In a brand-new commercial for her impending Super Bowl Halftime performance, Rihanna addressed her six-year musical break in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
In the 30-second teaser, which debuted this week Rihanna is shown parading on a barren stage while being singled out by a spotlight. In the background, voices comment on Rihanna’s break from the music: “Dude, Rihanna, we’ve waited for you;” “RiRi, where have you been;” “The fans just predicted the end of Rihanna.”
In this initial look, Rihanna is wearing a canary-yellow coat by New York-based label Area that is covered in studs and a black halter-neck stirrup jumpsuit with stiletto heels. Rihanna’s Super Bowl attire will be carefully selected. She further adorns her ears with two sets of jeweled hoops, a hefty chain necklace, and gothic cross pendants.
For the Super Bowl teaser, Rihanna’s longtime hairdresser Yusef Williams, who also created her “Princess-Leia-meets-Hollywood-meets-Wakanda” braids for the Golden Globes, created another stunning sculptural hairstyle.
When Rihanna shared the same clip on Instagram, the comments section proved that her fans were just as eager for her new song as they were to see her assault the field at State Farm Stadium on February 12.
By releasing “Lift Me Up,” a stirring song heard in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, last October, Rihanna formally ended her musical absence. Rihanna hadn’t put out new music since her 2016 album Anti, which was nominated for a Grammy.
Although her current priority is prepping for the Super Bowl, the businesswoman said in a November 2022 interview with The Associated Press that she still needs to “get to work” on her ninth album.
