Rihanna’s surprise pregnancy announcement and ‘Less is more’ Super Bowl halftime show

Abbie Bobeck

A hypnotizing close-up shot of Rihanna’s “Kubrick stare” established her long-awaited return to the stage. In her first live performance in six years, Rihanna started her Super Bowl halftime performance off with a bold choice: “Bitch Better Have My Money.” But in an even bolder decision, as the camera panned out, Rihanna held her stare and affectionately rubbed her stomach. Although Rihanna didn’t choose to feature any special guests during the 13-minute spectacle, she did bring along a new musical guest: her second baby with singer A$AP Rocky.

Then, Rihanna let her hips do all the talking; as the music faded into another hit, “Where Have You Been,” she danced in unison with her 80-person dance ensemble while maintaining a mesmerizing stare with the camera. Rihanna’s fierceness surely never faded from start to finish.

At the start of the show, we got the opportunity to hear Rihanna’s voice and she has never sounded better. It seems as if time off with her new family has made her voice even smoother — if that’s possible. Rihanna displayed incredible control of her vocal range throughout her entire medley of chart-topping hits.

In a change from previous halftimes, Rihanna decided to put together a highlight of 12 songs rather than featuring longer performances of a smaller number of choices. With 32 top billboard top-10 and 14 No.1 hits, it’s not shocking that Rihanna chose this route. She also sampled snippets of other hits like “S&M” and “Kiss it Better,” which — to Rihanna fans — seemed like a taunt. With her performances of “Where Have You Been” and “Diamonds,” her rich tone reached higher notes with ease, while her famous lower range was also showcased throughout “Rude Boy” and “Work.”

After a captivating rendition of “Pour it Up,” where we witnessed Rihanna throw it back and really get into the choreography with her dancers, the setlist took a slight turn for the worse. The music paused and suddenly the beat to “All of the Lights” started. My heart nearly stopped. No matter how much you might love the song, there was no logical reason to include it in the setlist: “All of the Lights” is one of disgraced singer Kanye West’s hits that featured Rihanna. The song featured Rihanna’s vocals for the hook, and she was added as a featured artist for the single’s drop; however, she is not even credited on the album version of the song. The fact that Rihanna publicly said she otherwise exciting and positive performance. Choosing to continue the association song straight up distracting from Rihanna herself, but she also had plenty of other songs