Watch Rihanna play career-spanning set for Super Bowl Halftime Show 2023

13 February, 2023

Rihanna

Rihanna delivered a career-spanning set at tonight’s (February 12) Super Bowl Halftime Show as she gave her first live performance in five years.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are facing off against each other in Glendale, Arizona, tonight in the big game.

Rihanna began the performance on a square platform that hovered above the main red stage below. On platforms on either side of her and down below, she was joined by dancers dressed all in white.

The singer’s set kicked off with ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’, before it segued into ‘Where Have You Been’. The latter was emblematic of the songs in the setlist, which often featured subtle mash-ups with other songs from Rihanna’s catalogue. ‘Where Have You Been’ was mixed with ‘Cockiness (I Love It), while later ‘We Found Love’ featured parts of ’S&M’.

‘We Found Love’ also saw the star zoom back down to the stage on the pitch, where one song later on ‘Rude Boy’, she delivered her first full choreography of the night. ‘Work’ saw her conduct her dancers, who later crawled and hopped after her as she moved along the stage, while.

The set also featured 2012’s ‘Pour It Up’, which originally appeared on the ‘Unapologetic’ album, as well as Kanye West collaboration ‘All Of The Lights’, the Jay-Z and West team-up ‘Run This Town’ and her hit single ‘Umbrella’.

Rihanna concluded her set with a grand version of ‘Diamonds’ that saw her return to hovering high above the stage, as the audience members lit the stadium with their phone torches. Watch footage of Rihanna’s performance above now.

Rihanna played: 

‘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’

The performance was the first live performance the star has given in five years. Speaking at an Apple Music press conference in the days before the big event, Rihanna said: “The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, it’s an entertainer’s dream to be on a stage like that. But it’s nerve-racking. You want to get it right. You know, everybody’s watching. And they’re rooting for you. And I want to get it right.”

She also revealed that she had changed the setlist for the show 39 times. “Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s going to be OK,” she explained. “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.”

Chris Stapleton kicked off the big night by performing the US national anthem. The country star’s rendition of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ brought Eagles coach Nick Sirianni to tears.

Another star-studded Super Bowl advert saw Cardi B and Offset launch their own McDonald’s meal, following the likes of BTS and Travis Scott in the collaboration. Dave Grohl also delivered a salute to Canada in a new advert for whiskey brand Crown Royal, while Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Joan Jett and more defined a rock star in another commercial, and Jack Harlow lost Triangle Player Of The Year to Elton John in a Dorito’s ad.

Meanwhile, U2 are also reportedly set to announce a new Las Vegas residency during the game. The Irish band teased the announcement earlier tonight with a clip shared on social media with the hashtag #U2SPHERE.

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