Will Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Live Up to the Hype?

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Who else is excited for the major TV event on Sunday, the one that will capture the attention of the entire globe and likely set new viewership records? I’m referring, of course, to the… Rihanna concert.

LOL! I’m so silly. Bet you haven’t heard that joke before, a non-sports person referring to the Super Bowl as the halftime show performer’s concert. So clever. So novel. So Prince-melting-our-faces-off-with-his-rain-soaked-guitar-solo in 2007.

Yet here we (and two-thirds of the internet) are, recycling the silly line that we’ve used so many times before—when Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Madonna, J. Lo, Shakira, and Lady Gaga performed, especially—about how excited we are for the 20-minute showcase for a pop icon, dismissing the biggest event in all of sports that’s the actual reason for it.

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In my defense, I could not tell you what teams are actually playing in Sunday night’s game, though I keep catching my New York Giants-loving family members muttering “damn Eagles…” under their breath, so I suspect Philadelphia is one of them. (Look at me, an investigative journalist.)

While that specific joke is admittedly tired, there is something amusing about how big the pop-culture accouterments to what was once supposed to be merely a good game of football have become. It’s like an outfit where the hat, jewelry, handbag, and—I don’t know—fur cape on top of it all obscure the fact that there’s actually clothes to be seen underneath. Coco Chanel said to take one thing off before you leave the house. The NFL said, screw that; put about 16 more things on and make them loud, garish, and noticeable.

From that perspective, thinking about Sunday night is almost overwhelming. The Super Bowl is no longer just one major event. It’s like a dozen of them, back to back.

It’s no longer just the national anthem that’s the pre-show draw. (Country singer Chris Stapleton is singing it this year, and I look forward to finding out who, exactly, he is.) There are now multiple performances before the coin toss. Abbott Elementary Emmy-winner and Broadway veteran Sheryl Lee Ralph will give her rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” There is now a concert before the half of the game before the concert before the second-half of the game.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on RiRi.

What’s been remarkable in these past years is that, with the exception of acts like Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5 (ban men from performing at the Super Bowl!), the performers have managed to transcend almost impossible expectations and hype for their performances.

In 2013, Beyoncé brought in Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland from Destiny’s Child as well as an army of backup dancers for a stunning display of choreography that was perhaps a greater feat of athleticism than the football players’ on the field. 2015 Katy Perry rode in on a skyscraper-sized tiger, brought in Missy Elliott, and then belted her face off while flying through the air during “Firework.” For the 2017 show, Lady Gaga turned the arena into an unparalleled showcase for her breadth of musicianship and talent. And in 2020, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira just about set their stage on fire with their energy, complete with a surprise rendition of “Born in the USA” and political commentary about immigrant children being kept in cages.

Not only does Rihanna have those performances as precedent to live up to, but there’s also the added anticipation given the fact that, outside of those snooze-inducing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever songs, the star hasn’t released new music in six years, and hasn’t performed a medley on stage since the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. (Watch it here.)

That’s the kind of build up that makes it so that nothing and no one could possibly fulfill expectations, barring an appearance from the second coming of Jesus himself. Of course, this isn’t anyone. This is Rihanna.

Her booking makes sense. The halftime show has doubled as occasion to crown a performer music royalty, an icon in a different stratosphere than their peers. The fact that Rihanna’s was so ubiquitous and she’s been absent from the stage for so long certainly elevates her appearance Sunday to an event status on par with those other stars who slayed the gig before her.

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There are, of course, people who will rightfully point out that Rihanna took a noble and necessary political stance when she had previously been offered the halftime show gig and turned it down in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. “I couldn’t be a sellout,” she said. Some claim hypocrisy now that, after Jay Z’s diversity summit with the NFL, she is taking the gig. That argument is as fair as the one that this could be the best halftime show we’ve seen yet.

It remains to be seen if she’s going to perform new music. In an interview last fall, she said, “Super Bowl is one thing. New music is another thing. Do you hear that fans? The second that I announced this, I said, ‘Oh, my God, they’re going to think my album is coming. I need to get to work.’” But a teaser trailer she released revolved almost entirely around fan excitement over the possibility of a new song. (Watch it here.)

While that would be a major moment, it’s almost too stressful to think about how a new song would fit into an already cramped setlist. It was revealed Thursday that Rihanna’s performance will be 13 minutes, a length of time that has the Navy (the term for the community of Rihanna fans) baffled. As one fan tweeted: “If Rihanna got 8 albums and 14 number 1 hits how in the hell she only got 13 minutes for this halftime show.”

For the most part, I think about Sunday’s Super Bowl extravaganza with dread. Will I be able to resist consuming 7,000 calories worth of food—or the all-consuming guilt when I inevitably don’t? Will I be able to force myself to laugh at whatever nonsense the celebrities are getting paid millions of dollars to do in commercials? Will I be able to stay awake until the game is over? (There’s little suspense when it comes to that one: The answer is no.)

Yet the halftime show has managed to maintain its integrity as must-see viewing, a spectacle truly worthy of the word. Who wouldn’t be excited to see Rihanna perform again? To feel the opposite would be positively un-American.

Just when I had let my crippling skepticism start to rear its ugly head over whether the show could possibly live up to expectations, I saw this tweet and became giddy with anticipation all over again:

When the first “NANANANANA COME ON” or “BUMBUMBEDMBUMBUMBEDUMBUM” kicks on, just know that I’m sitting on my couch, absolutely thriving.

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