Rihanna reveals she agreed to perform at Super Bowl 2023 for her son

Rihanna's fans need to thank her 9-month-old son for her upcoming performance at the Super Bowl Halftime show. The singer will be performing live on stage for the first time in six years. The singer recently revealed that she was initially apprehensive to say yes to the show but agreed because of her son.

When the opportunity first came her way, Rihanna recalled that she was unsure. "I was like, ‘You sure? I’m three months postpartum. Should I be making major decisions like this right now? I might regret this."

The singer said becoming a mom gave her the energy to take on the big event, especially with her 9-month-old son watching on.
“When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you could take on the world — you can do anything. And the Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, so as scary as that was … there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all,” she said. “It’s important for my son to see that.”

The Grammy-winning singer stated that performing at one of the world's biggest stages is important as a form of representation for "immigrants, represent for my country, Barbados, [and] represent for Black women everywhere.”

“That’s key for people to see the possibilities. And I’m honored to be here. I’m honored to be doing this year,” she added.

Rihanna, 34, spoke Thursday at the Phoenix Convention Center days before Sunday’s Big Game and her halftime performance.
Rihanna did not reveal the lineup of the songs she would be performing but she did mention that was the list was being reworked to make her 13-minute-long performance memorable. "The setlist was the biggest challenge. That was the hardest part — deciding how to maximize 13 minutes, but also celebrate. That’s what the show’s going to be — it’s going to be a celebration of my catalog in the best way,” she said. “I think we did a pretty good job at narrowing it down.”

The singer also admitted that she was nervous about performing live after so many years. Rihanna toured last in 2016 when her album 'Anti' was released.

Rihanna had declined to perform in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.