For the 2023 Super Bowl, Rihanna was chosen to perform at the halftime show, and she did not disappoint.
The singer performed her songs “Better Have My Money,” “Where Have You Been,” “Only Girl in the World,” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Work,” “Wild Thoughts,” “Pour it Up,” “All of the Lights,” “Run this Town,” “Umbrella” and “Diamonds.” These are all fantastic songs, and they were great choices for the halftime show. The way that Rihanna put the songs together and made them flow only added to the performance.
Many fans expressed disappointment on social media by saying that Rihanna’s performance was plain and boring. People complained that her costume was too simple, that she wasn’t moving around a lot or that there were too many dancers on stage with her. Others expressed disappointment in the parts of the show where Rihanna was lip syncing instead of singing.
Those aspects of the show might have seemed underwhelming to some fans. However, artists don’t have to put on an extravagant show to have a satisfactory performance. I think that the point of Rihanna’s performance was that all the songs she sang were once huge hits, so she didn’t have to do much to entertain the crowd; her list of number one hits spoke for itself.
I also liked the fact that Rihanna had a lot of dancers. Music allows people to express their feelings, thoughts and experiences. Dancing also allows people to do that in a similar way. The dancers only enhanced the performance, and I liked that Rihanna’s outfit was a different color from the dancers’ outfits; it made her stand out.
Rihanna did the performance her way by making it about her music and the dancing because a lot of her songs are about dancing. The performance was true to herself without there being too much pressure. She didn’t have any costume changes or special guest appearances; she did the show for her fans, which made it more special. The stages being in the air was another unique part of the performance that only added to the viewing experience.
Sometimes, simplicity can go a long way. People were there to watch the Super Bowl game, not a concert; Rihanna was just a special guest during the game. She did an excellent job of providing entertainment for the crowd and having fun without going overboard and making the audience forget the real meaning of the night.
It is also important to mention that Rihanna is pregnant with her second child as confirmed by the artist, so it would have been exhausting if she had danced during the whole show and sang all 12 songs without much pause. It is better that she played it on the safe side and did something a bit more lowkey, so as not to overwork herself.
Even though some were quick to criticize Rihanna’s performance at the Super Bowl, she put on a great show with some of her best songs, and it was fun to watch. Instead of focusing on nitpicks of the show, the focus should be more on what Rihanna did well during her performance.
Vanessa Werner can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @VanessaRWerner