On Feb. 12, Rihanna indirectly presented to the audience the jaw dropping announcement of her second pregnancy. With the slight touch of her belly, as well as a few sly moves, Rihanna revealed to the audience her and Asap Rocky’s expectance.  

Rihanna and Asap Rocky had been friends for many years before they went forward with their relationship in 2020. Ever since Rocky joined Rihanna’s Diamond tour in 2013, the two built quite a strong bond. Shortly after Rihanna broke off her relationship with Hassan Jameel, rumors and eventually truth was spread regarding the evolution of Rocky’s relationship with Rihanna.  

Rihanna spent long hours over many weeks preparing for her jaw-dropping halftime show performance at the 2023 super bowl, which is a huge deal for any artist, however it was extra glamorous due to Rihanna’s slight absence in the music industry with her most recent album being released in 2016 as well as her recent birth, where she took a break from everything to tend to her new family. The performance was a huge deal for Rihanna to reinforce her talent and fierceness as an artist, but now also as a mother.  

According to Rihanna, weeks of planning and preparation went into the thought process behind her performance. Around 400 people were involved in the bringing together of this production. The whole event took a toll on not just her but her backup team as well. It took a whole of 300 to 400 people to break the stage up and down.  

She claims that the challenge is “trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes.” Although Rihanna has become famous for a multitude of things including Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, and Savage Lingerie, her songwriting is where her fame and relevancy all started and so although some songs had to be lost in the performance, she says that she believes she and her team “did a pretty good job at narrowing it down.” 

Rihanna’s performance served a variety of purposes of not just her musical talent and pregnancy announcement, but also to represent her Barbados culture. She claims that “Representing for immigrants, representing for my country Barbados, representing for black women everywhere… I just think that’s really important, it’s key for people to see the possibilities, and I’m honored to be doing this.” 

Sources: 

https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a42622947/asap-rocky-rihanna-relationship-timeline/ 

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/rihanna-explains-almost-impossible-preparations-26218063