Rihanna better get to “Work” because she has a Super Bowl halftime show to headline.
The pop star hinted at her performance at Super Bowl LVII by posting a photo of a football to her Instagram Sunday.
Official Twitter accounts for Apple Music and the NFL then confirmed Rihanna’s performance Sunday. “It’s on,” read a tweet from Apple Music.
Following the announcement, Jay-Z said Sunday in a news release that Rihanna is “a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn.”
The rapper added: “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
Seth Dudowsky, NFL Head of Music, said in a statement he was “thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show stage.”
“Rihanna is a once in a generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career. We look forward to collaborating with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another historic Halftime Show performance,” Dudowsky added.
USA TODAY has reached out to Rihanna’s representatives for comment.
The upcoming Super Bowl will feature the first halftime show sponsored by Apple Music; previous shows since 2013 were sponsored by Pepsi (which also first sponsored the 2007 show).
Last year’s halftime show featured several headliners: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Mary J. Blige, plus surprise cameos from 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak. Other performers in the last decade include The Weeknd, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé.
In an interview with Vogue in October 2019, Rihanna said she turned down the opportunity to perform at the 2018 Super Bowl halftime show in Atlanta. The Grammy-winning singer confirmed she did so to stand in solidarity with quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who became the subject of controversy after kneeling during a pregame national anthem in protest of police brutality and social inequality.
“I couldn’t dare do that,” she told the magazine. “For what? 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.”
Super Bowl LVII is scheduled to take place Feb. 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (USAToday)
