Super Bowl LVII is scheduled to kick off February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. About 80,000 people will fill State Farm Stadium and 100 million more will fill their televisions to watch the athletes do what they do best, separated by musicians doing what they do best. The halftime musical performance is almost as prestigious as the game itself, having been headlined by the likes of Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, U2, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé and Katy Perry. This season’s Super Bowl will feature a performer of equal stature who, ironically, has been a vocal critic of the NFL and refused to perform at a previous Super Bowl.
Riri at LVII
On September 25, Barbadian billionaire singer Rihanna announced that she would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl. The announcement took the form of an Instagram photo that shows Rihanna’s hand holding an NFL football. The National Football League has confirmed what the photo entails:
“We are thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show stage. Rihanna is a one-of-a-kind artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career. We look forward to collaborating with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to give fans another historic Halftime Show performance.
– Seth Dudowsky, NFL Music Director
The Rihanna Boycott
Bad Gal Riri joins the NFL universe three years after turning down the league’s offer to headline Super Bowl LIV. She did it to support Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback who protested racial injustice by kneeling for the US national anthem before games. It was hailed by many but condemned by a proportional share of the population, including that of the NFL. Kaepernick hasn’t been signed since 2017, which the NFL was accused of blacklisting. In turn, Rihanna blacklisted the league. “I just couldn’t be sold,” she said vogue. “I couldn’t be a facilitator. There are things within this organization that I strongly disagree with, and I wasn’t about to go and do them any favors in any way.
“It was now or never for me.”
Though he fights racial injustice in other ways, Kaepernick no longer kneels, so Rihanna takes to the biggest stage of her life. “It was a challenge that I accepted,” Rihanna said when asked why she finally accepted the grill gig. “It was a bigger step than anything I’ve ever done, and it’s one of those things like I’m going to leave my baby, I’m going to leave him for something special,” the new mother added. . “It was now or never for me…”
