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After five long years of live public performance hiatus, Rihanna made her fated return to the stage during the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, where she breezed through some of her most iconic songs like “Bitch Better Have My Money,” “Diamonds” and “Umbrella.”
Because Rihanna is one of the biggest superstars on the planet, there were high expectations and heavy theories on what the show might yield, with fans trying to predict everything from the set list to who she would potentially bring out to join her onstage. Some even believed she would drop a new single following the performance. None of that happened, with the billionaire Fenty mogul opting to perform the entire show solo and confirming on Good Morning America the next day that she has no updates on new music. Instead, Rihanna did reveal that she is pregnant with her second child. This played no part in the show, despite some limited dancing mobility.
Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show illustrated just how impactful the singer has been over her nearly two-decade-long career and that her vocals haven’t lost a step despite not performing for five years. It wasn’t a perfect halftime show, but it reminded her fans and the world of why she remains at the top, even with her last album dropping in 2016.
We broke down the good, the bad, and the questionable aspects of Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime performance below.
The Good
Jessica: First things first, it’s great to see Rihanna back on the main stage, especially after being away from music for nearly five years. I appreciated that her Super Bowl halftime show didn’t rely heavily on gimmicks or showy moments like outrageous dance numbers or political gestures. At its core, Rihanna’s performance was simply a celebration of her extensive catalog and a reminder that although she is a billionaire and mother pursuing other interests and business ventures, she still is a hit machine. I do have some critiques on the simplicity of the show (which I will touch on in the category below), but overall, Rihanna deserves some love for pulling off a comeback nine months after giving birth to her first child.
Jordan: Rihanna hasn’t delivered a live public performance since her 2018 MTV Video Music Awards show, so it was great to have her back. It’s easy to forget just how many hits the Fenty mogul has across her nearly two-decade-long career, but the Super Bowl halftime show was the perfect stage to celebrate the classics while simultaneously reflecting on how far she’s come. The background dancers for the show were also incredible, despite being masked by puffy white costumes. The show was choreographed by Parris Goebel, who has a past relationship with Rihanna—including choreographing every Savage x Fenty show since its inception in 2018—and has also choreographed other Super Bowl halftime shows, most recently Jennifer Lopez’s in 2020.
The Bad
Jessica: I wasn’t expecting to see anything crazy happen onstage. I didn’t need Rihanna twirling in the air or singing upside down. I truly appreciate how the focus was mostly on the singer, with some entertainment from her backup dancers, but overall, I was underwhelmed by the show. At times, it seemed like Rihanna was motionless. She would start doing choreography with her dancers but then seemed to stop mid-motion. I also expected Rihanna to show up in various ensembles to show off her keen fashion sense, but she simply dressed in one red Loewe jumpsuit the entire performance, throwing on an Alaïa puffer toward the end. Furthermore, ahead of the show, there was an assumption that she would pay homage to her Caribbean roots. In some ways, she achieved that goal (I saw the dancers demonstrate a few moves native to Caribbean culture onstage), but the cultural influence wasn’t as present in things such as stage lights or costumes.
Although I wasn’t completely satisfied with this performance, it has to be said that Rihanna is pregnant, so understandably, she could not have done as much as she would’ve done had she not been with child.
Jordan: During her Apple Music pre–Super Bowl interview, Rihanna touched on how the most challenging part about preparing for the show was figuring out how to fit her massive catalog of hits into the short 13-minute halftime window. This was apparent during the performance, where it felt like she had to breeze through some of her biggest hits for the sake of time, which didn’t allow for each song to breathe. I also don’t think there was a singular moment during the show that made it memorable, like The Weeknd having hundreds of lookalikes storm the field or 50 Cent hanging upside down to perform “In da Club.” It just felt like it was missing something to make the heavy-hitting tracks hold more weight.
The Questionable
Jessica: It’s not mandatory, but artists are expected to bring out guests during their halftime show. Coldplay brought out Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. Shakira and JLo brought Bad Bunny and J Balvin. Rihanna didn’t bring anyone. At first, I thought the absence of guest performers made sense because this was her big comeback. But because she is pregnant and that it restricted her from moving too much, it would’ve been cool to see her interact with someone else onstage. She could’ve invited Jay-Z out for “Umbrella” and “Run This Town” or Eminem for “Love the Way You Lie.” The choices were endless. I just wonder why she didn’t seize the opportunity.
Jordan: I wasn’t surprised that she didn’t bring out a guest to perform with her because her performing ability and catalog are enough to stand independently. But after watching, it makes me wonder why she chose to be up there solo, all things considered. Rihanna performed songs like “Work” and “Umbrella,” which feature Drake and Jay-Z, respectively. If anyone were to join Rihanna onstage, we would have assumed it to be Jay-Z so the two Roc Nation artists could perform “Run This Town” together, so it was a bit surprising to see her perform it on her own. However, I think this was the appropriate decision because this was her moment. What better way to prove to the world that you’re still at the top than performing during the Super Bowl halftime show solo? A guest would have definitely elevated the show as a whole, but I liked the message it sent not to have one.