Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Pop idol Rihanna and her trio of anthems highlight Super Bowl’s star power

The 13-minute performance will be Rihanna’s first live event in seven years



Rihanna
Image Credit: AP

A halftime show that Rihanna promises will be “jam-packed” will sit at the center of the celebrity supplements to Super Bowl 57.

But the 13-minute mini-extravaganza, her first live event in seven years, is only one part of the entertainment sideshow surrounding Sunday’s big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Rihanna waves to media ahead of her Super Bowl LVII Apple Music Halftime Show at the Phoenix Convention Center, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin O’Hara
Image Credit: REUTERS

Chris Stapleton, who has dominated country music awards in recent years, will take on the challenge, and scrutiny, of singing the national anthem.

“The national anthem’s not an easy song for singers. It’s one that can go horribly wrong as we’ve seen many times in the past,” Stapleton said at a media event during the leadup to the game. “But if you’re gonna do it, this is the place to do it. I’m gonna go out there and play. And play it like I play it.”

Advertisement

The length of the anthem has become one of the countless game elements up for betting. Oddsmakers have put the over-under on Stapleton’s “Star Spangled Banner” at 2 minutes, 5 seconds.

This being the Super Bowl, one anthem is not enough. R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.”

And “Abbot Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph will sing what’s been dubbed the Black national anthem , “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Famous faces are bound to be seen throughout the stands. Some will care more about the outcome than others. The Eagles count Kevin Hart and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Rob McElhenney among their biggest fans. Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis pull hard for the Chiefs.

Many stars have made the scene at Super Bowl week parties.

Advertisement

And many others, including John Travolta and Alicia Silverstone , will show up in the big game’s big commercials.

Advertisement