Rihanna will take center stage at the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2023.
The singer, who declined to perform in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, will headline the 2023 Super Bowl, the NFL announced Sunday along with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Apple Music.
Rihanna posted an image on Instagram of an arm outstretched holding an NFL football.
“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” said Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation is an executive producer of the show, in a statement. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
The Super Bowl will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12. After years of Pepsi’s sponsorship, the upcoming halftime show will be sponsored by Apple Music.
Rihanna earlier said she turned down a similar opportunity for the 2019 Super Bowl that was ultimately headlined by Maroon 5. At the time, many artists voiced support for Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who protested police brutality against Black people and minorities by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016.
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what?” Rihanna told Vogue in 2019. “Who gains from that? Not my people. 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 said of the league.
Kaepernick accused the NFL of colluding to keep him out of the league in a case that was eventually settled in early 2019.
In 2019, the NFL partnered with Roc Nation (which manages Rihanna) to help pick performers for the Super Bowl and strategize on the halftime show. The widely acclaimed 2022 halftime show featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige.
With sales of more than 250 million records worldwide, Rihanna ranks as one of the best-selling female artists ever. Her last album was 2016’s “Anti.” Rihanna last performed publicly at the Grammy Awards in 2018.
In the years since, Rihanna has occasionally teased her music return. Earlier this year, she had her first child with the rapper ASAP Rocky.
All-time list of Super Bowl Half-time show performers
| Super Bowl | YEAR | PERFORMER (S) | CITY |
| I | 1967 | The Three Stooges, University of Arizona and Grambling State University marching bands | Los Angeles |
| II | 1968 | Grambling State University band | Miami |
| III | 1969 | “America Thanks” with the Florida A&M University band and Miami area high school bands | Miami |
| IV | 1970 | “Tribute to Mardi Gras” with Marguerite Piazza, Doc Severinsen, Al Hirt, Lionel Hampton and the Southern University Marching Band | New Orleans |
| V | 1971 | Southern Missouri State marching band | Miami |
| VI | 1972 | “Salute to Louis Armstrong” with Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt and U.S. Marine Corps Drill Team | New Orleans |
| VII | 1973 | “Happiness Is” with the University of Michigan marching band, Woody Herman and Andy Williams | Los Angeles |
| VIII | 1974 | “A Musical America” with the University of Texas band | Houston |
| IX | 1975 | “Tribute to Duke Ellington” with Mercer Ellington and the Grambling State University band | New Orleans |
| X | 1976 | “200 Years and Just a Baby: A Tribute to America's Bicentennial” with Up with People | Miami |
| XI | 1977 | “It’s a Small World” with the Los Angeles Unified All-City band | Pasadena |
| XII | 1978 | “From Paris to the Paris of America” with Tyler Apache Belles and Apache Band Pete Fountain and Al Hirt | New Orleans |
| XIII | 1979 | “Salute to the Caribbean” with Ken Hamilton and various Caribbean bands | Miami |
| XIV | 1980 | “A Salute to the Big Band Era” with Up with People and the Grambling State University marching band | Pasadena |
| XV | 1981 | “A Mardi Gras Festival” with Helen O'Connell and the Southern University marching band | New Orleans |
| XVI | 1982 | “A Salute to the 60s and Motown” with Up with People | Pontiac |
| XVII | 1983 | “KaleidoSUPERscope” with the Los Angeles Super Drill Team | Pasadena |
| XVIII | 1984 | “Salute to the Superstars of the Silver Screen” with the University of Florida and Florida State marching bands | Tampa |
| XIX | 1985 | “A World of Children's Dreams” with Tops In Blue | Stanford |
| XX | 1986 | “Beat of the Future” with Up with People | New Orleans |
| XXI | 1987 | “Salute to Hollywood's 100th Anniversary” with George Burns, Mickey Rooney, Grambling State University and USC marching bands | Pasadena |
| XXII | 1988 | “Something Grand” with 88 grand pianos, the Rockettes, Chubby Checker and the combined San Diego State and USC marching bands | San Diego |
| XXIII | 1989 | “Be Bop Bamboozled” with Elvis Presto | Miami |
| XXIV | 1990 | “Salute to New Orleans and 40th Anniversary of Peanuts,” with trumpeter Pete Fountain, Doug Kershaw, Irma Thomas and the Nicholls State University and Southern University marching bands | New Orleans |
| XXV | 1991 | “A Small World Tribute to 25 Years of the Super Bowl” performed by New Kids on the Block | Tampa |
| XXVI | 1992 | “Winter Magic” with Gloria Estefan, the University of Minnesota marching band | Minneapolis |
| XXVII | 1993 | “Heal the World” performed by Michael Jackson | Pasadena |
| XXVIII | 1994 | “Rockin' Country Sunday” with Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Wynonna and Naomi Judd | Atlanta |
| XXIX | 1995 | “Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye” with Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval, the Miami Sound Machine | Miami |
| XXX | 1996 | “Take Me Higher: A Celebration of 30 Years of the Super Bowl” performed by Diana Ross | Tempe |
| XXXI | 1997 | “Blues Brothers Bash” with the Blues Brothers (Dan Akroyd, John Goodman and James Belushi), James Brown and ZZ Top | New Orleans |
| XXXII | 1998 | “A Salute to Motown's 40th Anniversary” with Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Queen Latifah, Martha Reeves and the Grambling State University marching band | San Diego |
| XXXIII | 1999 | “Celebration of Soul, Salsa and Swing” performed by Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy | Miami |
| XXXIV | 2000 | “A Tapestry of Nations” with Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias and Toni Braxton | Atlanta |
| XXXV | 2001 | “The Kings of Rock and Pop” performed by Aerosmith, ‘N‘Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige and Nelly | Tampa |
| XXXVI | 2002 | “Tribute to Sept. 11” performed by U2 | New Orleans |
| XXXVII | 2003 | Shania Twain, No Doubt and Sting | San Diego |
| XXXVIII | 2004 | Janet Jackson, Kid Rock, P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson, Nelly and Justin Timberlake along with the University of Houston and Texas Southern University marching bands | Houston |
| XXXIX | 2005 | Paul McCartney | Jacksonville |
| XL | 2006 | The Rolling Stones | Detroit |
| XLI | 2007 | Prince and the Florida A&M marching band | Miami |
| XLII | 2008 | Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Glendale |
| XLIII | 2009 | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band | Tampa |
| XLIV | 2010 | The Who | Miami |
| XLV | 2011 | The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Slash | Arlington |
| XLVI | 2012 | Madonna, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and Cee Lo Green | Indianapolis |
| XLVII | 2013 | Beyonce and Destiny's Child | New Orleans |
| XLVIII | 2014 | Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers | East Rutherford |
| XLIX | 2015 | Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott and the Arizona State University marching band | Glendale |
| L | 2016 | Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson and the University of California marching band | Santa Clara |
| LI | 2017 | Lady Gaga | Houston |
| LII | 2018 | Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids along with the University of Minnesota marching band | Minneapolis |
| LIII | 2019 | Maroon 5 with Big Boi and Travis Scott | Atlanta |
| LIV | 2020 | Jennifer Lopez and Shakira | Miami |
| LV | 2021 | The Weeknd | Tampa |
| LVI | 2022 | Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar | Inglewood |
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