Everything to Know About Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show

Football aside, there’s one major reason to tune into this year’s Super Bowl broadcast, and that’s Rihanna. Following in the footsteps of everyone from Beyoncé to Madonna, the Bajan pop star and new mom will be headlining the big game’s halftime show—which some fans hope is a signal that she’s returning full-time to her music.

This year, the Kansas City Chiefs will face off with the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl LVII. Below, everything you need to know about the biggest night in

When is the 2023 Super Bowl?

Super Bowl LVII will take place on February 12, 2023, with a scheduled start time of 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT.

Where will the 2023 Super Bowl take place?

Last year, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals at the Rams’ home stadium in Inglewood, California. This year, Super Bowl LVII will be held at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (the home of the Arizona Cardinals). The host city for the game is chosen a few years in advance in order to have ample time to prepare. (Next year, the Super Bowl will be held in Las Vegas and after that, New Orleans).

Who is performing at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show?

As noted, the one and only Rihanna will be headlining the halftime show, which is tuned into by millions of fans around the world. Though Rih hasn’t released a new album since 2016’s critically acclaimed Anti, she’s remained one of the top names (and earners) in pop culture thanks to her Savage x Fenty lingerie line and Fenty Beauty empire. She also recently gave birth to her first child with partner A$AP Rocky.

In a teaser for the performance, dropped on January 13th and titled “Rihanna Is Back,” the singer walks down a catwalk in a chartreuse coat from Area’s FW22 collection. As she moves in slow motion to the flashbulbs of cameras, a collection of clips saying things like “Rihanna is over” and “fans wonder where she is” plays, before the singer holds up a finger to her lips, shushing all the naysayers. Watch below:

Rihanna previously turned down the opportunity to headline the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show, telling Vogue that she was standing in solidarity with former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick against the NFL’s silencing of police brutality protests. "I just couldn't be a sellout. I couldn't be an enabler. There's things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way," she told the magazine at the time.

Later that year, the NFL entered into a partnership with Jay-Z and Roc Nation to "enhance the NFL's live game experiences and to amplify the league's social justice efforts."

How long will Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime performance be?

At a press conference with Apple Music on February 9th, Rihanna shared that her performance will last 13 minutes, and hinted that it will have nonstop energy from beginning to end. Given that the singer hasn’t had a new album since Anti (which she also said was her favorite album of hers during the conference), the show will likely be compromised of her past work, which includes eight albums over 17 years. Putting everything together for a 13-minute runtime was “difficult,” the singer said.

“Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s going to be okay,” she said. “We did a pretty good job at narrowing it down. There’s probably been about 39 versions of the setlist right now. We’re on our 39th. Every little change counts.”

Watch the full press conference below:

What will Rihanna perform during the halftime show?

Though she kept most details tightly under wraps, Rihanna said that her Caribbean culture will be a big part of the show, saying, “That’s a big part of why it’s important for me to do this show. Representing for my country, Barbados. Representing for Black women everywhere. That’s really important.”

She also said she had initial doubts about performing at all. During her press conference, she told Apple Music host Nadeska: “When I first got the call to do it again this year I was like, ‘Are you sure? I’m three months postpartum. Should I be making major decisions like this right now? I might regret this.’ When you become a mom there’s something that happens where you feel like you can take on the world and can do anything. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world. As scary as it was, because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. It’s important for me to do this year. It’s important for my son to see that.”

Many fans have wondered whether the landmark performance will be the beginning of a new musical era for Rih. She didn’t officially announce any new music, though there has been a rumor that she’ll be announcing a tour soon. She did seem to hint that she’s working on something in the studio, though, saying: “Musically I’m feeling open. I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating things that are new, things that are different, things that are off, weird. Might not ever make sense to my fans… I want to have fun with music.”

Will there be any guest performers at the Super Bowl halftime show?

No guest performers have been announced yet, but it’s possible Rihanna has a few surprises up her sleeve. Last year, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar took to the stage for a medley of their combined biggest hits.

Other performers have been announced for the rest of the show, however. Singer-songwriter and country star Chris Stapleton will perform the national anthem, and R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.” Emmy-award winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, who you can currently see starring in Abbott Elementary, will perform the 123-year-old hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (also known as “The Black National Anthem”).

Troy Kotsur, the Oscar-winning deaf star of Coda, will also be one of three official ASL translators for the event; he’ll be signing the US national anthem.

How can you watch the 2023 Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl switches networks each year. This year, the game will air live on FOX. If you don’t have cable, FOX can be watched through a live TV subscription to streamers like Hulu, FuboTV and YouTubeTV. Fox also owns the ad-supported streaming platform Tubi, so it’s possible but not confirmed that it will be streaming there.