Yahoo Movies Super Bowl 2023: How to watch Rihanna's halftime show and everything else to know
While teams were still fighting for their chance to compete in Super Bowl LVII, Rihanna had already landed the coveted spot of halftime show headliner. Now, the Big Game is nearly here as fans will get to watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs — as well as plenty of commercials — this Sunday.
Read on for everything we know about the 2023 Super Bowl, and what to expect during the halftime show.
When is the Super Bowl?
Super Bowl LVII, the conclusion of the 2022 NFL season, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, with a scheduled start time of 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale, Ariz.
Where will Super Bowl LVII be held?
The Super Bowl will be held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The host city is always chosen a few years in advance to ensure the city and stadium have enough time to prepare. Upcoming host cities include Las Vegas in 2024 and New Orleans in 2025.
How can you watch Super Bowl LVII?
The Super Bowl switches networks every year, and the 2023 game will air on FOX. For anyone without cable, FOX can also be accessed if you have a live TV subscription to streamers like Hulu, FuboTV, and YouTube TV. Additionally, FOX owns the free, ad-supported streaming platform Tubi, which carries the Fox Sports network, so there's a chance it will be streaming there too.
Who is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show?
Whether you like football or not, the Super Bowl halftime show is one of the most iconic events of the year. Recent Oscar nominee Rihanna will be headlining this year's festivities.
The pop star — whose last album, Anti, came out in 2016 — previously turned down the opportunity to headline the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick after the NFL's repeated silencing of protests against police brutality. "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," she told Vogue. Later that year, the NFL entered into a partnership with Jay-Z and his Roc Nation group to "enhance the NFL's live game experiences and to amplify the league's social justice efforts."
To prepare for this year's big show, Rihanna revisited past halftime performances, including Beyoncé, who headlined in 2013 as a solo act and returned in 2016 alongside Coldplay and Bruno Mars. "I watched Beyoncé's halftime performances a couple of times," she told NFL podcast The Process. "She is a beast and a whole other level. Just to be inspired, really."
Christopher Polk/Getty Rihanna is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show.
What songs will Rihanna sing?
The "Diamonds" singer revealed at an Apple Music press conference on Thursday just how difficult it was to "cram 17 years of work" into her upcoming 13-minute performance.
"The set list was the biggest challenge. That was the hardest, hardest part," she said. "Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes, but also celebrate — that's what this show's gonna be — it's gonna be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could've put it together."
Selecting the final tracks required a bit of trial and error. Rihanna noted that there's been "about 39 versions" of the setlist thus far. However, she added, "I think we did a pretty good job at narrowing it down."
The Barbados-born pop star is also looking forward to bringing Caribbean influences to the Super Bowl stage. "That's a big part of why this is important for me to do this show: representation," she said. "Representing for immigrants; representing for my country, Barbados; representing for Black women everywhere. I just think that's really important. That's key for people to see the possibilities. And I'm honored to be here. I'm honored to be [performing] this year."
Will there be a pre-show?
Fresh off his powerful performance at the 2023 Grammys, the pregame program will see award-winning country artist Chris Stapleton sing the national anthem. He will share the stage with singer-songwriter and producer Babyface, who will sing "America the Beautiful," and Emmy-winning Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph, who will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
"'The Star-Spangled Banner,' 'America the Beautiful,' and 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' the national Black anthem. To me, that shows a major effort by the NFL to be truly inclusive," Ralph, a proud Eagles fan, said during Thursday's press conference. "What a time. What a way to bring us all together. So I'm very pleased and very happy to be able to be on the 40-yard line. Oh yeah, baby!"
Will any Oscar-winning actors be involved?
Glad you asked! On behalf of the National Association of the Deaf, all three pre-show performers will be accompanied by a fellow artist who will simultaneously perform the songs in American Sign Language. CODA Best Actor winner Troy Kotsur will perform the national anthem, while Colin Denny, a member of Arizona's Navajo Nation, will sign "America the Beautiful," and Justina Miles will sign "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
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