super bowl halftime show

Patrick Mahomes Fooled By Reporter Who Said Rihanna Loved Him

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We are just days away now from the biggest annual sporting event in the United States. This year’s Super Bowl LVII will take place on Sunday (Feb. 12) in Glendale, AZ. Being played in State Farm Stadium, the game will feature the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Each of these franchises has won this game once in the last five years. For Philly, this is their first trip to the game since 2018. For the Chiefs, this is their third appearance since 2020.

But, as big of a matchup this seems to be, it might not even be the main attraction. Every year the big game is able to recruit superstars for their halftime show. This year, though, may end up being one of their biggest yet. Rihanna will be this year’s performer, as her preparations are being aided by JAY-Z and his company Roc Nation. After she graces the nation’s biggest stage this weekend, she also plans to embark on a headlining tour soon after. With this big of a moment ahead of us, even some of the players in Sunday’s game are excited.

Patrick Mahomes Gets Duped

During the media day press conferences for the Super Bowl this week, Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a trick played on him. When bringing up Rihanna’s highly anticipated performance, a reporter mentioned how much Rihanna adores Pat. “Rihanna came out and said that you are the greatest quarterback ever. Hearing that, how does that make you feel?” he asked Mahomes. Excitedly, Mahomes replied by saying his family is probably looking forward to seeing Rihanna more than seeing him play. “It makes me feel great. She’s gonna crush it at halftime, I have family members that I think are more excited about the halftime show than they are the game. So whatever Rihanna says is like the gospel. I’m glad she went with me for that honor.”

However, the reporter immediately rescinded his statement, admitting that he was playing a prank on Pat. “She didn’t, Im just messing with you,” he said. Disappointed, Mahomes replied, “Aw, man. You got me up here smiling and smirking.” Regardless, Pat does not need the validation of celebrities to know his worth. He is undoubtably one of the best QBs in football. On the flip side, Rihanna is one of the best performers and musicians of her generation. She will surely remind the world of that this weekend, as sources have said she “can’t wait to kill it” out there.

Rihanna Described Her Next Musical Era As ‘Weird,’ ‘Off,’ And ‘Fun’

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We are days away from Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII halftime performance on Sunday, February 12. We’ve been waiting for her return to the stage since it was announced in September that she’d headline the inaugural Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show for the NFL.

And while we still don’t know how long we’ll have to wait for her first album since 2016’s Anti, Rihanna gave us a taste of what it will sound like during her Apple Music press conference held today, February 9, in Arizona.

Interviewer Nadeska asked Rihanna toward the end of the short sit-down to describe “this chapter and how you’re feeling musically in general.”

Rihanna said, “Musically, I’m feeling open. I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating things that are new. Things that are different. Things that are off, weird, might not ever make sense to my fans [or] the people that know the music that I put out. I just wanna play. I wanna have fun. I want to have to fun with music.”

Rihanna technically returned to music by contributing tracks “Lift Me Up” and “Born Again” to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack last fall, but Rihanna’s Navy wants a full-blown era — leading to rumors about a potential album or tour post-Super Bowl.

Elsewhere in the interview, Rihanna shared that she’s cycled through 39 (!) versions of her Super Bowl setlist. She also admitted that she’s “been so focused” on preparing for the performance that she “totally forgot that my birthday is coming up” and “totally forgot about Valentine’s Day.” But, to her, the grueling task will be worth it.

Rihanna explained that she received the offer to headline Super Bowl LVII when she was three months postpartum, having welcomed her and ASAP Rocky’s son last spring.

“When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you could take on the world, you can do anything,” she told Nadeska. “The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, so as scary as that was because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. It’s important for me to do this this year. It’s important for representation. It’s important for my son to see that.”

Watch Rihanna’s full Apple Music presser above.

Rihanna Changed Her Super Bowl Halftime Show Setlist A Whopping 39 Times

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I don’t know if you’ve heard but Rihanna is doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Seems like kind of a big deal, but I’m not sure. Anyway, today, Apple Music held a pre-game interview with the long-absent star, where journalist Nadeska Alexis asked her all about the upcoming performance, doing her best to get Rihanna to give away some spoilers.

And while there weren’t many — Rihanna did say the show is jam-packed and was also exhausting — Rihanna did reveal some interesting details about the preparations for the show. For instance, she says that she and her time have changed the setlist 39 times, which, considering her extensive catalog and all the hits she has to choose from and cram into a 13-minute set, is understandable.

So, here’s the thing: I was joking earlier when I said “it seems like kind of a big deal.” It really, really is. Here’s why: Rihanna hasn’t performed live since the tour for her 2016 album Anti. So, that’s about six years between performances. Needless to say, people are really excited about her music return after she took several years off to start a beauty company, start a lingerie line (that recently expanded into sportswear), and have a baby with ASAP Rocky.

But more than that, her return could presage a full run of new Rihanna content, including an album and a tour. And although Rihanna herself denies that either is in the works just because she’s performing at the Super Bowl, that isn’t stopping fans from holding out hope that 2023 becomes the year of Rihanna.

You can watch the Rihanna Super Bowl interview from YouTube above.

Rihanna Provides Rare Update On New Music

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For years, fans have been eager for new music from Rihanna. Since the release of 2016’s Anti, there have been a number of rumors surrounding her next release. At one point, she explained that she was preparing a reggae/dancehall album, which artists like Koffee reportedly contribute to. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much of an update, and it seems Rih is rather tired of answering questions regarding this topic. She even told fans not to get their hopes up following the Super Bowl Half-Time show announcement.

With her highly-anticipated return to the stage this Sunday for the Super Bowl halftime show, the singer recently held a press conference with Apple Music 1’s Nadeska Alexis to discuss the performance. She revealed tidbits of information, like the 13-minute length of the performance and the Caribbean influence that will seep through the show. “I’m really excited to have Barbados on the Super Bowl stage,” she said. Additionally, she revealed that the birth of her son motivated her to accept the Super Bowl Half-Time Show invitation, despite being mildly hesitant to perform. 

Will Rihanna Drop A New Album This Year?

Though she didn’t confirm that she’s releasing music, it appears that the pandemic allowed her creative juices to flow once again. “When you have all these boundaries… and you have to stay home, you get creative with ways to stay entertained,” she said. She added that she’s feeling “open to exploring, discovering, creating things that are new.” Ultimately, it seems as though Rihanna’s more open to pushing the boundaries musically and surprising her fan base, even if it comes from left field.

A$AP Rocky previously let the cat out of the bag during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1. While he discussed his own release, he expressed his excitement for Rihanna’s upcoming Super Bowl show and revealed that she’s “making music again.” “Yeah, I’m super excited. This is as huge. This is incredible. I’m so glad that my lady’s back making music again and whatnot, and getting back out there,” she said. We’ll keep you posted on anymore updates surrounding new music from Rihanna and her upcoming Super Bowl performance. 

Rihanna Explains How Her Son Motivated Her To Do Super Bowl Half-Time Show

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Whether or not you’re a fan of the NFL, the Super Bowl Half-Time Show will undoubtedly be one of the best ways to follow up the epic Dr. Dre-led performance last year. The NFL and Roc Nation tapped Rihanna for her first performance in seven years. Needless to say, fans are excited. Some feel as though this could open the doors for her new album while recent reports indicate that she might follow up the epic performance with a tour.

This morning, Rihanna appeared for a press conference with Apple Music’s Nadeska Alexis.  Though she didn’t reveal much about the performance, she confirmed that it will be 13 minutes in length. However, Rihanna admitted it was difficult to narrow down the setlist. “There are probably like 39 versions of the setlist right now,” she said. “Every little change counts.” What the setlist consists of, however, remains a surprise reserved for Sunday night’s Half-Time show. However, reports previously claimed that Jay-Z assisted in putting the show together. 

Rihanna’s Son Inspired Her Decision To Perform At The Super Bowl

During her conversation with Nadeska Alexis, Rihanna also explained that motherhood motivated her to do the Half-Time show. “When you become a mom, there’s just something that happens that makes you feel like you could take on the world. You could do anything. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world,” she explained. Though it’s been seven years since her last performance, she felt there was no better time than now. “It’s important for me to do this this year, it’s important for representation. It’s important for my son.” 

We clearly have Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s son to thank for her return to the limelight. The couple welcomed their first child together in May 2022 before revealing the first photo of him a few months later. Reports recently emerged stating that Rihanna’s filming the lead-up to the Super Bowl performance for a documentary. Though there isn’t much news surrounding that, we could imagine that her son will make a cameo. Rihanna hits the stage on Sunday, Feb. 12th. Will you be tuning in? 

Bomani Jones Learned From Stephen A. Smith When Asked To Compare Beyoncé And Rihanna While Previewing The Super Bowl

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bomani jones game theory beyonce rihanna
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Now that the Grammys are out of the way, the biggest music event fans are looking forward to is the Super Bowl. Yes, there will be some football — maybe even some good football — but more importantly, Rihanna is performing at the Halftime Show after nearly seven years out of the limelight.

Naturally, this offers plentiful opportunities for discussion, but not everyone is equally suited to talk about the event. For instance, Stephen A Smith, the outspoken ESPN pundit, who asked about Rihanna’s upcoming performance and immediately when into sports talk mode to preemptively compare Rihanna’s performance to Beyoncé’s previous Super Bowl performances.

After he was lambasted by basically the entire internet he apologized, but that wasn’t enough for some — including Leslie Jones — and the whole escapade culminated with Smith having a minor meltdown on his own show, First Take, over it.

In what was perhaps a bit dedicated to ribbing his former ESPN colleague, HBO host Bomani Jones pretty pointedly sidestepped a similar faux pas on his own new show Game Theory. While his cue cards teed him up to answer the question of whether Rihanna could really outdo Beyoncé, Jones seemingly goes off on an unrelated tangent, bringing in Adam Silver and LeBron James, the BeyHive and the Navy, and Jalen Hurts, he jokingly plays both sides before lampshading the whole speech. “If this were a presidential debate,” he explained, “I’d have done what they do when they don’t wanna answer the question: I just started talking about some other sh*t.” Watch the hilarious bit below.

Stephen A. Smith Doesn’t Think Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance Can Live Up To Beyoncé’s: ‘She Ain’t Beyoncé’

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Stephen A. Smith might have no problem going toe to toe with athletes, current and former, but now he might have to take on Rihanna’s fan base.

The 55-year-old sports commentator recently shared his thoughts on Rihanna’s upcoming Super Bowl LVII performance while visiting Sherri Shepherd’s daytime talk show Sherri. While he said that he is excited about her performance, he made sure to stir the pot, saying that the Barbadian pop star is no Beyoncé.

“I don’t wanna say I’m not excited,” he said in response, with the ensuing moments including audible reactions from the audience. “She’s fantastic. That’s not where I’m going with this. Ladies and gentlemen, she’s a lot of things. She’s spectacular, actually. And congratulations on new-momma-hood. There’s one thing she’s not. She ain’t Beyoncé.”

He went on to elaborate on his statement, saying, “Hold on. … The only reason I brought up Beyoncé is because Beyoncé recently performed at the Super Bowl, with and without Bruno Mars and Coldplay,”

Sherri pushed back, saying that Beyoncé had her time, and now it’s Rihanna’s time to perform at a Super Bowl. Stephen A. Smith, however, applied Sherri’s argument to television, saying that Shepherd was in a league of her own and then there’s “everybody else.” Likewise, he believes that Beyoncé is in a league of her own, then there’s everybody else.

“Rihanna’s music is fantastic,” Smith said. “She’s great. She’s a sister. I love her dearly. I listen to her music. I’m gonna support her until the cows come home. I’m just telling you: for me, there’s Beyoncé and there’s everybody else. Just like there was Michael Jackson and there’s everybody else.” 

You can watch Stephen A. Smith’s full remarks below.

The post Stephen A. Smith Doesn’t Think Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance Can Live Up To Beyoncé’s: ‘She Ain’t Beyoncé’ appeared first on The Source.

Jay-Z Will Help Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

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As football fans and regular old schmoes anticipate the 2023 Super Bowl, hip-hop and R&B fans have an extra reason to celebrate. Jay-Z will reportedly help Rihanna with her Super Bowl halftime show on February 12th. Moreover, capitalfm.com reported that Roc Nation as a whole is also involved in the process.

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 11: Rihanna and Jay Z attend 2017 Roc Nation Pre-GRAMMY brunch at Owlwood Estate on February 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

Furthermore, this news is exciting for the “Umbrella” collaborators, although not at all surprising. After all, Hov is the live music entertainment strategist for the NFL. Also, he signed RiRi back in 2004 when he was the president and CEO of Def Jam. All in all, audiences expect a crazy event when she lands at Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium. Here’s hoping they perform some hits together.

Meanwhile, all parties understand the excitement behind the show. The “B***h Better Have My Money” artist teased her performance on Instagram last week. In the snippet, the recently-turned mother walks towards the camera in a black bodysuit with a yellow fur coat. While she reaches the camera, you can hear soundbites of people lamenting the lack of music from her. Then, RiRi puts a finger to her lips, shushes the haters, and “Needed Me” plays. Even if it’s a teaser for new music and not the show itself, that prepared fans with hype regardless.

However, one question on everyone’s mind is whether she’ll bring out special guests. It’s a Super Bowl staple, as last year brought us a legendary hip-hop team-up. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Anderson .Paak… RiRi’s got some competition. Still, any information on the fashion mogul’s show is top-secret, though we’re sure she will stun. Although guests are expected, she did tell E! News last November that she might perform alone given her short 12-minute slot.

“Twelve minutes?” the 34-year-old exclaimed. “You could actually do that by yourself, but it’s one of those things where you can decorate it however you want. So whether I choose to do it for myself or whether I choose to bring some of my peers on, it’s…I don’t know what I’m gonna do yet. It’s gonna be great either way.” Regardless of her show format, the football will commence at 6:30pm ET on Fox Sports. Meanwhile, the “Bad Gal”‘s halftime show is set to start at 8pm ET.

What do you think of Jay-Z helping organize Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl halftime show? Do you think he’ll pop out for a verse or two? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below. Also, as always, check back in with HNHH for the latest on RiRi’s upcoming spectacle.

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Rihanna Drops Super Bowl Halftime Show Trailer

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Rihanna’s highly anticipated performance at the Super Bowl is weeks away, though fans aren’t entirely sure what to expect. It’s been over half a decade since she’s graced a stage, and fans are desperately begging for new music. Though it seems unlikely that new music will follow, the trailer for her upcoming performance has certainly built excitement.

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 01: Rihanna attends A$AP Rocky Basel Edition at STORY Nightclub on December 01, 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Apple Music released the trailer titled, “Rihanna Is Back.” The 30-second clip opens up with a compilation of news segments announcing her return. “It’s been six years since the nine-time Grammy-winner dropped an album,” one person’s heard saying. Another adds, “Dude, Rihanna, we’ve waited for you.”

Eventually, the spotlight turns to Rihanna who raises her finger to her mouth in a motion of silence as her single, “Needed Me” rings out.

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation announced Rihanna as the Super Bowl halftime performer last year, a few months after she welcomed her firstborn child with A$AP Rocky. Jay shared a statement calling Rih a “generational talent.”

“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” Hov said. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”

PARIS, FRANCE – MARCH 01: Rihanna is seen outside the Dior show, during Paris Fashion Week – Womenswear F/W 2022-2023, on March 01, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

Though Rihanna might be coming back to the stage, it seems unlikely that new music will follow. Last year, she released her first pieces of music in six years with “Lift Me Up” for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever OST. She also shared “Born Again” for the film’s soundtrack.

Check out the trailer for Rihanna’s upcoming performance below. What songs do you want to hear her perform at the Super Bowl? Let us know in the comment section below.

Rihanna Just Teased Her Super Bowl Halftime Show With A New Trailer Acknowledging Her Musical Absence

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Rihanna has a major career moment coming up: On February 12, she will be playing the halftime show at Super Bowl LVII, held at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium. Since that news was revealed, there hasn’t been much in the way of info regarding what to expect from the performance. Now, though, there’s a new trailer.

It begins with Rihanna in a dramatically lit room, her hair done up in a tall and wiry style. All the while, overlapping voiceovers from various speakers make not of how long Rihanna has been away from music, saying things like, “Dude, Rihanna, we’ve waited for you,” and, “It’s been six years since the nine-time Grammy-winner dropped an album.”

The video ends with Rihanna shushing the camera as a brief snippet of her 2016 song “Needed Me” plays.

Meanwhile, Rihanna is fresh off an appearance at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, where her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever song “Lift Me Up” was nominated for Best Original Song, Motion Picture. That award ended up going to Kala Bhairava, M. M. Keeravani, and Rahul Sipligunj’s “Naatu Naatu,” a Telugu-language song from the 2022 Indian movie RRR. Rihanna got multiple shout-outs during the broadcast, though, including a funny one from host Jerrod Carmichael.

Check out the trailer above.