Rihanna Reveals She Studied Beyonce’s Performance to Prepare for Super Bowl Halftime Show

We love to see legends taking inspiration from other icons.
Rihanna performed onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show.

Rihanna performed onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show.


Rihanna delivered a fabulous performance at Sunday night’s Super Bowl halftime show. It’s no surprise that she prepared by watching Beyoncé’s previous performance at the Big Game.

On an episode of The Process with Nate Burleson, the 34-year-old said she studied the “Drunk In Love” singer’s 2013 solo halftime show act as well as her 2016 performance alongside Bruno Mars and headliner Coldplay.

The “Work” singer also sneakily revealed on the podcast that there would be a surprise guest involved in her set, which we now know is the baby she’s expecting with A$AP Rocky. The couple welcomed their first son together in May.

In an Apple Music press conference ahead of Sunday’s game, Rihanna said she was so focused on perfecting her set that she “totally forgot” about her upcoming birthday and Valentine’s Day. The Fenty Beauty founder turns 35 on Feb. 20. 

During her set, the “Lift Me Up” singer performed a medley of her greatest hits, including “Only Girl in the World,” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Umbrella” and “Diamonds.”

“That was the hardest, hardest part: deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate,” she said about struggling to create her setlist. “That’s what this show is gonna be. It’s gonna be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could’ve put it together. You’re trying to cram 17 years of work. Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s gonna be O.K., but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down.”

Rihanna added that she went through 39 versions of her potential set list before settling on the iconic 12 songs that she delivered on Feb. 12.

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Ananya Panchal

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a NYC-based Lifestyle & Trending News writer at SI Swimsuit. Before joining the Swim team, the Boston University Alum worked for culture & entertainment beats at Bustle, The San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When Ananya is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, she can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast.