Super Bowl Halftime Show
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As you already know, Rihanna is set to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Feb. 12. And she’s likely to perform at the Academy Awards on March 12, assuming “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is nominated for best original song.
“Lift Me Up,” which Rihanna co-wrote with Ludwig Göransson, Ryan Coogler and Tems, was one of 15 songs shortlisted in that category last month. The song’s sheer quality, its success (it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100), the film’s potency and Rihanna’s star-power all point to a nomination. “All the Stars,” from the initial Black Panther, was nominated for best original song four years ago.
Even if “Lift Me Up” is nominated, there’s no guarantee that Rihanna will perform it on the telecast. Two years ago, the Academy relegated the best original song nominees to a “pre-show,” a move that was roundly criticized.
And even if Rihanna is invited to perform the song on the telecast, there’s a chance she could decline. Kendrick Lamar and SZA did not perform “All the Stars” on the Oscar telecast four years ago, a move blamed on “logistics and timing.” But that was an outlier. When Oscar calls, even the biggest stars usually say yes. Beyoncé opened last year’s show with a memorable performance of “Be Alive” from King Richard. Such other superstars as Adele, U2, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Justin Timberlake, Sting, Elton John, and Billie Eilish with Finneas have performed nominated songs on the Oscars in the past decade. Expect Rihanna to join that list.
Rihanna wouldn’t be the first person to perform on the Oscar telecast and at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the same calendar year. Phil Collins played both high-profile gigs in 2000, though he wasn’t the headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Jan. 30, but part of a multi-artist package that also included Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias and Toni Braxton. Collins performed “Two Worlds” from Tarzan at the Disney-produced halftime show.
Two months later, on March 26, Collins performed “You’ll Be in My Heart,” also from Tarzan, at the 72nd Academy Awards. The song (which Collins wrote by himself) went on to win the Oscar.
Nominations round voting for the 2023 Oscars extends from Jan. 12 to 17. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 24. Final round voting extends from March 2-7.
After a weekend of wild NFL action setting the stage for next week’s first round of playoff games, Rihanna is getting fully psyched for this year’s Super Bowl. The singer who will perform at halftime of Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona showed up in an NFL promo on Sunday in which she posed in a black Fenty football sweatshirt featuring the same image that helped announce her gig — a tattooed hand holding up a pigskin — as she leaned back and gave the camera her best game face.
“5 weeks from today,” read the caption on the post from the NFL. Rihanna will perform at the newly rebranded Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, which is being produced by DPS with Roc Nation.
That wasn’t all, though. Rih Rih also used the opportunity to hype a new limited-edition collection of football-inspired Fenty gear under the “Game Day” banner. The sporty drop features 17 styles, from hoodies to boxers, sweatpants, two-tone varsity jerseys, beanies, bandanas and tube tops, with sizes ranging from XXS to 4X. There’s also a white graphic tee with the important message: “Rihanna Concert Interrupted by a Football Game, Weird But Whatever.”
According to WWD, the singer will also launch a three-day “Game Day” pop-up shop in Los Angeles from Jan. 27-29 where customers will be able to shop the entire collection in a football-themed store. As is customary, new mom Rihanna is keeping details of her halftime extravaganza under tight wraps, telling ET in Nov., “I can’t believe I even said yes. It was one of those things that even when I announced it, I was like, ‘OK, I can’t take it back. Now, it’s like final.’ 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,” she added. “But it’s nerve-racking. You want to get it right. You know, everybody’s watching. And they’re rooting for you. And I want to get it right.”
At press time it was still unknown if any special guests will be joining Rih for her mid-game spotlight.
See the NFL’s halftime show promo and images from the Fenty collection below.