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Super Bowl LVII will either be remembered for a controversial call ruining a perfect ending for the Eagles, or for a second triumph by Patrick Mahomes, the superstar, injury-riddled quarterback. In between this anticlimactic conclusion to another NFL season was one of the most anticipated halftime shows of all-time, Rihanna’s return to stage after almost seven years.

Rihanna made an emphatic return, stationed airborne in a red robe surrounded by hundreds of dancers. And her performance didn’t disappoint, giving fans a chance to reminisce on the multitude of hits from her discography. She even revealed news of her own later on, announcing that she’s expecting her second child, in Beyoncé-2011-MTV-awards fashion.

But how did Rihanna’s performance compare to some of the best shows of all-time? In my eyes, the most memorable shows have the perfect combination of these five aspects: set design/choreography, song choices, special guests, service to the home audience and memeification.

The latter has been more important in the last few years — the first major meme was “Left Shark” during Katy Perry’s 2015 performance before Selfie Kid snapped a picture with Justin Timberlake at the end of his show in 2018.

Rihanna’s aerial entrance is on par with Lady Gaga flying onto the stage in 2017, and much better than Perry’s entry on a robot lion to the song “Roar.” She’s basically attached to a flying saucer, ascended over six other airborne platforms, in one of the most complicated set designs ever used. It resembled a Super Smash Bros level more than anything else, fulfilling the memeification category.

Rihanna quickly erased the Vegas odds too, which favored that she would start her performance with “Diamonds,” a song she saved, thankfully, for the finale instead. She began with her 2015 track, “B*tch Better Have My Money,” a surprising choice as the NFL doesn’t actually pay artists for their halftime shows, before transitioning into her 2011 hit, “Where Have You Been.”

Throughout the rest of her performance, Rihanna simply reminded the audience how many iconic songs she’s had since 2005, playing six of the 14 tracks she’s had at the top spot in the Billboard charts.

Stephanie Zaso | Digital Design Director

Rihanna took the route of singing the choruses or a single verse from her most popular songs, like other Super Bowl halftime show artists have done in the past. Before she stepped off the platform to join her army of dancers, Rihanna had already rattled through three of the 12 songs she would sing.

This choice makes sense just because of the amount of well-known songs Rihanna has over her career, but she could have narrowed it down by a few key tracks like Prince in 2007 or Gaga in 2017. Prince had no issue cutting his set down to seven songs, saving the final three minutes to serenade the crowd with “Purple Rain” in the rain, completely unfocused on delivering a mashup of his greatest hits.

Prince also utilized a special guest in the Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band, though other performers have used that spot for much bigger acts (i.e. Coldplay bringing out Bruno Mars and Beyoncé in 2016). A Drake or Jay Z appearance would’ve been spectacular on “Work” or “Run This Town,” but she didn’t have to bring anyone out. There were already enough dancers on stage, consisting of at least two 53-man rosters who could’ve taken the field instead of the Chiefs or Eagles on Sunday.

The background dancers were mesmerizing, completely in unison like an infinite number of Jabbawockeez. They performed right into the camera, staring at the audience through their Viper sunglasses. Later in the performances, the dancers somehow multiplied and were joined by a band for “All of the Lights.”

This was one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows in terms of serving the viewers at home. For years, the halftime performances were focused on the in-person experience, showing the audience sprawled out on the field as if the 50-yard line had suddenly transformed into a mosh pit.

More recently, the performances are filmed like a long music video, with the artists more focused on playing right into the camera instead of to the live crowd. Sometimes, this has been terrible, like when The Weeknd creepily grabbed the camera and ran through a Hall of Mirrors in 2021. But this year, the camera movements were cinematic in their own way, highlighting Rihanna in the middle of every shot and even going a full 360 degrees to transition from “Wild Thoughts” to “Pour it Up.”

Was this the best Super Bowl performance of all-time? No, especially because Prince is still at the top of the list. But it did have one of the best endings. At the conclusion, Rihanna was suspended airborne, backlit by thousands of phone flashlights while singing “Diamonds.” She was the diamond in the sky, taking a final bow in her reintroduction to the mainstream.

At its essence, that’s what this show was about. For every artist, the Super Bowl serves as the biggest stage they may ever perform on. It’s a chance to present themselves to a brand new audience and remind their biggest fans that they’re still there. Rihanna did both, so now it’s a question of what’s next for the singer-songwriter.

Published on February 13, 2023 at 9:17 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu