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Rihanna at the Super Bowl
Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Anyone who is allowed to appear in the halftime show of the Super Bowl has made it: A bigger stage is hard to imagine, over 72 thousand in the stadium, over a hundred million worldwide in front of the television, plus millions of clicks on YouTube.
A status symbol.
But for the musician Rihanna apparently a dispensable.
It was not until 2019 that she politely declined an appearance on the halftime show - and thus showed solidarity with the football player Colin Kaepernick, who knelt down during the US anthem to protest against racism in the USA and in the following season no longer signed a contract in the »National Football League« (NFL).
Since then a lot has happened.
The NFL is now organizing the halftime show in cooperation with the US rapper Jay Z's record label »Roc Nation«. Because issues of the anti-racism movement are now also getting more attention in the NFL, as the partnership with Jay Z clearly shows, it was so far after a long wait: Rihanna was on stage on Sunday night, between fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Rihanna at the Super Bowl: The surprise guest isn't coming for a few months
On a stage element floating in the air and with a cheeky grin, Rihanna begins her almost quarter-hour performance - a medley of twelve of her most popular hits.
Rihanna presents her baby bump with a caressing gesture to »Bitch better have my money«.
She lets herself be abseiled down from the ceiling to jubilation.
Rihanna became known around the world in spring 2005 when her debut single "Pon de Replay" hit the top 5 of the charts in fifteen countries ad hoc.
Since then she has released one hit single after another, "Umberella" and "We found Love" are two of them, followed by albums like "Music of the Sun" to "Unapolgetic".
In total, she has sold over 60 million albums and 215 million digital tracks to date.
However, their last album »Anti« was released seven years ago.
Pretty long ago.
But instead of announcing a new album at the Super Bowl, which many expected, and possibly even presenting a new first song, Rihanna used the performance to show the world what she was expecting: a second child.
The musician is pregnant again.
She is by no means the first woman in the business to be on stage pregnant, but almost no one seemed so demonstratively relaxed - this also applies to her look.
The red outfit is stylish but cozy at the same time, and her entire show goes without an outfit change.
Rihanna deliberately stays casual.
She smiles, hands over her mic to powder her face, of course with her own brand of cosmetics, Fenty Beauty, leaving most of the dancing to the hundred or so dancers who make the most of their time in the spotlight.
Rihanna, on the other hand, does not bring any other guests to her side.
She doesn't need it to appear skilfully effortless.
That is exactly their brand.
The artist, who is often praised as changeable, remains true to her attitude in principle.
Her intangibly authentic appearance seems to let Rihanna happen.
Laissez-faire
is
certainly not the approach advocated by the multi-billionaire.
But on the contrary.
Rihanna last revealed how ambitious she is in the New York Times in 2015.
In one of her rare interviews, she spoke about the inner pressure to succeed, which is fueled by success, and about her rebellious charisma, which makes her mother particularly proud.
'It makes her think I'm safe.
She thinks she doesn't have to worry about me.« The fact that you don't have to worry about Rihanna is actually convincing with her appearance – and with the success of her various projects.
From music to beauty brand
In addition to music, Rihanna revolutionized the beauty industry almost in passing: in 2017 she launched her brand »Fenty Beauty«, a make-up line that offers a seemingly endless palette of shades and is intended to be accessible to all people;
a year later her lingerie brand »Savage X Fenty« followed.
According to »Forbes«, the beauty business made the entrepreneur a billionaire.
The magazine put her wealth at $1.7 billion, making her the second richest entertainer after Oprah Winfrey.
Business or not, her appearance at the Superbowl shows what the abandonment of the big stage in 2019 showed: Rihanna does what she wants.
At the moment it's just family.