Rihanna shares that she studied Beyonce’s past Super Bowl performances to gain some inspiration for her upcoming set.
The “Lift Me Up” singer recently sat down with NFL’s The Process with Nate Burleson podcast and revealed that she got some pointers for her halftime show by watching Beyonce’s performances.
“I watched Beyoncé’s halftime performances a couple of times. She is a beast and a whole other level. Just to be inspired, really,” Rihanna said.
Beyonce previously headlined the halftime show in 2013 and was joined onstage by her former Destiny’s Child members, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. A few years later, the 41-year-old singer took the stage again along with Bruno Mars and Coldplay.
On Thursday, Rihanna opened up about the show and says it’s one of her biggest challenges she has had to face.
“That was the hardest, hardest part: deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate. That’s what this show is gonna be. It’s gonna be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could’ve put it together,” she said.”You’re trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes, so it’s difficult. Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s gonna be OK, but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down.”
The Super Bowl performance will mark Rihanna’s return to the stage after having her son last year with rapper ASAP Rocky. She previously spoke about balancing motherhood and her career aspirations.
“But when you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world. You can do anything, and the Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world,” Rihanna said.