Grammy award-winning singer, Rihanna, will be performing at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show sponsored by Apple Music.
The news was announced via the Twitter accounts of Roc Nation and NFL, both of which posted a photo of Rihanna’s tattooed arm holding a football with the caption “Let’s GO!” Rihanna posted the same visual on her Instagram platform.
Nothing was confirmed until Apple Music’s official Twitter account tweeted on Monday, “IT’S ON. @rihanna will take the stage for the first-ever Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show on 2.12.23.”
Though the tweet received over 20 thousand likes and over five thousand retweets, not everyone is thrilled about the event, especially after she claimed to not be interested in performing in a halftime show due to Colin Kaepernick’s suspension from the 49ers back in 2019, according to Vogue Magazine.
Students at N.C. A&T went on the record with the register to share their opinions about the announcement. One of whom felt very passionate about the political side of the issue. Freshman political science student Kyndal Coulter says:
“I was caught off guard by the initial post because I feel like all Black celebrities should not support the NFL, period since Colin Kaepernick has not been rehired,” said Kyndal Coulter, freshman political science student. “This is definitely for publicity and she’s not going to bring attention to Colin at the Superbowl.”
Agreeing opinions have grown stronger after the release of Kaepernick’s Netflix Series, “Colin in Black and White,” which was released in October 2021. The series highlighted the racial injustices and microaggressions Kaepernick faced during his upbringing.
On the contrary, other students have been anticipating Rihanna’s comeback to the music scene.
“I was excited honestly, it’s been a minute since we have heard from Rihanna and I’m just ready to see her perform again,” said pre-nursing student Dha’Rana Lemon.
This is not surprising, as the Super Bowl Halftime show has always been an anticipated event, drawing in an average of 200 million viewers each year according to NBC News.
Last year’s super bowl halftime show line-up included some of the biggest names in music such as Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige.
Rihanna as the headliner has students wondering if she plans on featuring other artists in her performance.
“We hope to see appearances from artists like Nicki Minaj, Drake, T.I. and Future this February,” freshman biology student Paris Motley said.
But this brings up another question: Would artists such as T.I. and other pro-black celebs even consider the opportunity?
According to HuffPost, many celebs have shown their solidarity with Kaepernick by use of social media campaigns and simply boycotting the broadcasts in the past three years. Rapper Common went viral for his subtle tweet, “You know where I stand,” about Kaepernick.
The excitement is building worldwide for the Super Bowl performance to be held on Feb. 12, 2023.
