With the Super Bowl being Rihanna’s first major performance in nearly a decade, everyone and their mother was understandably on the edge of their seats, anticipating what was supposed to be a performance of a lifetime. And it could have been what we’ve all been dreaming of and more, but the “Lift Me Up” singer, unfortunately, failed to meet expectations. Instead of delivering a show that was both sonically and visually enchanting, the halftime performance was more of a spectacle than anything else.
Ahead of the show, Rihanna teased that her team had put together various versions of the setlist to perfectly encapsulate her illustrious career, which spans eight albums, with the Fenty founder teasing that “we did a pretty good job at narrowing it down” (via Variety). Ironically, she ended up singing many of her chart-topping collaborations, like “Work,” “Run This Town,” and “All of the Lights” rather than hits that played a big part in defining her body of work, including “Disturbia,” “Pon de Replay,” and “Don’t Stop the Music.” Is she stopping the music, perhaps?
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It also didn’t help that Rihanna did a lackluster job of singing along to the backing tracks, making it look like she was lip-syncing throughout the performance. And while she showcased some dance moves here and there, her background dancers did most of the heavy lifting — and there were even moments when they successfully stole the show. The only redeeming element of the performance was the stunning production value that included floating stages. At least that made America momentarily forget about the other objects floating around in the sky (see also: spy balloons).
