Rihanna has returned to the stage for her first public live performance in five years, headlining the Super Bowl LVII halftime show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Beginning on a suspended platform above the field, Rihanna kicked off her performance with ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ before transitioning into brief segments of ‘Where Have You Been’ and and ‘Only Girl (In the World)’.
Rihanna Opens Her Super Bowl Halftime Performance with ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’
rihanna opening the show with ‘bitch better have my money’ ? #superbowl pic.twitter.com/xsvtNVxIRq
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 13, 2023
Next up was RiRi’s Calvin Harris collaboration ‘We Found Love’ and 2009’s ‘Rude Boy’. Elsewhere in the hit-filled medley, Rihanna performed parts of ‘Work’, ‘Wild Thoughts’ and ‘Pour It Up’, along with her sections of Kanye West‘s ‘All of the Lights’ and Jay-Z‘s ‘Run This Town’. She closed out the performance – where she revealed she was pregnant with her second child – with segments from ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Diamonds’. Watch clips below.
Rihanna performing "Only Girl (In The World)" during her #SuperBowl halftime show pic.twitter.com/eryEfun6wd
— HOOKED RNB (@HookedRNB) February 13, 2023
When @rihanna performs my guys song ‘Wild Thoughts’ at the #SuperBowl halftime show congratulations @djnasty @djkhaled.. pic.twitter.com/Ak6qpPYvte
— Moses (@MOSES_NBM) February 13, 2023
ALL OF THE LIGHTS ✨#SBLVII | #Rihanna pic.twitter.com/fmyWct4Gbl
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 13, 2023
WE GONNA RUN THIS TOWN TONIGHT ?️#SBLVII | #Rihanna pic.twitter.com/zjY1pWVdzm
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 13, 2023
rihanna’s performance of ‘diamonds’ was amazing pic.twitter.com/Rddfp6scrd
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 13, 2023
Rihanna’s headline performance at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show was announced in September of last year. It came after the singer revealed in 2019 that she had been asked to perform at the 2020 Super Bowl, but declined in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. It marked her first public live performance since 2018, when she joined DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller to perform ‘Wild Thoughts’ at that year’s Grammy Awards.
Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance follows last year’s halftime show, a celebration of hip-hop headlined by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, and featuring guest appearances from 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak.
Further Reading
Rihanna, Lady Gaga, & Mitski Up For Best Original Song At The Academy Awards
Rihanna Says It Would Be “Ridiculous” If Her New Album Doesn’t Arrive This Year
