Rihanna Super Bowl Review
- Charles James
- Sep 1
- 2 min read
Rihanna ends five year performance hiatus in spectacular fashion with Super Bowl 2023 appearance at Arizona’s State Farm Arena in
The Super Bowl is the epitome of football entertainment. It shows various commercials and acts as the forum for the championship every football fan waited for. Among these joys is possibly the most anticipated event: the Super Bowl Halftime show.
Roommates and LSU students Bella Carsello, an IT major, and Lily Hawkins, a biology major, were excited.
“I need everyone silent,” said Hawkins.
The anthem of the nation. The whole world had to stop. It was Rihanna. Her voice was majestic and delighted the ears.
Rihanna’s appearance itself was a shock. It had been five years since she took a stage. Fans, such as Carsello, had long awaited more from their “favorite” star. Rihanna’s last album “ANTI” was released in 2016. It reached the top spot on the Billboard 200. Since, she has dropped three songs and 12 features in the following seven years. The metaphorical thirst for her creativity was unquenched. The halftime show was a much awaited relief.
“She needed to make a comeback,” said Hawkins calling it a “way of showing [Rihanna’s] face again.”
The greatest surprise was unspoken. There had been talk of a special guest.
Rihanna said in a CBS interview with Nate Burleson about potential guests, “I'm thinking about bringing someone.”
Rihanna was the only artist to perform. Though, she performed while pregnant.
Rihanna and her mate A$AP Rocky recently had a baby in May 2022. The baby’s name has not been released. Though Rihanna has been tight lipped about her personal life, she confirmed the child’s birth through a TikTok video. The young baby tried to take over handling the camera. His future sibling had the same impact on the halftime show.
Her pregnancy was an emphasis of the show. It was clear to the audience through the camera work.
“I feel the focus on the body to be intentional,” said Zachary James, a computer science major.
James loved the camera work as a whole. This featured frequent zoom ins and outs as well as pans to the crowd.
“I really enjoyed All of the Lights,” said James when asked his favorite song.
The camera work was exquisite for this piece. Panning from Rihanna to a sea of lights illuminating the crowd. Fitting for a fan favorite.
The choreography of the show was also a high point. James was fond of the red and white contrast as red denotes “anger, danger and love.” Each is a prominent theme of Rihanna’s music and persona.
Rihanna’s dancers joined her in rehearsals the week of the show. She rehearsed separate from the group. This allowed Rihanna to hide her pregnancy from her dancing crew as well.
In an interview with ET, dancer Laila Hayes said, "She hid it very well."
The dancers noted the cold weather allowed Rihanna to wear baggy clothes without suspicion.
Fellow dancer Luhnyae Campbell said in the ET interview "I never saw a bump," adding she “had to rewatch the performance on YouTube to realize."
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