Nine-time Grammy Award winner Rihanna made her highly-anticipated comeback at the Super Bowl 57 on Sunday, headlining a halftime show that highlighted her Caribbean culture.
The 34-year-old chart-topper put on an epic display in front of a global audience of millions at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Philadelphia Eagles are taking on the Kansas City Chiefs.
L lo It marks the first time she has performed on live television since 2018, where she joined DJ Khaled on stage to sing Wild Thoughts at the Grammy Awards.
Rihanna started off the show suspended on a platform high above the field as she belted out her single B**** Better Have My Money.
The superstar, who was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, has not released a solo album since January 2016. Her only solo music in the last seven years came in October, when she released Lift Me Up in tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman for the Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which earned the singer a nomination for an Academy Award.
Rihanna's show was attended by a bevy of other stars who were likely as excited to see her finally perform again as viewers back at home.
Jay-Z, who played a pivotal role in getting the songstress a record contract, was spotted on the field with his daughter Blue Ivy — whom he shares with his wife Beyoncé — and the rapper Lil Uzi Vert. Paul McCartney, who collaborated with Rihanna and Kanye West on the single FourFiveSeconds, was seen with his wife Nancy Shevell in a box seat.
The country rocker Chris Stapleton was on hand for the Super Bowl to shred while singing the Star-Spangled Banner. Other stars in the stands included the Roots drummer Questlove, Kevin Hart, Billie Eilish, Adele — who said she was going 'just for Rihanna' — Neicy Nash, Ant-Man star Paul Rudd, Kris Jenner's boyfriend Corey Gamble, SNL and 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan, Community actor Joel McHale.
The monumental show is also her first performance since giving birth to her first child in May of 2022. She shares her son — whose name has not been released — with her partner of three years, the rapper A$AP Rocky.
She was inspired to take on the challenge after giving birth to her son.
'When you become a mom there's something that just happens (and) you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything,' she told reporters in Phoenix on Thursday.
'So as scary as that was because I haven't been on stage in seven years, there's something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. And it's important for me to do this, this year. It's important for representation, it's important for my son to see that.'
Rihanna was determined to incorporate elements of her Caribbean culture in the performance on Sunday.
Rihanna has revealed her new role as a mother inspired her to take on the challenge of performing at the Super Bowl halftime show for the first time.
The singer and rapper A$AP Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) welcomed a son together in May following a three year romance. She shared snaps of her baby in December but hasn't revealed his name.
At a press conference ahead of the show, Rihanna explained: 'When you become a mom there's something that just happens (and) you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything.'
'So 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. 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.'
Rihanna admitted that preparing her body for the physical demands of the show has been difficult, especially since she gave birth just nine months ago.
She said: 'The physical challenge has definitely been immense for many reasons, of course. I haven't done this in a minute. You're just running around for 13 minutes, trying to put a two-hour set in 13 minutes, and you're gonna see on Sunday.
'From the time it starts, it just never ends until it's the very last second … It's a jam-packed show, and it takes a toll on your body, it really does.'
Rihanna was first asked to perform at the Super Bowl after in 2018 but she reportedly turned down the offer out of solidarity for quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his protest against racial injustice.
'That's a big part of why this is important for me to do this show: representation, representing for immigrants, representing for my country, Barbados, representing for Black women everywhere,' she said.
It took a crew of 300 to 400 workers to assemble the stage in eight minutes and break it down just as quickly — a feat of ingenuity requiring military-like precision for the 13-minute halftime concert.
'It's incredible — it's almost impossible,' said Rihanna, who told a crowd of reporters on Thursday that she had not slept the night before when an on-site rehearsal ran long.
'I've been so focused on the Super Bowl I totally forgot that my birthday is coming up [on Feb. 20],' the singer added. 'I totally forgot about Valentine's Day. I'm just like, Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl.'
Rihanna joins a list of celebrated entertainers who have played during Super Bowl halftime shows, including Beyoncé, Madonna, Coldplay, Katy Perry, U2, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and The Weeknd. Last year, hip hop was celebrated with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar all performing.
It is the second time Rihanna has been asked to perform at the Super Bowl after she reportedly turned down an offer in 2018 out of solidarity with quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his protest against racial injustice.
Barbados-born Rihanna was discovered in 2003 in her home country by American record producer Evan Rogers, who sent her demo to Def Jam Recordings.
It eventually fell into the hands of Def Jam's president Jay-Z, who invited her to come in and perform and instantly fell in love with Rihanna — and the rest is history. Jay was among the stars attending the Super Bowl, and he was seen on the grounds with his daughter Blue Ivy, 11, whom he shares with his wife Beyoncé.
She went on to become one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having currently sold more than 250 million records worldwide for her hits like Pon de Replay, Umbrella, SOS, Unfaithful, Good Girl Gone Bad, and Don't Stop The Music, to name a few.
She also starred in multiple movies and became a big name in the fashion industry for collaborating with brands including Armani, Dior and Puma.
She put her music career on pause in 2017 to focus on her business ventures, launching an enormous cosmetics company called Fenty Beauty — which includes products like foundations, highlighters, bronzers, blush, and lip glosses, and has surpassed other celebrity cosmetics brands such as Kylie Cosmetics and KKW Beauty in sales.
A year later, she expanded the company with her Savage X Fenty lingerie brand, which sells underwear that comes in a variety of sizes to fit all shapes and sizes of people.
She has also released a luxury fashion house called Fenty and a skin care brand named Fenty Skin, and there are rumors that she is currently gearing up to release a line of hair-care products called Fenty Hair.
Her endeavors have made her one of the most well-known stars in Hollywood, and have earned her more than a billion dollars along the way.
Last year Rihanna de-throned fellow A-lister Kim Kardashian to earn Forbes' title of America's youngest self-made female billionaire, after amassing an impressive net worth of $1.4 billion.
Rihanna may be one of the biggest stars in the world, but it took a lot for her to get there.
The top-charting artist had a difficult childhood - growing up with an abusive father who left the family at 14, forcing her to care of her siblings while her mom worked to keep the family afloat.
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, Rihanna was the daughter of an accountant named Monica and a warehouse supervisor named Ronald.
She grew up in a three-bedroom house in Saint Michael, Barbados, with her two brothers, two half-sisters, and a half-brother. As a child, she helped her dad sell clothes in a stall on the street.
She later said that her father physically abused her mother and that he suffered from alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction.
'I hated him. Then, one of my school friends, who I was very close to, she knew, and she always used to say, "You can't hate your father,"' Rihanna later recalled to the Guardian, adding that he was the one who taught her how to swim, ride a bike, and the other milestones as a kid.
'You have to love him, at the end of the day, because he's your father. So I listened, as much as it took out of me.'
She also said on Oprah, 'He taught me everything. As awful as he was to my mom at times, it didn’t compare to how great he was as a father.'
Her parents split when she was 14, and she later recalled staying home to watch her siblings, specifically her younger brother, while her single mom worked to support the family.
'My mom was a single mom, so she worked a lot. She was really never home – I mean, she was home, but it would be after work, late at night, so I would take care of [my brother],' she said to the Guardian. 'He was my best friend. He thought I was his mom.'
During school, she was an army cadet in a sub-military program, and musician Shontelle was actually her drill sergeant.
'It wasn't compulsory or anything. But picture me and Rihanna in combat boots and fatigues crawling through mud and things like that,' Shontelle told BBC years later.
In 2003, while she was still in high school, Rihanna decided to form a musical trio with two of her classmates.
After landing an audition with Rogers, she instantly blew him away, with him later saying, 'The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist.'
'We sang as a group,' Rihanna recalled to the Guardian, 'And then we sang individually, and Evan expressed an interest in helping me get a solo deal.
'It was a really difficult place to be, because obviously I didn't want to hurt my friends' feelings, I didn't want to betray [them], but it was a reality. We had auditioned together, and individually, and that was it.'
He signed her to his and Carl Sturken's production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions, and flew her to the U.S. to record some demos, which he sent to Def Jam Recordings.
Initially, it was said that Jay-Z - who was the president and CEO of Def Jam - felt Pon de Replay was 'too big' for Rihanna when he first heard the demo, but after she sang it for him in-person in early 2005, he signed her immediately.
She then moved to America and recorded her first album, Music of the Sun. Her debut single, Pon de Replay, came out in May 2005 and went to the number two spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The album hit stands in August of that year and received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, selling over two million copies worldwide.
Her second album then came out in April 2006, entitled A Girl Like Me, which charted top 10 in 13 different countries.
She then continued to make music - dropping albums Good Girl Gone Bad in May 2007 and Rated R in November 2009.
In October 2010, she switched managers and joined Jay-Z's Roc Nation Management. Her fifth album, Loud, came out in November 2010 and also had much success.
She then released Talk That Talk in November 2011, Unapologetic in November 2012, and Anti in January 2016.
Over the years, she landed the top spot on the charts many times - earning 14 number one singles - sold out numerous world tours, and collaborated with tons of big artists like Eminem, Shakira, Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Calvin Harris, Coldplay, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, and Britney Spears.
Throughout her career, she has received numerous accolades for her music, including nine Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, and eight People's Choice Awards.
In addition to singing, she is also an actress and has graced the screen in a few big movies like Bring It On: All or Nothing in 2006, the war movie Battleship, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (alongside Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne), and the heist comedy Ocean's 8.
She also starred in the fifth season of Bates Motel and voiced the main character in the DreamWorks animated flick Home (which also starred Jim Parsons and Jennifer Lopez).
She put her music career on pause in 2017 to focus on her business ventures, launching an enormous cosmetics company called Fenty Beauty.
A year later, she expanded the company with her Savage X Fenty lingerie brand, which sells underwear that comes in a variety of sizes to fit all kinds of people.
She has also released a luxury fashion house called Fenty and a skin care brand called Fenty Skin, and there's rumors that she's currently gearing up to release a line of hair-care products called Fenty Hair.
In 2021, Rihanna officially became a billionaire - making her the richest female musician in the world and the second richest female entertainer after Oprah Winfrey.
The following year, she de-throned fellow A-lister Kim Kardashian, 41, to earn Forbes' title of America's youngest self-made female billionaire, after amassing an impressive net worth of $1.4 billion.
It was claimed that the bulk of the popstar's money comes not from her singing career, but from her 50 per cent stake in her acclaimed cosmetics line Fenty Beauty - a joint venture with French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH - which is now worth $2.8 billion in total.
Between that and her $270 million stake in her wildly successful Savage X Fenty lingerie line, combined with the profit she has made from her 16-year recording career as a chart-topping singer and actress, all make up the hitmaker's massive wealth.
Her only solo music in the last seven years came in October when she released Lift Me Up in tribute to late actor Chadwick Boseman for the Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the singer was nominated for an Academy Award.
During the height of Rihanna's career, the mogul became entangled in a messy domestic violence case against rapper Chris Brown.
She and Brown began dating in 2007, and they were together for two years before they split in February 2009.
Around that time, reports started to surface that said Brown had physically assaulted her on their way home from a pre-Grammys party, with police later saying he beat, choked, bit, and threatened to kill Rihanna.
He eventually turned himself into authorities and was charged with assault and making criminal threats. A photo obtained by TMZ showed Rihanna battered, with bruises all over her swollen face.
'It was a turning point,' she later told the Guardian about the incident. 'It was the end of an incredible year, an incredible album [Good Girl Gone Bad], the beginning of a new era, and it just felt like it was a wake-up call for me, and it had to happen.
'As bad and as terrible as it was, there's so much great that came out of that situation.
'Even for [Brown], like, he knows now that he's never going to do that again. And now, young girls also, they learn from it, and I really hope young men can learn from it.
'Even more than the girls, the men really need to learn from it. Because everyone's focusing on the women, but the problem isn't the women.
'Before, young girls would look at me, and they thought my life was perfect, but now they realize that it's not.
'Nobody's perfect. I'm living the same human life that they are, just with a more public career – and when they realize that I do go through dumb stuff like that – all of a sudden that makes me human for them. So now I feel really strong, but I also feel very open - in a good way.'
She added: 'I don't want that stamp going across my head as a victim of domestic violence.
'As much as I was, that's a part of my life that I want to throw away, that I never want to go through again.'
In June 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault and received five-years of probation and was ordered to stay at least 50-yards away from his ex.
While speaking to Larry King about it later that year, he called the night 'one of the worst moments of his life.'
'We're both young, nobody taught us how to love one another. No one taught us a book on how to control our emotions, our anger,' he said.
After King showed Brown the photo of Rihanna's face, he added, 'That’s not who I am as a person. I don't know what to think.'
She then entered into an on-and-off relationship with Drake, which lasted from 2009 to 2016.
They were first spotted smooching in a bowling alley in Los Angeles, soon after her relationship to Brown ended.
The pair was seen together many times over the years, and during a speech he gave for Rihanna's Video Vanguard honor at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2016, he called her 'someone he's been in love with since he was 22.'
However, by 2018, the star told Vogue that she and Drake were no longer on speaking terms, but that they were not 'enemies.'
She briefly rekindled her romance with Brown in 2013. She was then linked to Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel from 2017 to 2020.
They split after three years together due to 'their lives being too different,' a source told People.
She later opened up about trying to balance her work and their relationship, explaining, 'I got into a new relationship, and it matters to me. It was like, "I need to make time for this."
'Just like I nurture my businesses, I need to nurture this as well. I'll shut things down for two days, three days at a time. On my calendar we now have the infamous "P," which means personal days. This is a new thing.'
She started dating her current boyfriend, ASAP Rocky in 2021, and in January 2022, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. The pair welcomed a baby boy in May.
The two had been acquainted ever since the early 2010s, when they began performing and touring with each other.
They remained friends for much of the decade before People confirmed that they were officially dating in the fall of 2020.
Over the years, there were also rumors that she dated Transformers star Shia LaBeouf, baseball player Matt Kemp, soccer star Karim Benzema, Lewis Hamilton, rapper Travis Scott, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
She currently owns a $14million penthouse in Manhattan, New York, and a $9million house in London, England. In December 2018, she put her Hollywood Hills home up for sale, which reportedly sold for $10.4million.