Rihanna on Headlining Super Bowl Halftime Show: ‘I’m Nervous But I’m Excited’

Rihanna is “nervous” but “excited” about headlining the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in February.

On Tuesday, a TMZ paparazzo caught up with Rihanna outside a grocery store in the Los Angeles area, ultimately spurring some brief but coverage-worthy remarks about the wildly anticipated performance. But first, the clip in question (seen below) gave us a candid observation from Rihanna, who highlighted the footage-gathering methods of this particular paparazzo.

“That was real sneaky, girl,” Rihanna said at one point.

When asked directly about the Super Bowl performance, Rihanna offered this:

“I’m nervous but I’m excited,” she said.

From there, Rihanna was asked to reveal information about any possible plans for special guests, with her partner ASAP Rocky getting a specific mention from the paparazzo. However, Rihanna declined to confirm any such specificity.

“Maybe, girl,” she offered.

See the full moment below.

Rihanna’s status as the Super Bowl LVII halftime headliner was announced by the NFL, Apple Music, and Roc Nation in September. In a statement shared at the time, Roc Nation founder (and frequent Rihanna collaborator) Jay-Z touted Rihanna as a “generational talent” who is “self-made in business and entertainment.”

The previous Super Bowl Halftime Show experience was led by Dr. Dre, who assembled a stacked roster of special guests for his headlining set earlier this year. Speaking with Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1 last month, Dre shared some advice for Rihanna as she nears the unveiling of her own halftime performance.

“Put the right people around you, and have fun,” Dre, who was recently confirmed to be working with Snoop Dogg for the upcoming Missionary album, advised. “That’s basically what it is, making sure you have the right creative people around you.”