Rihanna: Halftime show will “celebrate” catalog while representing immigrants, Barbados and Black women

Even billionaire pop superstars have to juggle work and family. Rihanna, who welcomed her first child in May 2022, will headline the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday. At a press conference on Thursday, she explained why she decided to take on the challenge, despite not having performed live in years.

“When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you could take on the world. You can do anything,” she told Apple Music’s Nadeska Alexis. “And the Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world. So as scary as that was — because I haven’t been onstage in seven years — there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. And it’s important for me to do this this year, it’s important for representation. It’s important for my son to see that.”

She added that representation is “a big part of why this is important for me to do this show,” saying she wants to represent immigrants, Barbados and Black women everywhere. 

“That’s key: for people to see the possibilities. And I’m honored to be here. I’m honored to be doing this this year,” she said.

Despite the physical challenges of a nonstop 13-minute extravaganza, Rihanna said the hardest aspect of designing the show was trying to figure out how to cram “17 years of work into 13 minutes.”

“Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes, but also celebrate — that’s what this show’s going to be,” she noted. “It’s going to be a celebration of my catalog, in the best way that we could have put it together.”

While the Fenty mogul didn’t say anything about a new album or tour, she did talk about where she is musically.

“Musically, I’m feeling open. I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating things that are new, things that are different … I just want to play. I want to have fun. I want to have fun with music.”

The Super Bowl airs on Fox Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.