Featured Image Credit: NFL/Twitter
Topics: Rihanna, Celebrity, Music, Super Bowl
Ali Condon
Well... Rihanna put on the performance of a lifetime at Sunday night's Super Bowl half-time show and it's going to take me quite some time to recover.
The singer's electrifying show was her first in seven years so really pulled out all the stops - from fireworks to floating dancers to a pregnancy reveal.
But, despite opening the show with 'Better Have My Money', Rihanna, 34, won't see a penny for the explosive performance.
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It's not as if Rihanna really needs the money - last year she was named by Forbes as one of the world's youngest self-made female billionaires.
As well as the cash she's still earning from her endless supply of hit records, Rihanna is the CEO of wildly successful makeup and skincare company Fenty Beauty and lingerie line Savage X Fenty.
And it's a good thing, too, since it's customary for Super Bowl headliners not to be paid for their shows.
No matter which pop star takes the field mid-way through the NFL game, whether it be Beyoncé, J.Lo, or Justin Timberlake, no one ever comes home with any more money in their pocket.
This is likely down to the fact that the Super Bowl half time show is arguably the biggest stage in the world, so the exposure really is like nothing else.
After last year's performance, starring West Coast hip hop legends like Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem, Dr Dre saw a 183% increase in album sales, while Mary J Blige's album sales peaked by 999%, according to Luminate.
And in 2020, when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira took to the stage, J.Lo earned 2.3 million new social media followers.
Last night (12 February) marked Rihanna's return to the stage for the first time in years, so it's only right to make a dramatic entrance on the world's biggest stage in front of an estimated 192 million viewers, wouldn't you say?
Rihanna had previously turned down the chance to perform at the Super Bowl in 2019, boycotting in support of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
She told Vogue at the time: "I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler."
So what's made her change her mind?
Speaking ahead of the performance, she explained: "I felt like it was now or never for me.
"The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, it's an entertainer's dream to be on a stage like that."
During the 13-minute set, Rihanna managed to squeeze in almost all of her hits, from old-school hits like 'Only Girl (In The World)' and 'Umbrella', to more familiar favourites like 'Work' and 'Wild Thoughts'.
Rihanna had hinted that someone might be joining her for the performance, and fans were convinced one of her former collaborators like Jay-Z, Eminem or Kanye might have popped up.
But it turned out the special guest was none other than Rihanna's second baby - singlehandedly breaking the internet once again.