Rihanna’s Superbowl Performance Polarizes Viewers

Rihanna’s performance broke records, but it still split audience opinion.

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Janelle Gonzalez, Staff Writer

Famous singer, actress, and businesswoman, Rihanna performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. It was her first time performing a live solo in seven years and many people were excited about her return.  Rihanna’s performance accumulated 118.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched halftime show in Super Bowl history.

During her 13-minute performance, Rihanna revealed her second pregnancy with famous rapper and songwriter, ASAP Rocky. She performed on a bright red stage that was floating in the air. She was dressed in a monochromatic red outfit that included a jumpsuit and a puffy coat that was unbuttoned to reveal her shirt and baby bump. Rihanna sang her most popular hits like “Umbrella”, “Diamonds”, and “Only Girl (In the World)”. The singer admitted that compiling a list of what songs to sing was the hardest part since she had to fit her 17 years of work into the short performance.

Though many viewers were in awe of her high-flying performance, some were left underwhelmed by it all.  Even long-time fans of Rihanna felt that she didn’t have enough energy and that her show was boring overall. Other people were harsher on Rihanna, including former President Donald Trump saying that her performance was “the worst halftime show in Super Bowl history”. William Scott Goldberg, a professional wrestler, also took a disliking to the performance saying that he was “disgusted”.

Neither Rihanna nor ASAP Rocky has responded to the criticism she has received. It seems that the two parents are choosing to focus on their family as Rihanna has admitted that having a baby has made them closer and is happy to introduce a sibling to their 9-month-old son soon.