Rihanna Is ‘Nervous But Excited’ About Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Rihanna has broken her silence about she feels about headlining the headlining the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show. The billionaire singer was caught by TMZ when she was out shopping in Los Angeles Tuesday (Oct. 4), where they asked how she felt about the huge honor.

"I’m nervous! But I’m excited," she responded. TMZ then asked the singer who would she be bringing on stage with her. The cameraperson then got specific and asked if RiRi would be bringing her boo A$AP Rocky on stage and she replied, "Maybe, girl."

RiRi announced that she would be headlining the Super Bowl when she uploaded a photo of her hand holding an NFL-branded football. The superstar captioned the photo with a simple period, "."

After it was confirmed by the NFL that the pop star would be the Super Bowl's headliner, Dr. Dre who performed last year alongside Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent, offered her some advice.

"Put the right people around you and have fun," the legendary producer said. "That’s basically what it is, making sure you have the right creative people around you. She might want to look into some of the people that we used to do our show."

Jay-Z who signed a deal back in 2019 to head the NFL's musical entertainment also commented on RiRi's announcement.

"Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn," Jay-Z said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. "A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment." Jay-Z discovered Rihanna back in 2005 when she was 16 years old.

However, Rihanna's announcement did come with some backlash as social media quickly brought back receipts when the singer refused to perform at the 2019 Super Bowl.

In 2019, the "We Found Love" singer reportedly turned down the Super Bowl to show solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick who began kneeling during the National Anthem in 2016 to protest injustice, police brutality and systemic oppression. Later in 2019, Rihanna spoke to Vogue about refusing to perform. "I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I don’t agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of any service to them [the NFL] in any way."

Rihanna has not addressed why she decided to change her decision on performing.

Rihanna has been announced as the 2023 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime performer. The Super Bowl will be held on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The singer and beauty mogul broke the internet when she teased fans on Sunday (Sept. 25) before the NFL made the official announcement that she would be the Halftime performer.  She posted her hand holding an NFL-branded football against a white backdrop. The superstar captioned the photo with a simple period, "."

After the NFL confirmed that Rihanna would be 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show performer, they changed their bio to "national fenty league" and tagged her Instagram account. RiRi also got a shoutout from Jay-Z who signed the Bajan singer in 2005 when he was the president of Def Jam.

"Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn," Jay-Z, who previously signed a deal with the NFL to head the league's musical entertainment, said in a statement. "A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment."

However, what has yet to be announced is if the "We Found Love" singer will be joined on stage by any fellow artists. Last year, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar performed during the Super Bowl Halftime show with a special appearance from 50 Cent. Dr. Dre also brought out Anderson .Paak who performed on the drums. 50 and .Paak were great additions to the originally billed artists' performances.

When asked about advice he has for Rihanna ahead of the gig, Dre told PEOPLE, "Put the right people around you, and have fun."

"That's basically what it is, making sure you have the right creative people around you," he continued, adding, "She might want to look into some of the people that we used to do our show."

So, with that being said, we conjured up a list of some potential guests that RiRi should consider bringing on stage with her.

Take a look at some potential artists RiRi could perform with below: