Pregnant and stunning in red, Super Bowl MVP Rihanna crushed the 2023 halftime show
At a press conference in downtown Phoenix days before she took the world’s biggest stage at State Farm Stadium as the star of the Apple Music Super Bowl 57 Halftime Show, Rihanna said the biggest challenge going into Sunday’s game was "trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes.”
She made it look easy, though, seamlessly working her way through a dizzying celebration of her catalog that put the focus squarely on her must iconic hits, from “Umbrella” to “Work" and "We Found Love."
We'd all been wondering who she might bring out to join her in the spotlight and surprise, she got along just fine without the much-anticipated cameos.
And she did it all while pregnant with her second child just nine months after giving birth, as a rep confirmed shortly after the halftime show was over to the Hollywood Reporter.
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Rihanna stuns singing greatest hits in Super Bowl 2023 halftime show
The singer made her entrance on a floating platform high above the field, rocking a stylish red jumpsuit and matching latex bustier while singing a snippet of “What’s My Name” as a lead-in to “Bitch Better Have My Money,” flanked by dancers dressed in white on floating platforms of their own.
It was a visually stunning futuristic spectacle.
Rihanna choreographer Parris Goebel dazzles
The choreography was dazzling, the field overflowing with dancers as Rihanna put them through the paces of a fast-moving medley of hits that made its way through such classics as “Where Have You Been,” “Only Girl (In the World)” and “We Found Love.”
After dusting off a handful of her greatest features, from Kanye West's "All of the Lights" to Jay-Z's "Run This Town," the set built to a fireworks-laden finale that had to have felt like it peaked on “Umbrella” until she segued into “Diamonds” as her floating platform took her back up to the open roof of State Farm Stadium, the brightest diamond in the Arizona sky.
Rihanna hasn’t toured since late 2016 and this halftime more than lived up to the promise of a world-class performer reasserting her place in the pop music stratosphere.
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Rihanna's Super Bowl setlist
"Bitch Better Have My Money"
"Where Have You Been"
"Only Girl (In the World)"
"We Found Love"
"Rude Boy"
"Work"
"Wild Thoughts"
"Pour It Up"
"All of the Lights"
"Run This Town"
"Umbrella"
"Diamonds"
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rihanna's halftime show proved she's the 2023 Super Bowl MVP: review
