Source: Jeff Kravitz / Getty
Rihanna’s preparation for her highly-anticipated Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show is so detailed that her setlist has changed 39 times.
The Fenty Beauty founder opened up about her creative process ahead of the performance in a sit-down interview for Apple Music. RiRi told journalist Nadeska Alexis that crafting her setlist has been “the biggest challenge” during a press conference held by the music streamer at the Phoenix Convention Center.
“That was the hardest, hardest part — deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate. That’s what this show’s gonna be. It’s gonna be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could have put it together. You’re trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes… but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down,” Rihanna explained with a laugh.
“There were probably about 39 version of the setlist right now. We’re on our 39th,” the singer added. “Every little change counts, whether I want a guitar cut out, something muted, something added or just put in a whole new song, or take out a whole song. Every time I make a change, something has to be updated and that’s a new version.”
Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Setlist
Apple Music is sponsoring the Super Bowl Halftime Show for the first time, according to Apple Insider.
Rihanna emphasized how significant her performance is for underrepresented groups in her interview with the music streamer. The Barbados native said it’s an honor to show immigrants, fellow Bajans and “Black women everywhere” the possibilities they can achieve.
The “Lift Me Up” singer admitted she initially had doubts about performing at the Super Bowl because the opportunity came when she was three months postpartum. After giving the once-in-a-lifetime gig some thought, the new mother knew she wanted her son to see her on one of the world’s “biggest stages.”
With everything on her plate, Rihanna told Nadeska her work-life balance is “impossible” when weighing time away from her child.
The singer and rapper A$AP Rocky welcomed their baby boy in May 2022.
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