Why Rihanna Won’t Be Paid For Her Super Bowl Halftime Show
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The Grammy winner is headlining the #FentyBowl for other reasons.
Rihanna is returning to music after more than five years with the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, but what might surprise many is the fact that she won't be taking home a dime for her performance.
The 34-year-old is headlining the show for Sunday's big football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, and despite there being no paycheck, there's a good reason for it.
According to Forbes, this is actually customary for all performers. Big names who have headlined the show in the past, like Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj, were not paid for the show either. Instead, the profit comes in the form of increased sales and attention.
There are predicted to be over 192 million people watching, giving Rihanna extreme exposure.
Billboard reported that, just on the day of Lady Gaga's 2017 performance, her digital album and song sales went up 1000 percent.
In 2020, when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira co-headlined the halftime show, Lopez saw a 187 percent gain in streams, while Shakira's increased by 267 percent. Two of Shakira's albums also re-entered the Billboard Top 200 as a result of the show's positive exposure.
The halftime show also costs a lot of money to put on and it is usually paid for by sponsors, with Forbes stating that Pepsi and Apple Music are likely paying for Rihanna's performance. Some stars even spend their own money to make their show better, with The Weeknd paying $7 million to make his Super Bowl show perfect.
Related: The 10 Best Super Bowl Halftime Shows of All Time
Talking about the halftime show in a recent press conference, Rihanna said, "I get involved with every aspect of anything that I do. Whether it’s the Super Bowl, whether it’s a makeup product, whether it's Savage lingerie...If it flops or it flies, my name has to stand by that.”
She continued, "This show is gonna be a celebration of my catalog, the best way we can put it together. You’re trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes."
You can tune into Rihanna's live performance during the big game tonight, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the halftime show estimated to begin around 8 p.m. ET.
Related: Don't Miss Out on These Delicious Deals for Super Bowl LVII
