The singer and beauty mogul released a teaser for her performance on Friday, acknowledging her long hiatus from music. Rihanna has not released an album since 2016’s ‘ANTI’ and has not performed publicly since the 2018 Grammys, where she sang DJ Khaled’s ‘Wild Thoughts.’
‘Rihanna is who everybody is waiting for,’ a voice says in the clip before another person shouts, ‘RihRih, where have you been?’ while the diamond-certified singer poses in a fluffy yellow jacket with lights flashing around her. The trailer ends with her song ‘Needed Me,’ a declaration of how essential she is.
Rihanna appeared at the Golden Globes on Tuesday with boyfriend A$AP Rocky, who she has a newborn son with. She was nominated for Original Song for her work on ‘Lift Me Up’ for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’ While her Navy fanbase continues to beg her for new music, host Jerrod Carmichael gave her a different message at the awards ceremony.
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‘I’m gonna say something very controversial. I will actually get in trouble for this,’ he said with a smile. ‘Rihanna, you take all the time you want on that album, girl. Don’t let these fools on the internet pressure you into nothing!’
Rihanna also released a collection of limited edition T-shirts through her Savage x Fenty website for her Super Bowl performance. The white T-shirt says, ‘Rihanna concert interrupted by a football game, weird but whatever.’
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In 2019, Rihanna said she rejected an invitation to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, citing a desire to support ostracized quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Jay Z, who played a role in signing her to Def Jam when she was 16 years old, has served as a consultant for the NFL since 2019 as the league seeks to expand its cultural influence and support of social justice.
