A few days before the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show in February 2023, Rihanna answered questions from Apple Music host Nadeska Alexis at the official press conference. She had not slept: the team had rehearsed at the stadium all night.
Back on stage after seven years
When the call came, Rihanna was three months postpartum and wondered whether she should be making big decisions at all. She said yes because becoming a mother made her feel she could take on the world, and because she wanted her son to see her do it. She had not performed on stage in seven years.
Seventeen years of songs in thirteen minutes
The setlist was the hardest part. The team was on its 39th version, since every change, from a muted guitar to a whole new song, means a new version, and some songs had to go. Three to four hundred people build and strip the stage in eight minutes. Is she afraid of seeming too bossy? Not at all: she has been bossy since she was a little girl. Whether the show "flops or flies", her name is on it, so she gets involved in everything she does, down to naming each lipstick.
Nadeska read from Rihanna's school report card, published in her book: "sure of herself", "takes a leading role in group activities". Rihanna said her core values have not changed since then.
Representation and balance
For her, the show is about representation: for immigrants, for Barbados, for Black women everywhere. It is a big moment for the whole Caribbean. Since her son was born, she says, work-life balance is almost impossible, because work always takes time away from your child. Whatever she says yes to has to be worth it. During the pandemic she slowed down and took road trips. Musically she feels "open" and wants to try new, even strange things, and have fun. Her promise for Sunday: to enjoy it.