She's back! Pregnant Rihanna headlines Superbowl Halftime show 2023 with special guest

MANILA, Philippines — Pop superstar Rihanna successfully pulled off the Super Bowl halftime show earlier at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, her first live performance since the Grammys in 2018.

Judging with her bulging belly, which she kept on rubbing during her 13-minute performance, RiRi, as fans fondly call her, is pregnant with a second baby with rapper A$AP Rocky. The 34-year-old Rihanna gave birth to their first child, a boy, on May 13 last year. 

The megastar appeared in the stadium midair on a floating stage, donning a clingy, all-red ensemble featuring a molded bustier — and a belt below what many viewers deduced was another mini RiRi in the making. Representatives for the singer confirmed the speculation to trade magazines Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter: Rihanna is pregnant with her second child.

Described by fans and reports as “epic,” Rihanna’s Superbowl halftime presentation included many of her hits such as "Diamonds,” "Bitch Better Have My Money,” “Work," "Rude Boy," "All of the Lights," "Wild Thoughts" "Run This Town," "We Found Love," and of course, "Umbrella."

Prior to her performance, Rihanna said she will use the show to represent immigrants and black women, four years after saying she had refused to perform at the show in protest over race issues.

SHE’S BAAAACK ???? @Rihanna #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/rH2G9r2RSc

— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023

The nine-time Grammy award winner took center stage during the interval of Sunday's National Football League (NFL) game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, in what is usually the most-watched broadcast of the year on US television.

The Barbados-born singer, who gave birth to a son in May, has not performed a live show in seven years.

"The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world. 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," she told a media presentation last week.

"It's important for me to do this, this year. It's important for representation. It's important for my son to see this," she added.

In 2019, she said she had rejected the opportunity from the NFL in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who had been protesting against racism and police violence by taking the knee.

Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL team owners, later withdrawn after a settlement, arguing they had colluded to keep him out of the league after he had been unable to find a team.

Rihanna said in an interview with Vogue in 2019 that she "couldn't be a sellout, I couldn't be an enabler" and said there were things within the NFL "that I do not agree with at all.”

The singer did not hold the usual pre-Super Bowl press conference but conducted an interview with a presenter from halftime show sponsors Apple Music and she said her music would reflect her Caribbean roots.

"That's a big part of why this is important for me to do this show: representation. Representing for immigrants. Representing for black women everywhere. That's key for people to see the possibilities," she said.

"It's a long way from home, right? It's a beautiful journey that I'm on. I could have never guessed that I would have made it here, so it's a celebration of that. I'm really excited to have Barbados on the Super Bowl stage."

Apart from her baby on the way, Rihanna had no other special guest on stage and said her set-list would be a "celebration" of her catalogue.

Since releasing "Anti" in early 2016, Robyn Rihanna Fenty has taken a break from recording but has by no means taken it easy: she's become a billionaire, parlaying her music achievements into successful makeup, lingerie and high-fashion brands.

Since her last album Rihanna has performed occasional features and more recently recorded music for the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" soundtrack. — With reports from Agence France-Presse

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