The 2023 Super Bowl was a spectacle that was virtually unprecedented. After brutal expectations to see what the biggest sports show of the year was going to be like, we can certainly say that it lived up to it. The reasons are many, from an NFL final game that has remained close until the very end to dozens of commercials that have been launched during the show.
But, undoubtedly, what generated the most expectation was Rihanna’s performance during the halftime show. The Umbrella, Diamonds and Love on the Brain artist delighted the audience with a great show that included special effects, a bestial choreography followed by hundreds of dancers and something that no one expected: the announcement that she is pregnant.
The singer has come out visibly pregnant at her concert, in what is already being publicized as the most expensive pregnancy announcement in history. This has caused that she could not move as much as her dancers, but she has given an unusual image. Moreover, her appearance was not in vain: it came after seven years of absence from the stage, during which she has not released any new music.
So now the question remains: was the Superbowl a one-off or is it back for good?
Why Rihanna has been absent for seven years
Even if we are looking for a traumatic idea about why Rihanna has been out of music for so long, the truth is that the main reason is diametrically different: she has become a Business Woman.
After being launched to the top in 2005 thanks to the springboard provided by Jay-Z (who had just risen as Def’s president), the singer did not stop releasing music for more than a decade. Her Caribbean and R&B-based sounds catapulted her to a unique fame that placed her alongside stars of the moment such as Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
However, she began to explore her entrepreneurial side even more than her artistic side. She created one of the most popular and recognized cosmetics companies of today, Fenty Beauty, from which all kinds of derivatives such as Fenty Skin have emerged. Later, Rihanna started selling underwear with Savage X Fenty, and launched a fashion label together with the LVMH brand. She also wrote a cookbook and registered the Fenty Hair brand for hair products.
Come on, she really hasn’t stopped, and has done so well that she has even become the richest woman in the music industry. Forbes highlighted her in 2017, when she billed $1.7 billion. With so much money billed, so many companies to move and such a good image to give, it’s no wonder that music was a bit left aside.
The Super Bowl: a business movement?
In fact, one of the biggest criticisms of Rihanna’s last Superbowl show is that she didn’t release any new songs (in addition to not having any collaborations, as was typical). The reason for this decision could be discouraging, and that is that Rihanna could be far from releasing a new album again.
If he was about to release new music, it’s hard to understand why he wouldn’t take advantage of an opportunity like the Super Bowl to do a preview or even present a single. It would have been the perfect opportunity, and it’s something that all the artists who crown the halftime show know perfectly well.
Instead, she presented an impressive show, but the only thing she did was to recall her old hits, in a performance that was more nostalgic than innovative. In addition, she has used the platform to announce her pregnancy, making it clear that the most important thing here is her image, far beyond the music.
Everything, if you look at the show, is focused on leaving her as a diva in the middle of which everything moves: she is a Business woman also on stage, as she has always been, but now her voice is just a complement, an excuse that gives way to something much more important.
Coming from a show as superficial as the Superbowl is not something to criticize. However, it’s still a shame that after a titanic show we are closer to a new Fenty line for pregnant women than to a new album from the international artist.
