USA: Rihanna’s U-turn: High anticipation for Super Bowl performance Entertainment

Glendale — Less than four years ago, Rihanna said she turned down an offer to play in the Super Bowl. “There are things within this organization that I don’t agree with at all — and I had no intention of doing them any favors,” the pop star told Vogue at the time about the NFL and bid for the halftime show.

Criticisms of Rihanna at the time were directed at the NFL’s handling of structural racism. For 2023 I have now agreed. Sunday night (US time), the “Umbrella” singer will be on “The World’s Biggest Stage.”

Perhaps an appearance larger than her life

Rihanna failed to give a direct answer to the controversy at the controlled press conference a few days before the big show. “Many of my values ​​have never left me. I have never forgotten many of the lessons I learned in my early years,” says the 34-year-old from Barbados. And she’d rather talk about what might be the biggest gig of her life: She’ll trawl the show trying to cram a two-hour-into-13-minute medley. “Whether it be a failure or a success – I stand by it in my name.”

The NFL Finals, being held this year in Glendale, Arizona, is considered the greatest single sporting event in the world. In the US alone, about 100 million people tune in – mostly because of the supporting program: halftime shows and even advertising. According to media reports, FOX will receive up to seven million US dollars this year for a 30-second advertisement. In professional American football, even the course of the game and the pauses between plays depend on the length of the advertisements shown.

Great expectations to meet

Stars will appear at every corner and at every end of the scene: the American anthem will be sung by country legend Chris Stapleton, and American singer Babyface will also appear. But the highlight, as always, will be the minutes in the halftime break, which Rihanna has to fill with a show that goes all over the world. She has high expectations to live up to, as the past few years have been exciting.

In the year 2022, rap stars Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige and Kendrick Lamar in Los Angeles. And the year before last, the musicians “The Weeknd” set new standards for their performances. How Rihanna will fill her 13 minutes of fame is still unknown. The biggest challenge, she says, was packing her act with more than 12 No. 1 songs in the short time. But the star is confident: “I think we’ve done a pretty good job of trimming it down.”