The biggest sporting event in the US is the Super Bowl, which is the final game between two of the best teams in the National Football League (NFL). It’s not only anticipated because of the sport aspect, it is also known for its spectacular halftime shows.
This year Rihanna was invited to perform and fans were excited as the singer was last seen on the stage 4 years ago. Not only that, but she showed her baby bump and left people wondering if they'd understood correctly until a representative confirmed she is actually pregnant.
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The first Super Bowl was played in 1967 on January 15th and the halftime was dedicated to music from the very beginning. However, up until the 1990s, the halftime show wasn’t as exciting as it featured university marching bands, drill teams and other performances to entertain the sport fans.
Although the Super Bowl was always the most watched television program in the US, other broadcasters wanted to counterprogram the halftime break, so to fight it, the Super Bowl introduced pop music and invited some of the biggest names in the music industry. It started in 1991 when New Kids on the Block performed the halftime show and the show in 1993 featured Michael Jackson.
What is surprising about the halftime show is that the NFL doesn’t pay the artists, so they are performing for free. However, they do cover the costs for the performers and their crew and even family and friends.
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It was revealed that this year the artist appearing in the halftime show would be Rihanna back in September. Seth Dudowsky, NFL Head of Music, described the singer: “Rihanna is a once-in-a-generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career.”
Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, added, “Rihanna is an incredible recording artist who is a favorite for many millions of Apple Music customers around the world.”
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It was a bit surprising that Rihanna would agree to participate because she had once already turned down an offer to perform. She told Vogue that the reason was because of how the NFL mistreated Colin Kaepernick, shutting him out of the league because he was an activist against police brutality.
The artist said, “I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”
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Something changed and this time, Rihanna accepted the offer. She told The Hollywood Reporter that since the stage is so big and millions of people tune in to watch the halftime show, it was important for her to take the opportunity and represent “for immigrants, represent for my country, Barbados, [and] represent for Black women everywhere.”
Fans were thrilled with her decision as the singer hasn’t been on stage for 4 years and hasn’t released a new album for 7 years. Her performance took about 13 minutes and after she started with the song Better Have My Money, 11 more of her hits followed.
The woman was dressed in a red suit and the zipper was all the way down, revealing her belly, which seemed like a baby bump. People really didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but what made them think Rihanna might actually be pregnant was what she had said a week earlier during an interview.
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She told Nate Burleson, the co-host of CBS Mornings, that she was “thinking about bringing someone.” At that time, fans assumed she was talking about another artist, a friend from the industry like Jay-Z, Drake or Eminem.
But when a representative for Rihanna confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that people guessed right and the singer is having another child, fans realized that the unborn baby was the special guest.
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So it was a triple celebration that day: the Super Bowl itself, Rihanna’s first appearance on stage in years and an announcement of her pregnancy. It is understandable that people online went wild and were sharing their reactions on social media.
Did you watch the show? If you did, did you enjoy it? Do you listen to Rihanna’s music? How do you feel about her announcing her pregnancy in this way? Let us know your own reactions in the comments.
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