Rihanna will perform at the Super Bowl halftime show for the first time in February 2023.
The superstar was previously invited to perform in 2019 but had rejected the offer in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. She was replaced by Maroon 5.
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what?” Rihanna told Vogue in 2019. “Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way,” she said of the league.
Tweeting about the announcement, Roc Nation CEO and half-time show executive producer Jay-Z says.
He adds, “Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn. A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
According to TMZ, another artiste will also be joining Rihanna on the Super Bowl stage.
The Super Bowl will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12. After years of Pepsi’s sponsorship, the upcoming halftime show will be sponsored by Apple Music.
