Rihanna’s Dancer Took A Scary Tumble, And 12 Other Things I Noticed Watching The Super Bowl Halftime Show In Person
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Fam, I was live at Super Bowl LVII and got to watch Rihanna tear up the Apple Music Halftime Show!
RiRi did not disappoint! I mean, c'mon...performing on a glass platform in the sky while pregnant is legendary.
Here are the 13 thoughts I had while watching Rihanna perform!
1.The stage was constructed in about three minutes, which was amazing to watch.
The stage came out in many pieces with dozens of crew members assembling it. The base was constructed first, and it came out in several folded-up parts like a gigantic red lunchroom table. The crew members folded down the sides and then quickly got to setting up the floating platforms. I was amazed by how fast it was all done.
These platforms were so cool!
Watching the crew set up the stage for #Rihanna was dope! Here they are testing the floating platforms before her #SuperBowl #AppleMusicHalftime performance!
2.Rihanna's stage was set up so it didn't damage the grass!
The NFL has spent two years preparing the grass for tonight's field at the Super Bowl.The grass was grown at a local sod farm in Phoenix.It was installed two weeks ago, and the field has been rolled out each morning for daily sunshine.Total cost = $800,000
3.Rihanna gives her fans the best energy.
Before the performance began, Rihanna was happily waving to fans in the crowd. Her excitement and genuine happiness filled the stadium with a warm electricity only RiRi can deliver (without even performing yet, mind you). Last year, for Dr. Dre's legendary set, I don't recall any of the artists acknowledging the crowd before performing in this way. That's not a knock to Dre, Em, Kendrick, Snoop, or Mary J. It just shows the difference in energy and preparation between artists. And I don't care what anyone says...she was waving right at me when I took this picture and ONLY ME!
4.Is RiRi pregnant? I immediately wanted to know if she was pregnant after Rihanna started the show with a belly rub.
SHE’S BAAAACK 👑 @Rihanna #AppleMusicHalftime
5.Where's A$AP Rocky?!
ASAP Rocky is everyone watching @Rihanna 🥺 #AppleMusicHalftime
6.There were no cameos or features, unfortunately.
Lil Uzi Vert and Jay Z entering #SuperBowlLVII
Jay Z has entered the building #SuperBowlLVII
7.The dancer who almost fell had me shook for a second.
Rihanna’s halftime show was inches away from absolute disaster (via sid_tilt/ig)
8.It was scary to watch RiRi up on that platform with only one strap holding her.
I caught a video of #Rihanna getting her protective strap/harness situated before the performance. It's scary to think all she had was the one strap to keep her from falling! #AppleMusicHalftime #SuperBowlLVII
9.Rihanna sang her ass off!
Watching this live and hearing #Rihanna belt out her classics was LEGENDARY DAWG #AppleMusicHalftime #SuperBowlLVII
10.The millenials and Zoomers were waaay more into it than the older generations.
I'm a respectable 32 (almost 33) years old, and I'll say that the people having the most fun around me seemed to be about my age or younger. It's not that older generations weren't getting into it, several were. But I definitely got the "this isn't my type of halftime show" vibes from some of the Gen X and Baby Boomers. One white-haired gentleman with a bushy mustache in front of me was shaking his head in disgust when "Bitch Better Have My Money" dropped. Sorry bruv, this wasn't for you.
11.These dance moves seem kind of low-key for a Rihanna performance, but the choreography was definitely tailored to her pregnancy.
While everyone in the audience was still questioning what the belly rub meant, it was blatantly obvious that the choreography was made to keep Rihanna from doing TOO much. As the rumors in the stadium swirled during her performance, I really couldn't help but feel that RiRi wasn't going full Bad Gal on stage. Where's the jumping around, intricate dance moves, flips, and all the other madness you'd expect from such a big performance? For a moment I thought, Maybe she's keeping her dance moves and energy more conservative because she's on a huge national stage, but then I remembered she probably wouldn't give a damn what people thought in that regard anyway. After her reps confirmed the pregnancy following her performance, it all made sense.
12.Rihanna's MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon sneakers were my favorite part of her outfit.
Rihanna hit the halftime stage in the MM6 Maison Margiela x SalomonRead More: https://t.co/ATagDYrj8P
13.And finally, it wasn't as memorable as last year's Super Bowl halftime show, but it definitely ranks in the top five of my personal favorites I've seen.
Listen, it's gonna be hard to top Dr. Dre's ensemble last year, and I think everyone can agree Beyoncé had one of the best halftime show performances of all time. But Rihanna's performance still ranked top 5 for me. Now, this is based on halftime shows I've seen live (or on TV live). My memory gets kinda hazy before the early 2000s (although Michael Jackson's performance still survives in my memory in a distorted fashion), but I stand by RiRi being a top 5.
