super Bowl LVII was [Rihanna](https://time.com/6251429/rihanna-fashion-best-moments/), who made her triumphant return to [live performance](https://time.com/6250929/best-rihanna-performances-super-bowl/) on the biggest of stages: the Halftime Show. As fans took in her performance, much of the conversation focused, as it so often does in our gossip-centric culture, on her postpartum body. Her long-awaited show had been hyped for months leading up to tonight’s musical comeback, and fans were satisfied with the results. While it’s become customary for most Halftime headliners to feature special guests during their shows, Rihanna broke with tradition and was the sole performer during the performance, relying instead on the impeccable talents of her dozens of backup dancers, who wined, body-rolled, and dropped it low. While her epic performance more than delivered the show-stopping celebration of her many hits that [her fans had anticipated](https://time.com/6253747/rihanna-super-bowl-halftime-show-predictions/), it was also filled with plenty of surprises—including choreography from her frequent collaborator Parris Goebel, a cheeky Fenty product placement, and a well-placed belly rub that set the Internet ablaze with pregnancy speculations, as well as criticism that so much focus shifted from her musical return to the status of her postpartum body. Rihanna’s look consisted of a striking red bodysuit with a matching red patent breastplate from Loewe, worn under a jumpsuit in the same bright shade. For one thing, prolifically: immediately after the performance, Twitter would not load tweets for a couple of minutes. Her electrifying performance signaled that even though it’s been seven years since we’ve had a new album from Rihanna, the bad gal can still bring it when it comes to putting on a show. During the show, the word “pregnant” began trending on Twitter, with viewers reading into a belly rub she did while singing the lyric “life inside” and a quote she gave during a pre-show interview in which she said, “I’m thinking about bringing someone.” Others criticized the speculation and the mass effort to investigate a woman’s reproductive status, saying that the moment should be about her return to music and what this means for her career, not about her body. The sporty, futuristic look was complemented by white Hazmat suit-esque costumes her backup dancers wore, paired with reflective sunglasses and mesh undershirts. “I’m three months postpartum, like, should I be making major decisions like this now?’ Like, ‘I might regret this,’” she said.

Rihanna has kicked off her long-awaited Super Bowl halftime show performance by appearing to reveal she is expecting her second child.

As the cameras pulled in for a close-up, it was hard not to notice just how much that small platform - which Rihanna was not visibly attached to - was wobbling. Rihanna finished back on a small platform, once more hoisted aloft into the air to sing her Sia-penned hit Diamonds. She told him at the time that her performance would feature a surprise guest.

Rihanna performed hits like Umbrella, Only Girl, and We Found Love at Super Bowl LVII — all with a baby bump.

And then just like she entered the stadium, she planted herself on one of those death-defying platforms and ascended high above the field, powering through “ [Umbrella](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvBfHwUxHIk)” and “ [Diamonds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWA2pjMjpBs),” two of the biggest singles of her career. [Rude Boy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e82VE8UtW8A),” “ [Work](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1UzIK-flA),” and “ [Pour It Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehcVomMexkY).” With the cameras up close, she cracked a wry smile here and flashed a squint there. [All of the Lights](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfFfqiYLp0)” and “ [Run This Town](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztygmWtWCjQ),” solo, deigning to bring on collaborators Jay-Z and [Kanye West](https://www.vox.com/culture/23398795/kanye-west-ye-antisemitic-bigot-white-lives-matter-tucker-carlson-art-vs-artist) for what would have been quintessential Super Bowl cameos. As she transitioned to her final set of songs, one of the dancers handed her what seemed to be a Fenty compact (internet sleuths deduced it was her brand’s $34 [blotting powder](https://www.sephora.com/product/invisimatte-blotting-powder-P39784685)) and the makeup entrepreneur dusted her nose and undereyes. The dancers cleared. [ Rihanna’s reps confirmed she is pregnant](https://twitter.com/rollingstone/status/1624958333462405131?s=46&t=VdU_G3Di9GbVdPqTnB7N1A) with her second child after a speculative social media frenzy ( [that belly rub](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/rihanna-pregnant-super-bowl-half-time-show) did mean something!). The direction and camera work were on point, with wide shots capturing the scale and grandeur of the floating stages. She is a hitmaker; it’s about the sound. This year, multiple platforms were suspended and lowered, lifted, and lowered again and again in synchronization with her run of songs; the set looked like a giant audio equalizer. Her voice is an engine that can take any song in any genre to the top of the charts. The next single, the next makeup drop, the next outfit: Rihanna is one of the few humans in this overexposed, over-curated world that people simply cannot get enough of. Rihanna doesn’t need more money, but whatever Rihanna wants, she gets, with millions of fans cheering her on.

The singer surprised fans as she delivered a hit-heavy performance at the half-time show.

Fans of Rihanna admit the singer doesn't necessarily have the best voice in music. And surely everybody can all be grateful that her set wasn't dragged down by her most recent release - Lift Me Up from the soundtrack to Marvel's Wakanda Forever. In the late noughties and early 2010s, she churned out chart-toppers faster than the industry's top songwriters could compose them. But monster hits such as Rude Boy were balanced with the somewhat harder-edged and lesser-known Pour It Up. Model Cara Delevingne was among the attendees sporting one on Sunday. I couldn't be an enabler," she said at the time. Instead, Rihanna deployed some her biggest hits as she hurtled towards the end of her set, climaxing with her ode to British weather, Umbrella, and the rousing, anthemic Diamonds. But what has set Rihanna apart from some of her peers is the sheer number of hits she has to her name. Weird but whatever." "I just couldn't be a sellout. [her representatives confirmed](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/rihanna-pregnant-rep-confirms-super-bowl-halftime-show-1235323383/) the singer was indeed pregnant with her second child. The singer rattled through several of her most recognisable hits, front-loading her set with some of her most danceable and up-tempo numbers including Only Girl (In The World) and the excellent Where Have You Been.

After seven years largely away from the stage, the singer and mogul used the halftime show to perform a dozen hits, nod to her nonmusical business and ...

And for Rihanna, playing halftime is a milestone befitting the scope of her achievements. Rihanna — one of the crucial pop hitmakers of the 21st century — needs the Super Bowl less than the Super Bowl needs her, and her performance was a master class in doing exactly enough. So in its marketing, the Super Bowl amplified how it was a coup to land her most visible effort in years. But the involvement of The event was the event. There was little variation in tone or energy, no aesthetic nods to the lightly themed set list. But for Rihanna, who [last year gave birth to her first child](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/style/rihanna-pregnancy-fashion.html), it was a stroke of performance savvy nonetheless — maybe the only gesture that could outshine, and reframe, the show she had just given. And she had not performed a show of this scale since 2016. Rihanna’s hits are plentiful — she has charted more than 60 times on the Billboard Hot 100 — and they are varied. During “Work,” she led them as if she were a tutor calling out moves but not participating in them. In 13 minutes, Rihanna casually performed snippets of 12 hits, universally known songs that don’t require much in the way of fluffing or bombast. She followed that song immediately with “Run This Town,” another collaboration with Ye (and Jay-Z).

Bad Gal Riri is back, returning to the stage to headline the Super Bowl 2023 halftime show on Sunday (local time) - with a very surprise guest in tow.

She wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit as she stood on a transparent square that moved her up and down as she hovered in the air at State Farm Stadium.

Fireworks went off and lights sparkled from the stand as she was raised alone back into the air and sang Diamonds — with its refrain of “shine bright like a diamond” — as the set closed. She and her dancers were lowered to stage that matched her outfit, and moved in sync as she sped through two other hits, Where Have You Been, and Only Girl, belting out Want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world. She wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit as she stood on a transparent square that moved her up and down as she hovered in the air over the turf at State Farm Stadium and belted out the lyrics to B**** Better Have My Money.

YouTuber Jake Paul took to Twitter and declared that the singer had “slayed”, praising her for staying fully clothed. Conservative commentator Candice Owens ...

A representative for Rihanna confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter after the show that the iconic singer was pregnant with her second child. Meanwhile, some people were disappointed that Rihanna didn’t share the limelight by bringing out any special guest stars, with AFL star Dane Swan even tweeting that the move was “selfish”. The Barbadian singer’s highly-anticipated performance marked the break in the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles - and it has now halted the internet, with plenty of reaction.

It was the only special guest she needed for her incredible Super Bowl 57 performance.

"We far from home but we made it!!!! [ shared a picture of herself and pop sensation](https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/13/super-bowl-lvii-parris-goebel-shares-snap-with-rihanna/) Rihanna ahead of her showcase. She and the dancers were lowered to a long stage that matched her outfit as she sped through hits including Work, Where Have You Been, and Only Girl, belting out "want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world”.

ASL interpreter Justina Miles has been applauded for her energetic performance at Superbowl 57.

She previously went viral for her performance of Lil’ Kim’s 1997 song Crush on You on TikTok in 2020. * Miles performed twice during the sports event.

She's pregnant and once again setting the rules for maternity fashion.

(Alaïa had a very good Super Bowl; Rihanna also wore a crocodile print skirt and a shearling leather jacket from the brand for her pregame news conference.) The calculation is that the potential payoff is worth the risk. (Also, yes, Valentine’s Day, but she generally thinks more globally than a Hallmark moment.) It painted a picture that could be read from the farthest reaches of the football arena. (Who knows how many?) Even Oscar nominees don’t have quite so many brands willing to gamble on the chance that a celebrity’s favor will fall on them. [Rihanna’s style](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/style/rihanna-pregnancy-fashion.html) was largely defined by what she didn’t wear (anything that obscured her bump), in State Farm Stadium she was almost entirely covered up. Or like some sort of avant-garde fertility goddess, drenched in a color with all sorts of potent associations related to the female body — especially the pregnant female body.

But she didn't prove as big a draw as last year's Super Bowl halftime performers, led by Dr. Dre. Early numbers from Samba TV, a TV technology company that ...

Rihanna still drew substantially more viewers than the halftime performer two years ago, The Weeknd. “Rihanna’s star power has only continued to grow since her last tour and album release more than half a decade ago,” noted Samba TV founder and CEO Ashwin Navin. Early numbers from Samba TV, a TV technology company that provides real-time analytics, found that Rihanna’s audience was slightly smaller than last year. That’s up from 36.5 million the previous year. It appears to be up versus last year, with 36.7 million households viewing the contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. But she didn’t prove as big a draw as last year’s Super Bowl halftime performers, led by Dr.

Rihanna headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in a body-hugging red Loewe jumpsuit with matching Loewe bustier and Alaïa jacket. Fans speculated whether or ...

(We’ve also reached out to Rihanna’s team for comment and will update here when we hear back.) (By the way, A$AP Rocky was caught [recording some of his girlfriend’s performance](https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1624948494124601345) on his cell phone from the sidelines and it’s all very cute.) Rihanna didn’t explicitly announce that she’s pregnant during the set though, and the body-hugging red Loewe jumpsuit, paired with a matching Loewe bustier and [Alaïa jacket](https://twitter.com/VVFriedman/status/1624949449138098177) and MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon Cross Low sneakers, made it a bit tough to tell for sure. [talked](https://www.thecut.com/2023/02/rihanna-work-life-balance-new-mom.html) about juggling new motherhood and her career, telling Apple Music’s Nadeska, “The balance is almost impossible. [her first child](https://www.thecut.com/2022/05/rihanna-reportedly-had-her-baby.html), a boy, with A$AP Rocky, in May of last year. The singer and beauty mogul hasn’t performed live in years, so the second “Bitch Better Have My Money” (the first of many hits she performed tonight) started blasting through that arena, fans/the world/probably Adele because she was in the audience naturally lost their shit. [Rihanna](https://www.thecut.com/2023/01/rihanna-super-bowl-halftime.html)’s Super Bowl Halftime performance was always going to overshadow any silly little game, super or not.

Rolling out seven albums in eight years, Rihanna dominated pop, embracing emerging trends, serving big-tent bops in lean years for R&B singers, and doing songs ...

She held court dressed in blood red, surrounded by a swirl of dancers in white, soft-launching a new kid by hosting a kind of metaphysical conception to the tune of “Work” and “Wild Thoughts,” joining Beyoncé and Cardi B in their use of television to share the reveal, the latest in a lengthy succession of [women](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQKQEY6KDzE&t=117s) [giving](https://twitter.com/craigspoplife/status/1624961931202203649) [memorable](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8beae) [performances](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhdTAwkDu1Q) [while](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxRNtNpJPVw) [pregnant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5JjcJAg_P0). [Beyoncé stunted so hard ](https://youtu.be/SDPITj1wlkg?t=89)that we often forget she wasn’t the headliner, or Michael Jackson’s memorable [two-minute statue pose](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsopN7JKUVs) from 1993, or the flawless 1991 [“Star-Spangled Banner”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAYKTMQl7MQ) from Whitney Houston. [Coldplay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uw6ZkbsAH8) to [Jeezy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcwd_Nz6Zog). You either know buddy can sing the soul loose from your body, or [you fuck around and find out](https://youtu.be/V-FYmUIvE10?t=197).) What Rihanna’s Super Bowl show did expertly communicate is that she is a tenacious self-starter who played the fame game so well that she made it from a [bungalow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLeGYlx5pSQ) to a [billion](https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/08/04/fentys-fortune-rihanna-is-now-officially-a-billionaire/?sh=3dda38eb7c96) in less than 20 years, and her singles still slam, and we could probably stop asking after R9 for a little while. The usual suspects — “We Found Love,” “Only Girl (In the World),” “Diamonds,” “Umbrella” — made their expected appearances, but opening that show with “Bitch Better Have My Money” was bold, and leaving ballads like “Take a Bow” and “Stay” at home in favor of the raunchier “Rude Boy” and “Pour It Up” gave the spectacle a faintly reckless air that counterbalanced the hard-fought seamlessness displayed as the star was shuttled onto and off of the moving platform, which resembled the Battlefield level from Super Smash Bros. [Simpler time](https://www.vulture.com/2022/12/kanye-west-dropped-brands-adidas-gap-what-did-ye-say.html).) [almost 40 drafts](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rihanna-super-bowl-press-conference-halftime-show-1234676685/) of the set list in the planning stages, and throughout the 13-song medley, there was the sense she could’ve played 20 more hits. Four medleys showcased her casual excellence in [singing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqpw9dtKChg) [across](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Ygppti7YI) [genres](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUyEZzFyz9U), in the process tracing her evolution from teenage sensation to dance-music icon at ease in the listless sequence of psych-rock jams, soul songs, and ballads heard on the same year’s Anti. [naysayers](https://twitter.com/rihanna/status/203576093385568256). It’s a testament to the Barbadian icon’s mettle, to a career dedicated to making the difficult look doable, that all of this intrigue could be stuffed into a confident, relaxed performance that saw the singer float in the air on a suspended platform while barreling through songs from various corners of her expansive catalogue. 2005’s “Pon de Replay” was our first sampling of the voice, a delicate but raspy thing blessed with a formidable vibrato and a depth of range that snuck up on us when she trotted effortlessly across the high notes in 2006’s “Tainted Love” flip “S.O.S.” and 2007’s New Order interpolation [Rihanna](https://www.vulture.com/tags/rihanna/) perform on television or anywhere else was at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, where she was named Video Vanguard.

In forcing her audience to confront her physical reality, the pop star took ownership of her body – and she did it in real time, says Morwenna Ferrier, ...

It became the most liked photograph on Instagram in 2017, with more than 10m likes (she revealed her first pregnancy on stage in 2011 at the MTV Video Music Awards, but no one really remembers that). The image became a blueprint for magazines, sending an empowering message in an era otherwise ridden with repressed corporeal ideals, but that didn’t stop some shops from banning it at the time. In terms of the reveal, I simply posted a headless mirror shot on Instagram in which I gently lifted my tracksuit to show a tiny bump. In 2017, Leibovitz [rehashed the concept](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2017/06/serena-williams-cover-story) with Serena Williams, an image that feels all the more powerful now, because Williams almost died after an emergency C-section from that pregnancy. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? Doing it on a public stage, as Rihanna did, was not only bold. The celebrity pregnancy reveal is, of course, more public – and it has a short, but storied tradition. But the image of the pregnant pop star, cradling her belly in a red silk Loewe catsuit as she descended from the heavens on a Perspex box, is surely up there with the greatest pregnancy reveals of the Instagram age. In forcing her audience to confront her physical reality, Rihanna went past making a fashion statement. During my pregnancy, I wore clothes that rearranged themselves around my changing shape: jeans with elasticated waistbands from Topshop, a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress given to me by a colleague and various billowing dresses in plissé fabrics from Asos, which I gave to a charity shop as soon as I was able to walk again. She took ownership of her body, and she did it in real time. The Daily Mail called her “shameless”.

None of Rihanna's 280 background dancers knew the singer was pregnant before she debuted the baby bump on the stage.

It wasn't until showtime that anyone involved saw her final costume, [The singer's representative confirmed the news](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/300806063/rihanna-is-pregnant-again-rep-confirms-after-super-bowl-show?rm=a) shortly after she ended her 13-minute set at Super Bowl 57 on Sunday (local time). * And reportedly, it was all due to the baggy clothes the Umbrella singer rocked during rehearsals. Here's what to know about her 2023 Super Bowl halftime show](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/300805381/ready-for-rihanna-heres-what-to-know-about-her-2023-super-bowl-halftime-show?rm=a) [Rihanna is pregnant again, rep confirms after Super Bowl show](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/300806063/rihanna-is-pregnant-again-rep-confirms-after-super-bowl-show?rm=a)

Yes, the seven floating stages during Rihanna's Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show were theatrical and cool, but they also had a very practical ...

“But this one is a totally different animal.” Grass is very important to the National Football League as it can affect how the players are able to function on the field. And it had everything to do with the grass on the field.

Rihanna is perhaps the only pop star so relaxed and unencumbered by expectations that she could turn such a high-stakes occasion into a jaunt.

As she moves further and further away from the merry-go-round of the album-release calendar, her mystique has only continued to grow. She has taken the stage in support of her lingerie brand more frequently than she has performed her music live. Pregnancy is the latest element of her public persona to inspire just as much gasping Internet-wide awe as any new music could. From one angle, the confusion of the moment represented a distraction from the musical performance. Formed partly in an attempt to revamp the N.F.L.’s image in the wake of its mistreatment of Kaepernick, the partnership has, at least gesturally, altered the makeup of the halftime show: Last year’s was a gallingly belated celebration of hip-hop history, and the first time the genre had been featured prominently at the Super Bowl. [Anti](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/rihannas-anti-album)” in 2016, Rihanna has become adept at sustaining, and even growing, her celebrity status without being particularly interested in the duties of a pop star. [Super Bowl](https://www.newyorker.com/sports/replay/super-bowl-lvii-was-a-story-of-two-great-quarterbacks-until-the-end) on account of the N.F.L.’s treatment of [Colin Kaepernick](https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/the-nfls-change-of-tone-and-the-limits-of-merely-listening), Rihanna has since changed her tune, thanks to a partnership between the league and Jay-Z’s sprawling entertainment company, Roc Nation. [pregnant with her first child](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/is-rihannas-pregnancy-all-bump-and-no-grind), in 2022, she came out of relative hiding by staging a paparazzi shoot in New York City that showed her belly peeking out of a hot-pink vintage Chanel jacket, adorned with hanging jewels. [Beyoncé](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-beyonce-grammys-were-awkward) pioneered this sort of pregnancy announcement at the V.M.A.s in 2011, flinging open her sequined blazer and exaggeratedly rubbing her bump at the end of a performance of “Love On Top.” Rihanna, who is the anti-Beyoncé in her resistance to calculation and choreography, barely grazed her bump with her hands, prompting millions to wonder on social media if she was actually pregnant, or if they were experiencing a fever dream. And yet Rihanna is perhaps the only pop star so relaxed and unencumbered by expectations that she could turn such a high-stakes occasion into a cool and casual jaunt. And it would also, unbeknownst to viewers before the broadcast, double as a pregnancy announcement for the pop star, who is now expecting her second child. Rihanna, who has not released a new album since 2016’s “Anti,” would be taking the stage for the first time in several years.

Fans and critics praised the cool, calm performance as a reminder of how many hit songs Rihanna has created over the years.

[seen posing ](https://twitter.com/rihanna/status/1294475136968450048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1294475136968450048%7Ctwgr%5Ee2faa1d9a738bbafe80a68bc0d4fe337303381ba%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Ftrump-rihanna-fight-super-bowl-insult-nothing-without-stylist-2023-2)in front of an art installation, featuring a car that had the words "F**k Trump" spray painted on it. Trump’s characteristically catty, dramatic insult isn’t the first time he has ranted against the singer; in fact, he seems to be nurturing a strange grudge against Rihanna. [having gained](https://mobile.twitter.com/JoePompliano/status/1625222816030244864) 1.5 million Instagram followers, with searches for her beauty company, Fenty, [soared by 833%](https://mobile.twitter.com/PopBase/status/1625177719742017537) in the wake of her performance. Even Sesame Street's Elmo was impressed, with the puppet’s official Twitter account posting that the singer looked “great in red.” [“tragic” rallies](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rihanna-slams-trump-for-playing-her-music-at-rally), and a year later called him “the most mentally ill man in America” in an interview with Vogue. Also, so much for her ‘Stylist!’”

See photos of some of the biggest performances by pregnant musicians.

Photo Credit : Kevin Mazur/WireImage Photo Credit : Kristian Dowling/GI Photo Credit : Christopher Polk/GI for dcp Photo Credit : Johnny Nunez/GI for BET Photo Credit : Chelsea Lauren/GI for Hyundai Photo Credit : Christopher Polk/GI for NARAS

Footage has emerged of Rihanna supposedly lip-syncing, and Trump didn't miss a beat.

Many performers opt for the former so that they can put all their energy into the often-elaborate choreography that accompanies the performances. OMG,” tweeted another detractor, while one wrote, “Lip-syncing at the Super Bowl should not be allowed.” Ralph responded: “Does it matter? Why bother doing the halftime show if you’re not even gonna try and lip sync, bizarre.” According to NFL policy, rehearsals for halftime performances are prerecorded live, so stars can sing over it as much or as little as they want to as a musical safety net on the big night. If that didn’t impress fans enough, the What’s My Name songstress

Rihanna's streaming numbers spiked more than 640% on Spotify following her triumphant return to the stage for the Super Bowl LVII.

Blige](https://variety.com/2022/music/news/super-bowl-halftime-dr-dre-eminem-takes-knee-1235180677/). ET as the most-Shazamed minute of the show, and also the most-Shazamed minute in the U.S. The streaming platform ramped up listeners and heightened anticipation in the days leading up to the big game by promoting the Halftime performer’s “ [This is Rihanna](https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fplaylist%2F37i9dQZF1DZ06evO3by276%3Fsi%3D2f7e3c1d22974f16__%3B!!BupLon6U!qIhwfzfMy3YwGX4Dx7jssfnmlaqWhMawVPqUpknhv7fg-Bxm0fKTheMBTngGWk-7mJpfPJm1f7nRFURBNSU%24&data=05%7C01%7Ctgarcia%40variety.com%7C1785f7042ffe4655c01e08db0dfe7058%7Ce950f25546e44144a778a6ff4f557492%7C0%7C0%7C638119158685209658%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=s17Fz9k48Rw0iyrVGnptrHk%2BgvlmlwFvVCg3LWPpqUE%3D&reserved=0)” playlist, a megamix containing her most beloved hits. Naturally, game day was also Rihanna’s biggest day on both Apple Music and Shazam. Several other tracks from Rihanna’s career-defining set also experienced streaming bumps: “Diamonds” increased by more than 1,400%; “Rude Boy” saw an increase of more than 1,170%; and “We Found Love” increased by over 1,160%. 12 — her first solo appearance in seven years.

Rihanna's pregnancy reveal was at once showstopping and subtle, dazzling and mundane. The impending birth of her second child was disclosed via a spandex ...

Rihanna revealed she was pregnant after performing at the Super Bowl, and that was inspirational. Rihanna was the star of the show. Rihanna gyrating on a platform, Rihanna soaring over a stadium, Rihanna singing the hook from “S&M” while ensconced in some sort of vinyl-boobed chestplate and presiding over a phalanx of backup dancers. “When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything,” she’d said in a media preview, speaking of her decision to accept the gig. The impending birth of her second child was disclosed via a spandex jumpsuit on a stage floating at nosebleed altitude in the Super Bowl stadium during a halftime show performed for millions of viewers. Her choreography was sultry and sexy; less maternal-madonna than Madonna-Madonna, down to a few well-placed crotch grabs.

Jesse Collins, who produced the Super Bowl halftime show, also revealed that Rihanna rehearsed kilometres away from Los Angeles in a bid to keep the news under ...

It was a lot of prep, a lot of nerves and [I'm] just really happy to be a part of it." She shared: "I feel like it was now or never, really. "It was a lot of work.