Rihanna’s live return will be the focus of a new documentary.
The ‘Lift Me Up’ singer – who gave birth to her first child, a baby boy, with A$AP Rocky in May – will headline the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on 12 February and cameras will be reportedly following every step of her preparations for the huge gig as part of a fly-on-the-wall programme for AppleTV+.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “There is a massive appetite for everything to do with Rihanna, especially as this will be her major return to the stage for the first time in years.
“She will be recorded during rehearsals and meetings in the lead-up to the big night and give an insight into what her life is really like now she is returning to pop as a mum.
“Rihanna is a massive force to be reckoned with when it comes to music and so Apple has paid millions.
“The Super Bowl is one of, if not the, biggest stages in the world, so her show was always going to be huge. Add on top of that it’s a live comeback and the pressure is immense.
“She is keen for the world to remember why she is one of the greatest performers of all time.”
Rihanna recently admitted she is “nervous” and “excited” about headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
She said: “I’m nervous … but I’m excited.”
The ‘Diamonds’ hitmaker previously turned down the chance to perform at the Super Bowl in 2019, due to the way Colin Kaepernick, 34, was allegedly treated by the NFL.
The former San Francisco 49er refused to stand for the American national anthem at the beginning of games to protest against police brutality and racial inequality and wasn’t signed by any teams after he became a free agent – leading him to sue the NFL in November 2017, saying team owners colluded not to hire him.
The suit was withdrawn in 2019, after Colin and the NFL reached a confidential settlement, but he remains unsigned.
Rihanna said of her decision: “I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people.
“I just couldn’t be a sell-out. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organisation that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”