As the new year approaches, an exciting event that many anticipate is the Super Bowl. Some anticipate the intense and nerve racking games while others patiently await the Super Bowl halftime performance. Over the last ten years, superstars like Beyonce, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, The Weeknd, Coldplay, and
many more have taken the stage and headlined the halftime show. This year, after a long hiatus from performing, the legendary Rihanna will return.

What’s so special? Well, Rihanna hasn’t had a performance in years and has not released an album in over half a decade. This performance will be marked as her long awaited comeback which is huge for the music world and its core fans as well as Rihanna fans.

On September 25th, Rihanna officially announced that she would be headlining the show which gained lots of social media interaction including from notable celebrities like Justin Bieber, Lizzo, and Katy Perry who, along with many fans, were excited for the performance. Justin Bieber commented, “The queen is back” and Katy Perry commented “H*ll yeah.”

Predictions:
I expect Rihanna to give a colorful performance reflecting her culture. Specifically, I expect a dancehall/reggae segment and/or something related to Caribbean culture since Rihanna is from Barbados, a country in the Caribbean in which Rihanna often mentions her pride for. I also expect a segment for all of her iconic ballads including “Stay,” “Love On The Brain,” and “Love The Way You Lie.” In terms of special guests, I am predicting either ASAP Rocky (Rihanna’s spouse), Jay Z (a friend, business partner, and mentor of Rihanna), or Nicki Minaj who has been a collaborator and friend of Rihanna’s for a long time.

Rihanna is also featured in the soundtrack for the second Black Panther movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which is also strongly anticipated. Therefore, she could be performing a song from the soundtrack.

To conclude, there are many exciting upcoming events for 2023 but Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance is definitely going to be one of the biggest highlights! What do you think? Are you excited? What do you think will happen? Who do you think will be a special guest?