Culture
26 Sep 22

Dr. Dre: "We set the bar extremely high" for Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show

This will mark Rihanna's first live performance in five years.

Last night, Rihanna announced she will be headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Apple Music as the new sponsor. One of last year's performers, rapper-producer-entrepreneur Dr. Dre, commented on Apple Music 1 with host Ebro Darden.

"I just like her and what she does, and her get down, and how she approaches her artistry and the whole nine," said Dr. Dre. "It's fantastic. She has the opportunity to really blow us away. I know we set the bar extremely high."

Last year Dr. Dre performed alongside Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg-marking the first ever halftime show to feature hip-hop music. It was also the first show to win a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Live Variety Special.

The announcement came after rumours that Taylor Swift would be headlining the show. She reportedly turned down the offer to focus on re-recording her albums.

Rihanna was asked to perform the halftime show once before in 2019, which she turned down in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick- an NFL player who sparked controversy by kneeling during the national anthem in protest against police brutality. "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 organisation that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way," Rihanna explained to Vogue.

Her performance next year at Super Bowl LVII on February 12th 2023 will be Rihanna's first live performance in five years. In recent years, she's been focused on her Fenty Beauty and clothing line, as well as raising her first child with A$AP Rocky. She hasn't released a full album since 2016's ANTI, and fans have been antsy for new music.