Just as celebrities across the globe praised Rhianna, so did the NFL. It sounds like they were star-struck during her performance, and even Tweeted a small clip of her dancing on one of seven platforms hovering above the center of the stadium. Even they were blown away by her performance. It’s starting to look like she was nearly more of a star than the football players (via Twitter).
If you missed it, we’ll let you in on a secret. Rhianna had a quick crotch grab during her performance that sparked a lot of nasty feedback from fans around the world. Some even say she smelled her fingers afterward. While half of Twitter blew up with praise for the singer, the other half blew up with negative comments, reminding Rhianna that kids watch the halftime show, too. It sparked the Super Bowl 2023 controversy. According to MSN, “some of the reactions were reminiscent of the backlash Jennifer Lopez received after she performed a similar gesture during her Super Bowl halftime show in 2020.” The reviews got even worse, with some people even saying, “Apparently I’m the only person on Twitter who thinks Rihanna’s halftime show was terrible. Why is she touching her crotch in a show kids are watching? And why are her backup dancers dressed like hazmat COVID freaks that do those gross brain swab tests?” If they were so angry about the show, why did they continue watching (via NY Post)?
The crotch grab rustled so many feathers over at Twitter, that people phoned in about it more than the actual game. The executive producer of “Boomer & Carton” on Audacy, Al Dukes, tweeted, “Sports Talk Radio: We are getting more calls on Rihanna’s crotch grab than the actual game.” Considering it’s 2023, it’s surprising that this quick action caused so much controversy (via NY Post).
Model Cara Delevigne showed support for Rhianna by sporting a t-shirt that said, “Rhianna Concert Interrupted by A Football Game. Weird But Whatever.” As we mentioned, it seems like Rhianna was a bigger draw to the Super Bowl than the actual football players. Because her performance was symbolic and more of a representation than a show, it makes sense as to why so many people reacted to her performance (via Telegraph).
Did you notice this small detail? This is ironic because… the Super Bowl didn’t pay her money. You’d think a pop artist like Rhianna would get paid to perform at the Super Bowl. Think again. Her dazzling performance was not monetized and she didn’t take home a paycheck for her stellar act on stage. But did Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars, from previous years, get paid, too? Nope. No one gets paid at the Super Bowl. There’s a reason behind this, though, and it’s because the NFL isn’t a music concert, it’s focused on sports. That, and it’s expected that the performers will get a huge spike in listeners following the Super Bowl, which seems like a fair enough trade (via Glamour Magazine).
No one’s sure why Rhianna’s dancers wore puffy suits, but if you missed the performance, these suits are eerily reminiscent of Hazmat suits. It was a futuristic look that hits a little bit too close to home in regards to the COVID era, but we’ll give it to Rhianna. She’s an icon of the music industry and her Super Bowl halftime show earned rave reviews overall, so she did it anyway (via Time).
One of the Super Bowl Halftime Show’s traditions is to bring out a special guest or guests during the performance. Rhianna broke that tradition. She was the sole performer during the entire show. She was “relying instead on the impeccable talents of her dozens of backup dancers, who wined, body-rolled, and dropped it low.” That sounds like enough of a special guest performance for us. While some people may not have appreciated the breach in tradition, millions of others didn’t seem to care. Or notice (via Time).
Dunkin’ Donuts enlisted Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck to star in their super bowl ad. Because Affleck has a long association with the brand and is often seen drinking Dunkin’ Donuts drinks, they wanted him to star in the ad. Surprisingly, he also helped direct the ad. “Affleck mans the drive-through booth at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Medford, Massachusetts with a Boston accent and shocks customers. Lopez comes through the drive-through and asks him what he’s doing. You’re embarrassing me in front of my friends,” he says. “Grab me a glazed,” she demands.” They added a touch of humor for their viewers (via Telegraph).
That’s to say, everyone’s performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show is somewhat of a miracle. The show involves hundreds of people putting up the stage, performing, and breaking down the stage. Rhianna gave us the inside scoop as to exactly how much is involved. She said, “I mean, it’s literally like, 300 to 400 people breaking the stage down and building it back up and getting it out in eight minutes. It’s incredible. It’s almost impossible.” Eight minutes is not a lot of time. And Rhianna’s performance was only a whopping 13 minutes (via Mirror).
After Rhianna revealed her pregnancy, people were so distraught at the fact that we might not see her release a new album again for a quite while. She’ll bring another human onto this planet, and yet people are only thinking about the new music she’s not going to make. We have her old songs to hold us over for a while, that should be enough. We have Don’t Stop the Music, Disturbia, and Umbrella which were classic hits and still are. Let’s forget about her new music for a while she’s pregnant and just be happy for her while we look back on her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance fondly (via Harpers Bazaar).