Rihanna was above it all. And pregnant to boot.
She began and ended the Super Bowl 57 halftime show hovering high above the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The performance lacked the surprise guests stars included in many previous Super Bowl halftimes, save one 鈥� her representative revealed afterward that the singer is pregnant with her second child.
Rihanna wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit with tight, rubbery garb underneath that showed a baby bump that fuelled a wave of social media speculation until the big revelation. She stood on a transparent rectangular platform that raised and lowered as she belted out the lyrics to 鈥淏---- Better Have My Money鈥� over the turf where the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were battling moments earlier.
Dancers wearing white ski-style suits and shaded goggles had their own suspended platforms that moved in concert with hers.
She and the dancers were lowered to a long stage that matched her outfit as she sped through hits including "Work," 鈥淲here Have You Been,鈥� and 鈥淥nly Girl,鈥� belting out 鈥淲ant you to make me feel like I鈥檓 the only girl in the world.鈥�
There were also none of the constant costume changes and scene shifts from previous years. The theme 鈥� and the colour scheme 鈥� stayed the same throughout the 13-minute show, with red lights bathing the stage at times and golden fireworks exploding in the air above her.
The long stage allowed for extended pull-away shots as she stared down the camera and overhead tracking shots of Rihanna and her dancers.
At one point she powdered her face and checked it in a mirror before getting back on the mic.
Lights sparkled from the stands as she was hoisted alone back into the air and sang 鈥淒iamonds鈥� 鈥� with its refrain of 鈥渟hine bright like a diamond鈥� 鈥� as the set closed.
Rihanna's performance was her first solo performance event in seven years, and her first since becoming a mother for the first time nine months ago.
A SIMPLY SPANGLED BANNER
Country star Chris Stapleton made the national anthem a simple affair at Super Bowl 57, standing alone on the field accompanied by only his electric guitar as he sang 鈥淭he Star Spangled Banner鈥� moments before the Kansas City Chiefs kickoff to the Philadelphia Eagles to start the game.
Dressed simply in smooth black denim and sunglasses, with neatly combed hair instead of his signature feathered cowboy hat, he sang the anthem as a plaintive ballad, picking it up to rock only briefly as he delivered the final lines 鈥渂anner yet wave鈥� and 鈥渓and of the free!鈥�
His anthem felt slow, but it clocked in at 2 minutes, 2 seconds, under the 2 minutes, 5 seconds predicted by oddsmakers. But it was more than 10 seconds longer than last year鈥檚 sung by another country star, Mickey Guyton.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and starting centre Jason Kelce both had tears in their eyes during Stapleton鈥檚 emotional performance.
As the eight-time Grammy winner sang, 鈥淐ODA鈥� star Troy Kotsur, the first deaf man to win an acting Oscar, signed the anthem lyrics.
OTHER ANTHEMS
Before Stapleton's anthem, 鈥淎bbot Elementary鈥� star Sheryl Lee Ralph performed 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing.鈥�
Wearing a flowing red velvet gown, Ralph began the song dubbed the Black national anthem as a reflective ballad, and it became a soaring hymn as it went on, with military-style drums joining her and a choir dressed all in white chiming in behind her on the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
And R&B legend Babyface delivered 鈥淎merica the Beautiful鈥� as a soulful folk song, playing an acoustic guitar painted with an American flag and blue flowers as he stood alone on the field. A backing track with drum machines and singers kicked in before he was done.
FAMOUS FANS, PERFORMERS AND PITCH PEOPLE
Die-hard Chiefs fan Paul Rudd was on the field before the game, sporting a big smile and a team jersey.
Philadelphia native Bradley Cooper, wearing an Eagles T-shirt, celebrated from the stands as his team put the first points of a thriller of a game on the board. Another famous Philly fan, Kevin Hart, wearing a jersey, stood and flapped his arms.
Jay-Z, Tiffany Haddish, rapper GloRilla and chef Gordon Ramsay were also spotted in the stadium.
Pregame performances came from DJ Snake and Jason Derulo, whose backup dancers included synchronized robot dogs.
Many stars have made the scene at Super Bowl week parties.
Many others, including Serena Williams, Adam Driver and John Travolta, are showing up in the big game's big commercials.
And U2 revealed in a commercial late in the game that they were returning to the concert stage for the first time since 2019.
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AP Entertainment Writer Jonathan Landrum contributed to this story from Glendale, Ariz.
