Rihanna was above it all . And pregnant to boot. She began and ended the Super Bowl 57 halftime show hovering high above the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The performance lacked the surprise guests stars included in many previous Super Bowl halftimes, save one — her representative revealed afterward that the singer is pregnant with her second child.
Image Credit: AFP
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Rihanna wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit with tight, rubbery garb underneath that showed a baby bump that fueled a wave of social media speculation until the big revelation. She stood on a transparent rectangular platform that raised and lowered as she belted out the lyrics to “[Expletive] Better Have My Money” over the turf where the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were battling moments earlier. Dancers wearing white ski-style suits and shaded goggles had their own suspended platforms that moved in concert with hers. She and the dancers were lowered to a long stage that matched her outfit as she sped through hits including "Work," “Where Have You Been,” and “Only Girl,” belting out “Want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world.” There were also none of the constant costume changes and scene shifts from previous years. The theme — and the color scheme — stayed the same throughout the 13-minute show, with red lights bathing the stage at times and golden fireworks exploding in the air above her.
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The long stage allowed for extended pull-away shots as she stared down the camera and overhead tracking shots of Rihanna and her dancers. At one point she powdered her face and checked it in a mirror before getting back on the mic. Lights sparkled from the stands as she was hoisted alone back into the air and sang “Diamonds” — with its refrain of “shine bright like a diamond” — as the set closed.
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Rihanna's performance was her first solo performance event in seven years, and her first since becoming a mother for the first time nine months ago.
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During her media preview last week, Rihanna said she was initially unsure about taking on the challenge of performing during a time when she was three months postpartum and wondered “should I be making major decisions like this right now? I might regret this.” “But when you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything,” Rihanna said. “The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages of the world. As scary as that was, because I hadn’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all.” Rihanna said had to figure out how to fit some of her biggest songs into her 13-minute set. “The setlist was the biggest challenge," she said. "That was the hardest, hardest part. Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate — that’s what this show is going to be. It’s going to be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could have put it together.'
Image Credit: Goldenglobe/@virisayong
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A nine-time Grammy Award-winner, Rihanna has 14 No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.”
Image Credit: Rich Fury/Invision/AP
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