Are you ready for Super Bowl LVII Sunday? Image: Apple Music | YouTube.
Super Bowl 2023: Everything we know about Riri’s halftime show
Sunday is the Super Bowl LVII final. But it’s the halftime show by Rihanna that has everyone gushing. Here’s what we know so far.
Are you ready for Super Bowl LVII Sunday? Image: Apple Music | YouTube.
Super Bowl Sunday is almost here, and fans eagerly await Barbadian singer Rihanna’s halftime performance.
The singer is set to entertain the Super Bowl LVII crowd at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium on Sunday, 12 February.
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WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT RIHANNA’S PERFORMANCE
At a press conference with Apple Music, Rihanna shared that her performance would last 13 minutes and said that putting together a set list was “difficult.”
Her impressive musical portfolio includes eight albums over 17 years.
“Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s going to be okay,” she said. “We did a pretty good job at narrowing it down. There’s probably been about 39 versions of the setlist right now. We’re on our 39th. Every little change counts,” she said at the time.
Gossip outlet Deuxmoi quoted a source suggesting that Rihanna will perform some of her older, best-known hits but that the set list is constantly being tweaked.
NO WORD YET ON GUEST PERFORMERS
There is also no word yet on any special guests joining Riri, but fans are hopeful.
Previous performers like Coldplay introduced Beyoncé and Bruno Mars as part of their set. And Katy Perry brought out Missy Elliott and Lenny Kravitz.
WMagazine reports that other performers have been announced for the rest of the show. Singer-songwriter and country star Chris Stapleton will perform the national anthem, and R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.”
Emmy-award winner and star of Abbott Elementary will perform the 123-year-old hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
HOW MUCH WILL RIRI GET PAID?
Contrary to popular belief, the singer will not be paid a cent to perform.
Esquire reports that per league policy, the NFL covers all costs related to the production of the halftime show but that the talent doesn’t get a paycheck.
The production cost of the halftime show, even if it is only a thirteen-minute segment, can be sky-high. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s 2020 performance reportedly cost the NFL more than R220 million ($13m). That includes payment for up to 3 000 staff members, the collapsible 38-part stage, and the massive audio equipment rolled in on 18 carts.
As one of the biggest and most prestigious performances on the annual music calendar, headlining the Super Bowl means artists get to perform in front of about 100 million viewers in the US alone, BBC reports.
Add to that more than 160 million views on YouTube, and a half-time performance offer artist a lot of exposure. BBC reports that Shakira and Jennifer Lopez jointly headlined in 2020, notched up 264 million YouTube plays – the highest of any half-time show to date.
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