The Super Bowl is on Sunday, and for the first time in forever, Rihanna will be performing music. And if you’re wondering why she chose to get on stage and give us 13 minutes of greatness, it’s because of this little dude:
“When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world and do anything,” Rihanna said during a press conference ahead of the Super Bowl LVII. “The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world.
As scary as that was because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. It’s important for me to do this, this year. It’s important for representation, it’s important for my son to see that.”
Rihanna went on to explain that representation is a big part of why it’s important for her to do the show, including “representing for immigrants, representing for my country of Barbados, representing for Black women everywhere. That’s really important. That’s key, for people to see the possibilities. And I’m honored to be here. I’m honored to be doing this, this year.”
According to Yahoo, Rihanna revealed she’s gone through “probably about 39 versions of the setlist” to decide which of her songs will be included. “That was the hardest, hardest part—deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate,” she explained.
“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. 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 okay, but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down.”