Nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna will headline the Super Bowl 57 halftime show in four months.
Rihanna, who has sold over 250 million records throughout her historic music career, hinted at the big announcement in an Instagram post. Apple Music, the new sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, made the announcement official.
The Super Bowl halftime show was previously sponsored by Pepsi, but the company decided not to renew it after the 2021 season. Apple Music took over for Pepsi, and Rihanna will have the honors of performing at the first Super Bowl under the new halftime show sponsor.
Super Bowl 57 will take place on Feb. 12 inside State Farm Arena, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale. This will be the fourth Super Bowl to be played in the Sunshine State, and the third at the venue; Super Bowl 42 in 2008 and Super Bowl 49 were both played here.
The Super Bowl is one of several events that residents in The Copper State can bet on through the BetMGM Arizona sportsbook, which is currently offering new customers a risk-free bet of up to $1,000 upon signing up.
At BetMGM, Arizona opened with +2000 odds of winning Super Bowl 57, but they’re now a +6600 longshot through four games. The Buffalo Bills entered the season as the +750 co-favorites along with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills have the highest odds right now at +400, followed by the Chiefs at +650.
There was speculation that 11-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift would perform at Super Bowl 57, but TMZ reported that this wouldn’t be the case a couple of days before the Rihanna announcement.
Last season’s Super Bowl halftime show featured a star-studded lineup of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak made special guest appearances at the halftime show.
While several music artists have made multiple appearances at the Super Bowl halftime show, Super Bowl 57 will mark Rihanna’s first performance at the marquee event. The Super Bowl halftime show traditionally features special guests to complement the main performer, but we’ll have to wait and see who winds up joining the stage with Rihanna.
The 34-year-old Rihanna joins a special list of all-time great music artists that had the fortunes of playing during the Super Bowl halftime show.
Prince, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Aerosmith, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are among the other notable music artists/bands to have performed on the special stage.
It’s been a truly special year for Rihanna, whom Forbes recently crowned as the youngest self-made female billionaire in the United States. Forbes currently lists her net worth at $1.4 billion. Less than a year later, she will have also headlined the Super Bowl halftime show.
Cardinals Aim To Keep “Home Field Advantage” Super Bowl Streak Intact
Two seasons ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team to play in a Super Bowl game that was held inside their own stadium (Raymond James Stadium). They soundly defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 to win their second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Last season, the Los Angeles Rams played in their home venue of SoFi Stadium, which they share with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to win the big game in front of their home crowd.
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals will try to become just the third team in NFL history (and the third team in as many years) to play in the Super Bowl at their own field. The Cardinals defeated the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 to improve their record to 2-2.
The Cardinals have only made the Super Bowl once in their history. That was back in the 2008 season, where they played the Pittsburgh Steelers at Raymond James Stadium. Despite two clutch fourth quarter touchdown receptions from Larry Fitzgerald, the Steelers won on a late Ben Roethlisberger TD pass to Santonio Holmes.
Arizona’s play has been awfully inconsistent through two weeks, but once DeAndre Hopkins (serving a six-game suspension returns) returns, the offense will finally be back at full strength. Perhaps his return will be the jolt Arizona needs to play up to its potential.