Rihanna reveals pregnancy at Super Bowl half-time show

Rihanna delivered an electrifying and hit-heavy half-time amusement astatine Sunday's Super Bowl, but societal media went into meltdown erstwhile the vocalist revealed an unexpected peculiar guest.

In an interrogation past week, Rihanna was asked successful if determination would beryllium immoderate surprises during her show astatine Arizona's State Farm Stadium.

Naturally, fans assumed she was talking astir 1 of the galore artists she's collaborated with during her illustrious career. A impermanent spot from Jay-Z, Drake oregon Eminem seemed some apt and successful keeping with the half-time amusement contented of astonishment duets.

But Rihanna wasn't talking astir immoderate of them. Although cipher twigged astatine the time, she was successful information hinting that she was large with her 2nd child.

The vocalist whitethorn person failed to debut immoderate caller euphony during her show astatine Sunday's Super Bowl, but the babe bump she debuted alternatively astir broke the internet.

Wearing an all-red customized jumpsuit by Loewe, Rihanna appeared connected 1 of respective floating platforms which soared precocious supra the crowd, arsenic a swarm of energetic dancers, each dressed successful white, gathered below.

The assemblage went chaotic arsenic the vocalist launched consecutive into Better Have My Money - a somewhat ironic opener considering she is not being paid for her Super Bowl show (as is customized for half-time headliners).

As the 34-year-old dazzled the assemblage from connected high, her dancers performed beneath her astatine breakneck speed, successful a show of razor-sharp choreography which they would support passim the full performance.

The vocalist rattled done respective of her astir recognisable hits, front-loading her acceptable with immoderate of her astir danceable and up-tempo numbers including Where Have You Been and Only Girl (In The World).

It was a half-time amusement which was not abbreviated connected spectacle. Fireworks were fto disconnected supra the stadium, arsenic she launched into the euphoric We Found Love.

While rumours that the prima mightiness instrumentality the accidental to execute caller euphony failed to materialise, the determination to trust connected her extended backmost catalogue, 1 of the strongest successful popular music, was a sensible one.

The vocalist packed a immense fig of hits into a choky 14-minute set, often lone performing the archetypal verse oregon chorus of definite songs. But monster hits specified arsenic Rude Boy were balanced with somewhat lesser-known instrumentality favourites including Pour It Up.

Elsewhere, the acceptable took vantage of immoderate of her biggest collaborations - but without immoderate of her collaborators joining her connected stage, somewhat disappointingly.

As she performed Run This Town, All of the Lights and Wild Thoughts, determination were nary appearances from Jay-Z, Ye (formerly Kanye West) oregon DJ Khaled, who usually diagnostic connected those tracks.

But their lack didn't matter. By this point, everyone's attraction was firmly connected an wholly different, and precise visible, peculiar guest.

3. Only Girl (In The World)

8. Birthday Cake (instrumental) / Pour It Up

Confusion initially permeated societal media arsenic fans rushed to stock their theories astir Rihanna's evident babe bump. Many pointed retired the vocalist is known for her assemblage positivity and could good person conscionable been showing disconnected her curvier fig pursuing her erstwhile pregnancy.

But arsenic the acceptable progressed, viewers became progressively assured Rihanna was again pregnant, 9 months aft she and her spouse A$AP Rocky welcomed a son.

For viewers some successful the stadium and astatine home, the speculation and statement astir precisely which trimester she mightiness beryllium successful lone added to the fervent conversation.

Within an hr of Rihanna's show drafting to a close, her representatives had confirmed the vocalist was so large with her 2nd child.

While immoderate fans admitted to a tinge of disappointment that this volition apt mean yet different hold to Rihanna's much-anticipated ninth workplace album, the absorption connected societal media was overwhelmingly joyful.

Unlike past year's half-time show, which saw Eminem instrumentality the knee, Rihanna's acceptable was distinctly airy connected governmental statements - thing which whitethorn astonishment those who retrieve her erstwhile comments astir the NFL.

In 2019, Rihanna turned down the accidental to execute the half-time show. The vocalist confirmed to Vogue she had declined successful solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the backmost who controversially knelt during the nationalist anthem successful 2016 successful protestation against racism and constabulary brutality. "I conscionable couldn't beryllium a sellout. I couldn't beryllium an enabler," she said astatine the time.

Four years later, "taking the knee" is overmuch much commonplace, peculiarly successful airy of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and Rihanna's headlining of the Super Bowl is possibly a motion of her support of the NFL's advancement successful caller years.

Fans broadly agreed her show was worthy the wait, featuring a acceptable database which she had joked earlier successful the week had been done 39 drafts earlier it was finalised.

On the night, the yearly jokes astir the civilization clash betwixt popular euphony fans and sports fans were successful afloat plaything connected societal media, with Rihanna adjacent embracing them herself.

Her covering statement manufactured T-shirts with the slogan: "Rihanna performance interrupted by shot game. Weird but whatever." Model Cara Delevingne was among the fans seen sporting them astatine the game.

Fans of the Rihanna admit the vocalist doesn't needfully person the champion dependable successful music. It's much distinctive than it is powerful, the benignant of dependable you would recognise instantly arsenic hers connected the radio, adjacent if you weren't acquainted with the song.

"Rihanna ne'er needed to over-sing anything; she ever sounded excessively chill to emote," said Stereogum's Tom Breihan. up of her Super Bowl debut.

But what has acceptable Rihanna isolated from immoderate of her peers is the sheer fig of hits she has to her name. In the precocious noughties and aboriginal 2010s, she churned retired chart-toppers faster than the industry's apical songwriters could constitute them.

She released 7 albums successful arsenic galore years, scoring a caller worldwide deed each fewer weeks. As a result, the lone disappointment with her acceptable was the fig of songs she simply didn't person country to compression in.

Her earlier hits, specified arsenic Pon de Replay and SOS, would person gone down a treat, arsenic would the pounding Don't Stop The Music and the monster deed What's My Name (although we did get a tiny snippet of the second close astatine the beginning, earlier she appeared connected stage).

Others, specified arsenic the alternatively graphic S&M, were astir apt omniscient to avoid, fixed the Super Bowl's past with offending household audiences during the half-time show.

And surely everybody tin each beryllium grateful that her acceptable wasn't dragged down by her astir caller merchandise - Lift Me Up from the soundtrack to Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. A perfectly bully opus which deserves its Oscar nomination, but 1 which would not person worked astatine the Super Bowl.

Instead, Rihanna raced towards the extremity of her acceptable with immoderate of her astir undeniable anthems, climaxing with her ode to British weather, Umbrella, and the rousing Diamonds.

It whitethorn not person grabbed the headlines for the reasons fans were expecting, but Rihanna gave america a half-time amusement they volition ne'er forget.